Whatever the tabloids say, Eriksson says he's here for the football
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's surprise move to take up a job in Thai football earlier this month has inevitably raised plenty of questions, but the Swedish veteran has reiterated that he is here purely for footballing reasons.
People could be forgiven for thinking that the 64-year-old Swede’s first venture into Asian football might have an ulterior motive, given that he has agreed to accept the job as technical director of Thai Premier League club BEC Tero Sasana for barely two months.
Eriksson’s case is not helped by his past; his private life hit the headlines almost as much as the team’s results during his six-year reign as England manager from 2001-2006. His old foe, the British media, was among the first to question the reasons for the latest chapter in Eriksson’s managerial career.
A story on the Daily Mail’s website tried to suggest that his move to the Far East was just about women, playing on the Swedish tactician’s image as a man never satisfied in love. It cited former German international Dietmar Hamaan’s autobiography, in which he recalled Eriksson once telling him, while in Thailand as part of a pre-season tour with Manchester City four years ago: “You know Kaiser, I like this place. I think I will manage for another five years and come back here and live with two women. Yes, I think I need two beautiful women.”
Eriksson, who will only be in the job until the end of the domestic season next month, gave a short but clear answer when asked about the issue in an exclusive interview with The Nation.
“That’s British media. That’s how they are.”
But it seems that the Swede, who made his name coaching during a spell with Lazio, the Italian club he led to the league title in 2000, has a particular interest in Thailand. This is the third time he has accepted a job with a connection to the country following a managerial role in 2007 at Manchester City, when former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was the club’s owner, before taking charge of Thai-owned Leicester City in the English second-tier division two years ago.
Clad in his Thai club’s training shirt, though, the Swedish trainer said it was simply fate that brought him to the country.
“It’s destiny. I was here a couple of times before when I was with Man City and Leicester, mostly for football reasons. Before that, I had been here many times for holidays. I like Thailand. It’s easy to like the country: people, food, weather…. I like Thai food. I eat everything.”
For a football manager who has coached teams in some of the world’s topflight leagues, Eriksson stated he did not see it as a step backward to work in the Kingdom, which languishes in lowly 133rd place in FIFA’s latest ranking table.
“It’s always football and it’s one of the big clubs in Thailand. I like it so far,” said Eriksson, who revealed it was a relatively easy decision for him to accept the job with the two-time Thai champions.
“I like Thailand. I knew the owner of the club. I knew Robert [Procureur, the coach and manager of BEC Tero] before. I was here months ago for another business and I met them. They asked me whether I wanted to help them for the last two months of the season. I said okay, why not? Nobody else asked me, so it’s easy,” said Eriksson, who also denied a report that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger introduced him to the job.
Eriksson insisted he would play only a supporting role at the Bangkok-based club, which currently sits in fourth place in the 10-team league, while the Belgian Procureur remains in charge on the bench.
“I’m here for giving some advice, looking at training and matches. So, will it be a benefit to the club? We’ll see at the end of the season. This season there is no possibility for the club to win the league. So, it’s important for the club to prepare for the next season. The help I give now will benefit them from the next season.”
The Swede, though, came up short of a clear answer about his relationship with his former Thai employers, particularly Thaksin after the ill-fated tenure at Man City, which lasted only one season.
“I’ve never seen him [Thaksin] since I left City. So, it’s not good or bad. It’s nothing between him and me. They’re not football managers. They’re businessmen, but I’m not a businessman.”
Eriksson did not rule out the possibility of extending his contract.
“We never talk about that at all. We’ll see if I like it and if they like me – who knows? But we’re not discussing it at all. At the moment, it’s only for two months and let’s see,” said the Swede before leaving to oversee the team’s training session at their nearby ground.
