Freeway - What does "Svennis" mean for English soccer?

What does "Svennis" mean for English soccer?

What would the country of soccer, England, be without the Swedes? The reason I ask that is because one of the hottest persons in England right now is a Swede, Sven–Göran Eriksson. England has always said that they only will take Englishmen as their coach for their national team of soccer, but now there is a foreigner in that position, a Swede.

It all started in Torsby, where Sven-Göran "Svennis" Eriksson was born in 1948. Eriksson made his debut, just seventeen years old, for Torsby IF. Eriksson’s career as a player never reached the peaks in Swedish terms. He was a name but never a star. His career ended in 1975 in Karlskoga KB, because of a injury. The end of Eriksson's career as a player, was just the beginning of another career.

The career coach
"Svennis" then joined Degerfors, in Sweden, as an assistant to its manager Tord Grip. Grip and "Svennis" met while "Svennis" was playing for Karlskoga. It was Grip who suggested that Eriksson should pursue a career in coaching. That was the beginning of a long relationship. In 1979 Sven-Göran became coach of IFK Gothenburg, one of the biggest clubs in Sweden. The years in Gothenburg meant a lot for him and he was very successful, but no one could imagine where it would take him. All this took place when soccer was doing great in Sweden. In 1982 Eriksson moved on to Benfica, Portugal, and the success continued. The world of soccer started to discover his qualities and he moved to Italy. Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio are some of the world-famous teams he coached.

Svenland

After his years in Italy and with a very long list of achievements, he got his biggest offer ever, but it was also his biggest challenge ever, to coach the national team of England. On October 2000 Sven – Göran Eriksson signed up to become the new manager of England. The ever faithful Tord Grip, who had been with Eriksson all his career, was signed as his assistant. Erikssons first comments was that "You can’t say "no" when you have been offered the leadership of England, it is so big. British media is known to be very tough and rude and of course they didn't treat Eriksson any differently.

His appointment was far from universally celebrated. Many in the British media and the world of soccer didn't like the idea of a foreigner as a national soccer coach. But Eriksson was, as usual, successful with his team and that made him more and more accepted. Eriksson gave the team self-confidence and England got a new name: "Svenland". He took them to a quarterfinal in the World Cup and that's a great result. Eriksson is known all over the world for his professional coaching and his talent to see the individuals in the team.

Swedish comments on "Svennis" Also the people in Sweden have a lot to be thankful for because of "Svennis". He means a lot for Sweden and for Swedish soccer. He's a great ambassador for his hometown, Torsby, but of course also for Sweden. Soccer is a big sport and known all over the world. Isn't it great if a little boy, somewhere in Africa, hears about Sweden, just because of Sven-Göran Eriksson?

Many of the people I've talked to, consider "Svennis" like a king. Many young people think he's cool, great and just the best. Youth that don't succeed as a player, instead tries to be a coach. And there are many young people that just want to be a great coach and don't even think about a career as a player. I think all this has a lot to do with Sven-Göran Eriksson.

For Swedish coaches he is the biggest role-model. Eriksson has succeeded with what most coaches only dream about doing, he's become a name in the world of soccer. And that's not easy. But what's the secret? How does he do it? Many Swedish coaches have been asking the same questions and really tried to "copy" Eriksson’s leadership, but without the same success.

Peter Antoine has worked as a coach in both Germany and Sweden and he says: "I think that every coach should lead their team the way they want to and I don't think it's good to try to "be" like someone else. Every coach has different qualities and ideas about how they want their team to play and that's the way it should be. Another person that I've talked to is Thomas Wernerson. He had the advantage of having "Svennis" as a coach in Gothenburg " "Svennis" has meant a lot to me, not only as a coach but also as a human being. I can't say that "Svennis" has any special qualities than coaches, but he really cares about all the players and has a great communication with every single one of them. He also is a good listener. " Something that can be negative with his leadership, is that sometimes he is too calm.

Peter Eng, a Swedish sport journalist, is a bit critical over British media and how they've treated "Svennis". He thinks that they've been writing more about his private life, instead of his job as a coach. Peter Eng also thinks that they've made him look like something he's not, a saint.

Most of the "soccerpeople" in Sweden, that I've talked to, think and hope, that Eriksson one day will come back to Sweden and work as a coach. But they don't think he'll be a coach for the Swedish national team. Well, they say that you should always keep on dreaming...

The price you have to pay for being a famous coach
En annan bild på svennis. I think that the consequences of being the coach of England's national soccer team is most of the time positive. Today Sven-Göran Eriksson is one of the world's most respected and most successful coaches. Anywhere he goes there's paparazzi following him and he doesn't have any private life, what so ever.

But one of the most important things Eriksson did, when he came to England, was that he had the courage to challenge the English media. After the prime minister Tony Blair, Eriksson has the most important job in the country. Sven has an income of 1,4 billion pounds. He's a part of the history of England and one thing that really proves that, is the fact that you can find a wax doll that looks just like him, in Madame Tussaud's wax cabinet. Sven-Göran is 54 years old and he has more money than he can ever spend. Rich, famous and successful. Does all that make him happy? Is it worth the price he has to pay, giving up his privacy? Well, there's only one person that can answer those questions, Sven-Göran Eriksson from Torsby, Sweden.

But the question that remains is what the English people think about having a Swede as coach for their national team.

What is your opinion?

Sorce: Sporten i dag
Årets sport Interwiev with Peter Antoinne, Thomas Wernersson, Peter Eng and youth. www.englandfootballonline.com