LONDON, May 24 - Sven-Goran Eriksson is hoping to end his colourful reign as
England manager with a World Cup triumph that would silence the critics who have
pursued him since his historic appointment in 2000.
In fact, he is so confident that he became the first England manager since
Alf Ramsey in 1963 to predict that England will end the tournament as World
Champions.
Ramsey was proved right in 1966. Whether Eriksson will be celebrating
England's first success since then on July 9 in Berlin remains open to some
considerable doubt.
At England's training camp in Portugal last week, he declared: "I think we
will win it. All we need is a little bit of luck with injuries and referees. The
expectation is a motivation, not a burden."
Whether a spate of injuries before the finals is going to hamper that dream
remains to be seen but what is certain is that he will be tested like no other
potential World Cup winning coach because of the health scares surrounding his
team.
In a way it is just another problem for the Swede to deal with. Problems and
controversies have been his companions since the Football Association named him
as England's first foreign coach in the wake of a shambolic defeat by Germany
under Kevin Keegan in their final game at Wembley.
The 'Little Englanders' among the British media have never forgiven Eriksson
for being born in Torsby, rather than Torquay.
Others have criticised his substitutions in big games, notably in the 2002
World Cup quarter-final exit to Brazil, his faith in David Beckham as a captain
and a midfielder and his lack of fire-and-brimstone motivational skills.
A dismal run of results last year, starting with an embarrassing 4-1 friendly
defeat in Denmark and ending with a humiliating qualifying loss in Northern
Ireland, have also had newspapers baying for Eriksson's blood.
The biggest problems facing the bespectacled 58-year-old, however, have been
off the pitch, culminating in the tabloid newspaper sting operation in January
that prompted the announcement of his departure after the World Cup.
FAKE SHEIKH
A reporter posing as an Arab businessman, notorious in the British media as
the "fake sheikh", drew Eriksson into making regrettable comments about England
players and English football.
The FA, who had stood by Eriksson during his much-publicised affairs with
television celebrity Ulrika Jonsson in 2002 and former FA secretary Faria Alam
in 2004, along with the 2003 revelations that he had been discussing a possible
move to Chelsea, had finally had enough.
Though the matter was handled diplomatically by both sides, Eriksson later
made it clear that leaving England had not been his decision.
In Germany, the scene of his greatest moment as England manager in their
famous 5-1 victory in a 2002 World Cup qualifier, Eriksson has a chance to make
all his critics eat their words.
Having reached the quarter-finals four years ago, and again in Portugal at
Euro 2004, England could well make a run to the semi-finals, a creditable enough
result in itself.
However, with the prodigious talent of 20-year-old striker Wayne Rooney, the
goal sense of Michael Owen and the formidable midfield pairing of Frank Lampard
and Steven Gerrard, Eriksson knows that England could go further still.
The problem he faces is whether Rooney or even Owen will be fit for the
finals.
