Het grote Sven-Goran Eriksson topic: Wederom in de problemen

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Tabloid gave Sven 'biggest shock'
By Simon Austin

Sven-Goran Eriksson's right-hand man has said the weekend's tabloid revelations gave the England coach the biggest shock of his career. Tord Grip told BBC Sport: "He has been through a lot of things but this was something very special, because it was a real set-up. "But I know that Sven is OK and he's fully committed to the job."

Eriksson was exposed by the News of the World on Sunday after revealing information to an undercover reporter. He was quoted suggesting he would be prepared to become manager of Aston Villa as part of a takeover. He also divulged thoughts of David Beckham and Michael Owen, and gave away opinions about Rio Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Grip says the News of the World's revelations came as a particularly big surprise even though he has been exposed by newspapers in the past. "It was a shock for him, this one. It's not nice, because then you can't trust anybody and you don't trust what they are writing either," Grip said. "You never know if it is true or not. It's strange that they do things like that. They had planned it for several months. "He was a little bit shocked when he realised it was a set-up but now it's OK."

Grip, who has known Eriksson for more than 30 years and was also his assistant at Lazio, insisted the story would not damage the England coach's relationship with his players, or even the media. "he has spoken to them (the players) and he's rather relaxed about the media," Grip said. "It's no problem at the moment."

Eriksson has been no stranger to controversy since he became England manager in 2001. Details of affairs with television presenter Ulrika Jonsson and Football Association secretary Faria Alam were made public by the newspapers. And he has been caught out in negotiations with prospective employers on three occasions - twice with Chelsea and also with Manchester United.

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Sven-Göran Eriksson in de val

Van onze correspondent

LONDEN, maandag
De Britse bondscoach Sven-Göran Eriksson is door het schandaalblad News of the World in de val gelokt. De krant wist Eriksson via een als sjeik vermomde reporter naar Doebai te lokken. Hij zou daar praten over het oprichten van een voetbalschool ter plekke. De Zweed en twee van zijn adviseurs werden daar in een zeven (!) sterrenhotel in de watten gelegd. Daarna werd gevraagd of Eriksson mogelijk eerder onder zijn tot 2008 doorlopende contract uitwilde. De coach had daar voor de som van 7,5 miljoen euro wel oren naar. Ook adviseerde hij de ’sjeik’ Aston Villa op te kopen dat hij dan wel zou managen. Verder was het voor de trainer geen probleem om zijn captain David Beckham vanuit Real Madrid naar Villa te halen. „David is ongelukkig in Madrid en we hebben een speciale relatie.”

Eriksson klapte ook nog uit de school over zijn andere ster, Michael Owen, die alleen maar „voor het geld” bij Newcastle zou voetballen. Toen zijn advocaat gevraagd werd of een eerder vertrek bij de Engelse voetbalbond geen contractbreuk zou zijn, antwoordde deze: „Er zijn manieren om daar onderuit te komen.”
Overigens heeft de coach altijd benadrukt dat er pas na het WK met hem te praten zou zijn. „Als ik de Wereldbeker win dan vertrek ik, goodbye.” Desondanks spreekt the News of the World in de reportage van „Sven’s dirty deals”.

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Eriksson sues News of the World

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is to take legal action against the News of the World for "breach of confidence". Eriksson told an undercover reporter he would quit if England won the World Cup and also made comments about players, including captain David Beckham. His lawyers say the stories were "a gross invasion of privacy" and have asked to see tapes of the interview. The paper said it had uncovered facts fans and players had a right to know and promised further revelations.

The Swede's agent Athole Still and his lawyer Richard Des Voeux joined Eriksson in the legal move. The trio had visited Dubai at the invitation of "an apparently legitimate company to discuss the possibility of a future sports development consultancy". "It is now clear that this was all a highly sophisticated deception by the newspaper," his lawyers said on Friday. Last Sunday the paper published articles about the trip.

"The resulting articles were a gross invasion of privacy, and the discussions, which our clients were expressly asked to keep confidential, were reported out of context in a distorted and sensationalised manner so as to provide a spurious pretext for the headlines which appeared." It continued: "Our clients' position is that stories of this sort, and the distortion of what was said during confidential discussions in order to create the bogus appearance of some legitimate public interest, must be remedied."

A News of the World spokeswoman said: "We stand by the publication of our story 100%. "Our investigation uncovered facts about Sven-Goran Eriksson which we believe fans and players had a right to know. There will be further revelations published on Sunday."

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New allegations in Eriksson saga

England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson told the News of the World newspaper that three unnamed English Premiership clubs are riddled with corruption. The alleged corruption relates to illegal payments in transfer deals. The Swede and his agent Athole Still are said to have named the clubs in a meeting with an undercover reporter. Eriksson has already announced his intention to sue the paper following last week's story that he could quit the England job after the World Cup.

The News of the World does not name the Premiership clubs in question for legal reasons, but does provide a series of clues as to who they are. These allegations of corruption come hot on heels of similar claims made by Luton manager Mike Newell. He held talks with the Football Association on Wednesday to discuss what he has described as a "bung culture" in the game.

The FA was prodded into action by Newell's comments that he had been offered bungs, or illegal payments, by agents in the past. In relation to Eriksson's remarks, the FA has said it will wait until it has read the story on Sunday before deciding on whether to make any official comment. But FA board member David Dein said Eriksson was "naive" and "indiscreet".

"There's no doubt he probably regrets things which have happened over the years," said Dein, the FA's former vice-chairman. "But is he the right man to take England forward? I think if you ask the players, they would say yes." Eriksson is also quoted suggesting that Sir Alex Ferguson should have left Manchester United in 1999 following their Champions League success. Eriksson is reported to have said: "After winning the treble, he should have said 'thank you, goodbye'."

'Fake Sheikh'

Eriksson, who is under contract as England coach until 2008, was on an FA-sanctioned trip to Dubai when he is said to have been contacted by rich Arab who said he wanted to discuss a coaching job at a new football academy in the Emirate. He is said to have told this man, a celebrated undercover reporter, that Aston Villa was for sale, that England captain David Beckham would return to play in England if Eriksson asked him to, and that striker Michael Owen was not happy at Newcastle.

Eriksson, who has never managed an English club side, is also reported to have said he would like to be paid as much as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, the top earner in the Premiership The reporter in question, Mazher Mahmood, has a track record of trapping public figures in embarrassing stings. Among other big names caught out by the "Fake Sheikh" are England rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio and the Countess of Wessex.

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NEWS OF THE WORLD COMMENT

TODAY we publish more disturbing revelations about the England football coach. Including Sven Goran Eriksson's deeply worrying claims that the sport is riddled with corruption. Soccer is our national game. That's why we believe our readers should know about these serious allegations.

Since our startling news last week, there have been suggestions that we set out to derail England's World Cup preparations. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact we agree with England star Ledley King who said: "I don't think it will have any negative effect. Hopefully it will have a positive one."

We urge any fan who feels differently to look at the FACTS of our investigation—prompted by a tip-off that Sven was willing to sell his services.

Consider the following:

The idea of buying a football club was introduced by SVEN.

The idea of buying Aston Villa and becoming manager was introduced by SVEN and his lawyer.

The offer of an approach to David Beckham came from SVEN. The manager says his conversations with Mazher Mahmood were "fantasy".

It didn't sound like that when he promised to scout Villa instead of focusing on the World Cup.

Now Sven is suing us. He admits our story is true. He just didn't want you to read it.

Well, we think you have a right to know what we uncovered so you can make up your own minds.

Remember, we've made no call for Sven to go.

We printed our report to ensure he spends the next five months concentrating on the job in hand.

Not his bank balance.

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Silent Eriksson leaves FA meeting

Sven-Goran Eriksson left the Football Association's headquarters without comment after being asked to explain reports in a national newspaper. The England manager is reported to have told an undercover journalist from the News of the World that some, unnamed managers "put money in their pocket".

Eriksson arrived for work at Soho Square for a meeting with the FA's compliance unit and left at 1600 GMT. His alleged comments were the second part of his 'Fake sheikh' interview. That paper also published allegations in last week's edition, reporting that the England coach had said he would leave his England job after the World Cup - if his side won the tournament. He discussed taking the manager's job at Aston Villa in the event of a theoretical takeover of the club by the undercover reporter, who turned out to be Mazher Mahmood, the 'Fake Sheikh' who has caught out a list of celebrities with embarrassing 'stings'.

Now Eriksson, who has a contract with England until 2008, has been reported as saying that corruption is taking place in the domestic game. Two managers in the Championship, Mike Newell of Luton and QPR's Ian Holloway, have also alleged that bungs exist in football. Both have also been invited to discuss the issue with the compliance unit. On Sunday Eriksson's agent Athole Still issued a statement about the claims. He said that neither himself nor Eriksson claimed that top Premiership clubs were riddled with corruption.

The statement read:
# At no time did Mr Eriksson or Mr Still say that 'top Premiership clubs are riddled with corruption'.

# Careful reading of the articles shows that both Mr Eriksson and Mr Still were reacting conversationally to a topical subject of debate initiated by their hosts and already being discussed in football circles and the media.

# At no time did either Mr Eriksson or Mr Still claim to have any evidence in relation to improper transfer dealings in football.

# On Sunday, Mr Still attended a meeting with the FA at the request of chief executive Brian Barwick. Mr Eriksson and Mr Still will co-operate fully with any further discussions with the FA and its Compliance Unit.

The FA has asked the paper for all the conversations alleged to have taken place with the England boss in Dubai. The compliance unit is also planning to talk to Eriksson's agent Still. FA chief executive Brian Barwick also released a statement on Sunday. "Allegations made during the past week have not been good for the game's image," read his statement on the FA website. "However, the FA fully appreciates the importance of supporting Sven and the England team in the build-up to and during the World Cup this summer.

"I would like to call on everyone connected with the game to get behind Sven and the team over the next five months as we count down to what we all believe is one of our best opportunities in a World Cup finals for many years."

That has not prevented most national newspapers on Monday speculating that Eriksson will be sacked after the World Cup in Germany.

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Eriksson met dertien miljoen euro grootverdiener bij City
Datum: 6-jul-2007 17:13

Sven-Göran Eriksson is vrijdag benoemd tot manager van Manchester City. De 59-jarige Zweed gaat in drie jaar tijd naar verluidt dertien miljoen euro verdienen. Het contract met de voormalig bondscoach van Engeland ging in nadat de Thaise oud-premier Thaksin Shinawatra 75 procent van de aandelen van de club in bezit kreeg.

"Ik ben ontzettend blij en ik vind het een eer om manager van City te worden", zei Eriksson. " Het is een prachtige uitdaging. Ik ben al begonnen met de voorbereidingen en ik wil de fans een team geven waar ze trots op kunnen zijn." Eriksson was eerder coach van onder meer Benfica, AS Roma en Lazio Roma.

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Eriksson to be sacked by Man City
By Simon Austin

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been told he will be sacked as Manchester City manager at the end of the season, BBC Sport understands. City owner Thaksin Shinawatra told Eriksson he was "not the right man for the job" at a meeting on Sunday, a source close to the Swede said. Eriksson informed the players at training on Monday that he would be dismissed, provoking an angry response.

The Swede, who has two years left on his contract, says he will not resign. Shinawatra has been unhappy with City's results since the turn of the year. The Thai was at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday to watch his team's 3-2 defeat by Fulham. Afterwards, he held a meeting with Eriksson and told him he would be dismissed after their final two games of the season.

"Sven reacted calmly, as usual, but he was very surprised and disappointed," the source told BBC Sport. "He doesn't want to leave the club and will not resign. He loves working with the players and his work at Manchester City has only just begun."

Eriksson took over as City manager five weeks before the start of the season and the team occupied third spot in the Premiership in November. However, their form has faltered badly since Christmas and now they lie ninth, having won just four of their last 15 games.

"The team has not been playing as well as it should have or getting the right results since Christmas," the source admitted. But overall, it has been a good season. Thaksin agreed a five-year plan with Sven in the summer and the target for the first year was to finish in the top 10."