Does Sven Care About Football Anymore?

Greed And A Lack Of Passion

I’m starting this blog in the 68th minute of Ivory Coast’s game against Brazil and they are 3-0 down and Sven has just made his second substitute, but unfortunately it is a like-for-like sub and isn’t exactly a response you should be giving when you’re losing 3-0 , and even then it wasn’t an instant response. When England first head hunted Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2001, he was one of the top club managers in the world and Lazio fans shed tears as he walked out of the club for the last time, begging him to stay. Before his England appointment, he was successful at almost every club he had been at, even managing to win the UEFA cup with Goteborg, and you only need to look at how many Swedish club sides have won a European trophy to let you know that it is one difficult task. So England had their man, a manager who seemed to just understand the game and knew how to be successful, but I don’t need to tell you that it didn’t exactly work out.

In 2002, England had a great tournament and if you ignore those people that blame David Seaman for our exit, the majority were very proud of their nation despite a quarter final exit, and it seemed like we had players who still had time to grow and a manager that could deliver that success. In Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006, the Portuguese beat us, twice, and England fans were forced to watch on as an indecisive Sven waited patiently without throwing caution to the wind, much to a nation’s frustration. Beyond that, he then was snapped up by an ambitious Man City side, but his reign ended with a 8-1 loss to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, many believing Sven had lost the plot, playing a shaky defence that involved Elano at right back.

But no need to fear for Sven’s future, he got another great job, as Mexico gave him the chance to take their side onto greatness. Sven lasted 13 games as Mexico manager, and even had the nerve to discuss the Portsmouth manager position less than a year after taking the post. Then it got even stranger, as rumours circulated that Sven would be part of a takeover for the oldest professional football club in the world, Notts County. Everyone laughed, but by the end of the day a deal was done, and Sven found a new home. God knows what happened from there, as no one was sure who the real owners were and Sven claimed he was conned and needed to put his hand in his pocket to save face. Sven had to write off a massive pay off from the club, but still got a decent two months wages for a club ridden with debt. But once again, Sven didn’t need to fear, as he had another shot at the World Cup, with the Ivory Coast, but by this time, many people across Europe felt Sven had lost his winning mentality, but as I write this, he sits on the Ivory Coast bench.

In their opening game, one of Africa’s great hopes for the cup were poor against Portugal, but to be fair, the majority of other teams looked cautious as well. But in this match against Brazil, which has just ended 3-1, Ivory Coast look poor. They are a decent side, and when Kaka was sent off, in the 89th minute or so, they actually showed a little bit of urgency, the same urgency that should have come from the manager when Brazil went 3-0 up. I know you could argue that it is Brazil, but Ivory Coast should not be ripped to pieces like I’ve seen in this game. And the problem is obvious – Sven is only motivated by money, and this is because of his time in England. Sven loves the attention he receives and it seems he can’t resist the chance to get a massive pay cheque, but at the same time he doesn’t seem to actually care about how he performs in his job any more. He seemed to enjoy the lifestyle more when he was England manager, and beyond that it appears as if he doesn’t actually put any thought into the job in hand.

Man City were a good side, but by the end of his reign he was playing players in any position and they were torn to shreds by various sides. Mexico are one of the top teams in North America but Sven struggled to help them qualify for a World Cup and it would have been a crime (as we see by Mexico’s attacking pace in this World Cup) to have failed in the qualifying with that side. And I don’t even want to go into the Notts County fiasco, it was an absolute disgrace what he did there and now the club has been left with a huge amount of debt, just so him and a few of his buddies could get a massive pay out. I just can’t understand why anyone would take a risk on him, he clearly isn’t bothered about success too much and the Ivory Coast are now in danger of going out of the World Cup despite being, arguably, the strongest African nation in the competition. Sven doesn’t have a passion for football anymore and he isn’t even a very good mercenary. I wouldn’t be surprised if he became manager of a team in Qatar after this World Cup is over, and I feel sorry for Ivory Coast fans, because I know England fans had to sit through his lack of care for our national side. The biggest shame is what I pointed out before – Sven was once one of the best managers in Europe, but instead he is an example of how money can corrupt a person.

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