[Music] I think football is like a drug I'm a lucky man and I never thought I should be professional uh on the this level where I've been England is England then I thought I cannot say no to that I I will only have that chance once in my life help each other to play together you are all stars but don't act like divas and stars that's a [Music] secret Sven and Erikson was England's first non-english manager in equal measure he was both a darling and a target of the English tabloid press as famous for his per personal life always as he was for his undoubted coaching quality appointed on Halloween in the year 2000 the decision was an fa horror show according to many of the Red Top newspapers The Daily Mail said England had sold the national game down the fs to a nation of skiers and Hammer throwers but the fa said Sven was one of the best coaches in World football and he was their unanimous Choice Sven took charge of England's golden generation of players but he couldn't deliver silverware and he was eventually sacked after being famously tricked by the fake shake it was a typically chaotic and controversial end to his biggest job in football but until the end the softly spoken swed remained one of the most popular and hugely respected figures in World football in the Autumn of 2022 Sven invited skysports news into his Lakeside home in the Pine Forest of Western Sweden to reflect on his career hello how are you good to see you very are good to see you come on thank you at the time at the age of 74 he was still coaching helping on the training field with local third division side carad my dream was to be a professional football player in Italy because many Swedish footballer played there as professional in Milan in Roma and so on uh but when I started to be a coach no I I couldn't even dream about not even think about to be England maner no not a chance Sven led a relatively low key family life with his ex-wife and Christine Pon and two children after retiring as in his own words a distinctly average player he was just 27 but it soon became clear he was an outstanding coach his first manager's job was for deer fors in his homeland before he went on to gothenberg where Sven created history they became the first Swedish team to win the UEFA Cup in 1982 the rest of Europe stood up and took notice Erikson took over at Benfica winning consecutive League titles before achieving his Italian football dream with Roma in 1984 he would go on to manage Fiorentina Benfica again and then Sam dor before almost moving to the Premier League in 1997 that was with blackbar Rovers he agreed on a move to Ewood Park but then Erikson received an offer to manage Lazio and he changed his mind major success followed lcio won the European Cup winners cup and then in 2000 the Siri a title for only the second time in the club's history then came the opportunity with England it's Harman did he Harman Wembley's Last Game Belongs to Germany Kevin you've been in a meeting for a long time after that match with some high ranking fa officials what can you tell us about that yeah what I've done I first of all told the players that you know this is my last game when Keegan resigned the fa turned to Sven but he was still in a job in Rome but when will that decision be made Mr ericon Sky Sports television do you think you would have resigned if you were not England coach elect and what are your feelings right now yes I think so I don't like uh what I did but I think it's better for for the club I was with Lazio and I was well everything was gold there everything was beautiful but England England is England and I thought I cannot say no to that I I will only have that chance once in my [Applause] life uh how I'm going to handle it well if it's the most difficult job I'm very happy and then then it will be my biggest challenge so far in my life if we don't do results of course they they will try to hang me but even if if I was an English man they hang me so that's on the pitch with world Cup 2002 qualification hanging in the balance Erikson's England turned things around with a famous victory in Munich he's a l but don't forget that he's fromen and then Beckham's Brilliance and Old Trafford sent England to Japan and South Korea yes yes for England David Beckham has done it big time but all the talk in the buildup to the World Cup focused on the England captains metat tassel thinking about it during the night Sleepless because it's going to heal or or not Redemption for Beckham and his sending off in 1998 came with the penalty that beat Argentina in the group stages England made it to the quarterfinals but they lost 2-1 to the eventual winners Brazil before Euro 2004 Sven made Wayne Rooney England youngest ever debutant he was 17 years and 111 days old it really paid off in the tournament Rooney's goals sent England all the way to the last eight this time Portugal and penalties would be their downfall but off the field controversies followed Erikson to his long-term onoff relationship with lawyer Nancy deolo made the couple Prime targets for the paparazzi his relationships with orri Johnson and then barer Alam who likes celebrity Gold Dust for the English press Alam was an fa employee the mess and the soap opera is very regrettable I don't want to throw the towel in just because of the press the pressure intensified when England lost to Northern Ireland in September 2005 off the back of that came the fake Shake sting by the news of the world where Erikson was recorded saying he would leave to join Aston Villa after the World Cup days later the fa announced that Sven would leave his role after the tournament in Germany he went on to sue the news of the world winning substantial damages but he'd lost his dream job it was a fake sake and they did every they did everything to try to set set me down I Al told the people in F you you believe in them or you believe in me I don't know what I believed they took the chance to sa me Sven had one more tournament with England to try to prove himself before the axe fell Roy's lack of Fitness disrupted preparations for the World Cup in Germany and once in B and Bon sven's decision to allow the players families to stay nearby caused the media frenzy cameras followed them wherever they went England went out in the quarterfinals against Portugal Rooney's Red Mist meant a red card and the team lost courtesy of penalties again and a winking Ronaldo sven's last act as England manager was to beg the media for understanding not for himself but for Rooney you much more than me for the next years need wine Rooney so pay attention please he is the Golden Boy of English football don't kill him I beg you thanks thanks very much I hope it will be quite more quiet from tomorrow thank you a mental coach for penalties that was a big mistake that's the biggest mistake I did I think many players in the team 2006 who has been around for a long time so I thought they will handle this they will handle more or less everything and at the end uh we were not especially good at penalties exactly a year later he took over at Manchester City and led them to ninth in the Premier League but an 8-1 defeat against middlesbor on the final day of the Season proved to be his last in charge a short furry back in International Management followed with Mexico before a shock return to England as director of football at knots County it was [Applause] [Music] [Applause] 2009 sorry it starts very well it's very good it seemed bizarre and it proved to be a costly sham for the second time in three years Sven had been duped backed by the middle eastern Monto Finance Consortium Erikson was told he had free reign to take the world's oldest league club all the way from League 2 to the very top of the English game they said Sven five years we give you five years and you can do whatever you want to do with the club and take us to Premier League and we have the money to buy players iname Stellar names like salul Campbell and Casper schmeichel ready to play in League two Sven revealed years later he'd also agreed with Roberto manini for him to become the manager of Meadow Lane but before that could happen within six months the whole business began to unravel I checked it with the league I checked it with a chairman of premier league and Pa said go go ahead this is real story and it was the promised investment wasn't forthcoming and with debts of £7 million the club was on the verge of collapse Erikson memorably waved the multi-million pound payoff that he was due to help not survive and he walked away after a stint with the Ivory Coast he spent a year in charge of Leicester city before spells in China and with the Philippines national team after over 12200 matches as a manager Erikson decided to spend more time back in his hometown of sunna where he continued to help out with local third division side carlat until ill health forced him to take a step back at the start of 2023 Ericson told the world of his cancer diagnosis with characteristic humility and stoicism there was to be one fight final Harrah SM was a Boyhood Liverpool supporter and he dreamed of one day managing the club he got that wish in a special Legends match at anfield I'm lucky and I've seen a lot of countries and uh a lot of good memories some bad me memories as well but I I did some mistakes of course not County was one of them but I'm not complaining for