Post by QPR Report on Oct 14, 2009 6:22:53 GMT
And this is the Guardian; not a Tabloid!
Digger Exclusive -
The Guardian - Matt Scott --Goran Eriksson in talks to manage North Korea at World Cup• Final talks in Beijing this week over part-time job
• Eriksson was sacked by Mexico and is not wanted by Sweden
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Peter Trembling are heading to east Asia this week to hold final talks on a deal that could see the former England manager become the coach of the North Korea team at next summer's World Cup.
Trembling, the Notts County executive chairman, is understood to have been involved in talks with intermediaries representing the Football Association of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Those negotiations were with a view to securing the Meadow Lane director of football's services on loan.
The process is now advanced enough for Trembling and Eriksson to be travelling to Beijing later this week on an eight-day trip. The club chairman is also expected to discuss Chinese business investment opportunities in Qadbak, the British Virgin Islands-registered investment vehicle that owns County.
A source close to the deal confirmed that the trip to east Asia is going ahead and did not deny that Eriksson's stewardship of the world's 90th-ranked team was under discussion. North Korea's embassy in London suggested there might be an announcement in "two or three weeks".
Like Russia's well-travelled coach, Guus Hiddink, and the England manager, Fabio Capello, Eriksson is increasingly an international hand for hire. Having spent five years as England manager from 2001, the Swede had 10 turbulent months as Mexico's coach, ending in April this year. If Eriksson says yes, it will see him take the reins in the Koreans' first World Cup finals since reaching the last eight in 1966.
Qualification for the tournament in South Africa next year was confirmed with a 0-0 draw in Saudi Arabia in June and, despite Kim Jong-hun's achievements as coach, he has not escaped criticism. His team emerged alongside South Korea from their group despite scoring only seven goals in eight games.
Although clearly the foundation stone of Kim's success, that defensive solidity has been attacked by influential voices in North Korean football who consider that it would invite pressure from more powerful teams at the finals tournament.
Pak Doo-ik, who scored in the 1-0 defeat of Italy in 1966 that took North Korea to the quarter-finals, believes the 5-4-1 formation favoured by Kim is flawed.
"Despite reaching the World Cup, we are still far from becoming a world-class team," he has said. "We will have our work cut out and there are still huge areas in which to improve, including in defence, creating chances and putting them away."
Although it would be a football fairytale for Eriksson and the players involved, the development would lead to inevitable criticism of Trembling's willingness to interact with a country where human rights abuses are routine. There will also be questions about what fee Notts County's owners, Qadbak, might be receiving from a nation that is beset by famine and which has test-fired intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear bomb.
Eriksson will be aware of the challenge in football terms with the team he is set to lead in South Africa after they had a 10-day training camp in France this month that included a 0-0 draw against the French second division team Nantes. The Koreans' first European football excursion since 1966 ended with another goalless draw against Congo in Le Mans last night.
Eriksson's availability for next summer was confirmed this week when Sweden's football federation made clear that it will not seek to replace the outgoing Lars Lagerback with the former England and Mexico coach. Eriksson has ruled out any notion that he might take charge of the Notts County first team following the sacking of Ian McParland on Monday.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/13/sven-goran-eriksson-north-korea
Digger Exclusive -
The Guardian - Matt Scott --Goran Eriksson in talks to manage North Korea at World Cup• Final talks in Beijing this week over part-time job
• Eriksson was sacked by Mexico and is not wanted by Sweden
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Peter Trembling are heading to east Asia this week to hold final talks on a deal that could see the former England manager become the coach of the North Korea team at next summer's World Cup.
Trembling, the Notts County executive chairman, is understood to have been involved in talks with intermediaries representing the Football Association of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Those negotiations were with a view to securing the Meadow Lane director of football's services on loan.
The process is now advanced enough for Trembling and Eriksson to be travelling to Beijing later this week on an eight-day trip. The club chairman is also expected to discuss Chinese business investment opportunities in Qadbak, the British Virgin Islands-registered investment vehicle that owns County.
A source close to the deal confirmed that the trip to east Asia is going ahead and did not deny that Eriksson's stewardship of the world's 90th-ranked team was under discussion. North Korea's embassy in London suggested there might be an announcement in "two or three weeks".
Like Russia's well-travelled coach, Guus Hiddink, and the England manager, Fabio Capello, Eriksson is increasingly an international hand for hire. Having spent five years as England manager from 2001, the Swede had 10 turbulent months as Mexico's coach, ending in April this year. If Eriksson says yes, it will see him take the reins in the Koreans' first World Cup finals since reaching the last eight in 1966.
Qualification for the tournament in South Africa next year was confirmed with a 0-0 draw in Saudi Arabia in June and, despite Kim Jong-hun's achievements as coach, he has not escaped criticism. His team emerged alongside South Korea from their group despite scoring only seven goals in eight games.
Although clearly the foundation stone of Kim's success, that defensive solidity has been attacked by influential voices in North Korean football who consider that it would invite pressure from more powerful teams at the finals tournament.
Pak Doo-ik, who scored in the 1-0 defeat of Italy in 1966 that took North Korea to the quarter-finals, believes the 5-4-1 formation favoured by Kim is flawed.
"Despite reaching the World Cup, we are still far from becoming a world-class team," he has said. "We will have our work cut out and there are still huge areas in which to improve, including in defence, creating chances and putting them away."
Although it would be a football fairytale for Eriksson and the players involved, the development would lead to inevitable criticism of Trembling's willingness to interact with a country where human rights abuses are routine. There will also be questions about what fee Notts County's owners, Qadbak, might be receiving from a nation that is beset by famine and which has test-fired intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear bomb.
Eriksson will be aware of the challenge in football terms with the team he is set to lead in South Africa after they had a 10-day training camp in France this month that included a 0-0 draw against the French second division team Nantes. The Koreans' first European football excursion since 1966 ended with another goalless draw against Congo in Le Mans last night.
Eriksson's availability for next summer was confirmed this week when Sweden's football federation made clear that it will not seek to replace the outgoing Lars Lagerback with the former England and Mexico coach. Eriksson has ruled out any notion that he might take charge of the Notts County first team following the sacking of Ian McParland on Monday.
www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/13/sven-goran-eriksson-north-korea