The Hindu : Sport : Can Sven-Goran Eriksson sign off in style?

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Wednesday, Jun 07, 2006

Sport

Sport

Can Sven-Goran Eriksson sign off in style?

Kevin McCarra

England is peaking just as the Swede's tenure is coming to an end

— PHOTO: AP

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: English players would be hoping to give Sven-Goran Eriksson an ideal farewell present.

If survival is success then Sven-Goran Eriksson has triumphed already. Of all the managers at the World Cup finals only Bruce Arena, appointed by the United States in 1998, has been in charge for longer. Most people, including the Swede himself, are content that he and England will part shortly but the few days that remain should be packed with opportunity.

Lucky to stay on

Eriksson is lucky, despite falling short in the past, to have been allowed to learn from his mistakes while the managers of other countries were being ousted. This summer is a particularly good time for him. There is no future with England to be calculated, no need to worry about the sensitivities of senior players, no long-term considerations at all.

In a squad disciplined by its own ambition, his authority will not be challenged, assuming results are as satisfactory at the outset as is anticipated. With the competition in Europe it is only reasonable to include it among the potential winners. Brazil, rightly, is favourite but a nation disappointed to have the former Leeds United centre-half Roque Junior ruled out by injury cannot be invincible.

Limiting the gambles

England's concerns are no greater than anyone else's and Eriksson has limited his gambles. Ledley King, for instance, was pencilled in for defensive midfield duties at one stage but the manager was not prepared to wager on him recovering from injury.

All of Eriksson's comments speak of an emphasis on adaptability. In the weeks after Wayne Rooney broke his metatarsal he spoke about Joe Cole as the best player in the country in the second striker role, commented that Steven Gerrard could be played there and then hinted that he would actually start with the obvious, apparently complementary partnership of Peter Crouch and Michael Owen.

Nothing to lose

The manager said that the World Cup could suit someone like Walcott, who has ``nothing to lose.'' He might have been speaking about himself.

Certainly none of his predecessors have gone to the World Cup with quite so jaunty an attitude. The broad sweep of his thinking has been more popular than at any point since the 5-1 win over Germany and, at the tie against Belarus, there was tumult when Walcott's introduction as a substitute was announced. But, Eriksson needs more than crowd-pleasing showmanship to impress in Germany.

It is the details, the tiny flickering events, that are so often the undoing of England. With Michael Carrick's suitability in doubt, he frets now about the holding player who will be required if England run into, say, Kaka or Román Riquelme in Germany.

He also has to ensure that the side is drilled in using that sort of system and, if he sticks instead with Frank Lampard and Gerrard as the central midfield partnership, it will not suffice to say airily that footballers of such calibre can sort out defensive duties between them. The preparations must be far more meticulous this time. Eriksson, for all that, is correct to feel optimistic. The host nation's side is in shoddy condition and a traditionally powerful country like Italy could be wounded by inquiries into alleged corruption in Serie A. Maybe the manager's luck is in. The team is reaching its peak just as Eriksson comes to the end of his time.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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