Sven: Roy job safe because he’s English
Print Edition
THE only reason Roy Hodgson has been allowed to carry on as England manager after its World Cup fiasco is because he is English, the team’s former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has said.
Eriksson, who led England from 2001 to 2006 and took it to the quarterfinals of three major tournaments, told the SportExpressen newspaper that a foreign manager who presided over such poor results would have been fired immediately.
“Roy Hodgson stays because he is an Englishman. Had he been a foreigner, there is not a chance in the world he would have been left in the job,” said the 66-year-old, who is now head coach of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F.
Having suffered 1-2 defeats by fellow former World Cup winners Italy and Uruguay, England is bottom of Group D and cannot reach the knockout stage. Its final game is against surprise leader Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte tomorrow.
“I think things have changed. When I was (with) England, expectations were that we would get to the semifinals and finals,” Eriksson said. “Now, before the World Cup, it was all about getting out of the group.
“When I had the national team we always talked of quarterfinals, semifinals. If I hadn’t taken England to the quarterfinals of three tournaments, I’d never have been allowed to stay.”
Eriksson left the England job after the 2006 World Cup, but he feels he has unfinished business with the national team.
“If they’re aren’t going to keep Hodgson they can just as well bring me back, so I can finish what I started,” the Swede was quoted as saying by SportExpressen.
Despite the Brazil fiasco, Hodgson insisted that a young batch of talent in the squad will make for a brighter future.
Hodgson, 66, included a number of youngsters like Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Luke Shaw in his squad, a decision generally welcomed by the often highly critical English media.
While England turned in a disappointing performance, those players will be a solid foundation as they gain experience with their club teams ahead of the 2016 European Championship, Hodgson claimed.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
