On Sunday, the news finally came that Sven-Goran Eriksson had been appointed as manager of Leicester City. It was not a shock, the papers and media had been circulating the story soon after the unfortunate Paulo Sousa lost his job, but you certainly would not have predicted the former England manager would be taking over the Foxes at the beginning of the season. Since leaving the England job, Eriksson has not experienced a great deal of success as a manager, so is it a good appointment by the Leicester City board, and is having Sven back in English football a good thing?
Sven-Goran Eriksson has an enviable CV. After winning a host of trophies across Europe, Eriksson became manager of Rome giants Lazio in 1997, and this was where he established himself as one of top managers in the European game. Eriksson’s greatest glory came in 2000, where he ended Lazio’s 26 year wait for a Serie A title, and it had made the FA’s ears prick up. In January 2001, Eriksson became the first foreign manager of the English national team, and although by the end of his reign at England he was widely derided, the subsequent woes of other England managers have made Sven’s achievement of three consecutive quarter-finals look pretty good.
Eriksson’s career since his departure from the England job has not gone the way he would have wanted. I felt he was harshly treated at Manchester City, he enjoyed a sensational start to the season and inflicted two defeats on arch-rivals Manchester United, but the club faded in the second half of the season and this seemed to condemn him to losing his job. An unsuccessful spell as manager of Mexico followed, after which we saw a bizarre move to Notts County where he was installed as director of football. In the World Cup he managed Ivory Coast, and whilst they were in a tough group, it was a disappointing result that they were not able to make it beyond the group stage.
The last few years of Eriksson’s career may not have been his most glorious, but he has also not been given very much time in any of his last three managerial roles, and it would be harsh to judge him too negatively. I actually think Eriksson is a good manager, he may not wear his heart on his sleave but he is tactically astute, a calming presence and a good operator in the transfer market. I thought Paulo Sousa’s sacking was ridiculously premature but I also think Eriksson will prove to be a good appointment by Leicester’s board, so long as they give him enough time.
One huge positive for Leicester City is that Eriksson will be able to attract some very good players to the club. His reputation and name is such that footballers will want to play under him, and in the transfer market he will increase the attractiveness of joining Leicester massively. He is also simply a good manager, and whilst automatic promotion may now be too much to ask, the play-offs are still a distinct possibility, and how often have we seen the sides making a late run into the top six be the team that triumphs and gets promoted.
Eriksson obviously believes Leicester City have the ambition and the capability to make it to the Premier League, and the board have made a big statement of their intent by signing up the Swede. Sven’s return to English football is in my opinion a good thing, and the main beneficiaries will be those involved at Leicester City.
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