Mexico has sacked Sven-Göran Eriksson as the coach of its national team following its 3-1 loss to Honduras in World Cup qualifying last night. Everyone basically knew this was coming, though the timing is a mild surprise. Personally, I think it was overdue, not because of the heights he failed to inspire Mexico to reach on the pitch, but because Sven’s career needs regular infusions of fresh strangeness in order to stay interesting, and bottoming out in Mexico gives him a needed boost. Where will his journey of dangerous eroticism and serial underachievement take him next?
Read More: Mexico, Sven-Göran Eriksson
by Brian Phillips · April 2, 2009
I can’t believe they hired his worthless ass in the first place. But to compound their misery, and my amusement, I suggest the next coach be Steve Sampson …
Back to Lazio one hopes. Well, Lazio hopes.
I think England played to form under Sven. Out in the quarters to Brazil in WC ’02, out in the quarters to host Portugal on kicks in Euro ’04, out in the quarters to Portugal in WC ’06. Maybe Euro ’04 was a disappointment but facing the hosts on kicks is rough luck. Is England much better than the 5-8th best team in the world on a regular basis? I’d say no.
He was not coach in 02 …
Sven was definitely the manager of England at WC ’02.
Yes, he definitely was.
Oh wow. They let his dumb ass ruin *TWO* World Cups? Sorry. I just could fathom that depth of stupidity …
Regarding Mexico, because this seems as good a place as any to pose it, my thinking about their international failures is that its pretty much all down to the nearly hermetic environment most of their top players experience in the domestic league.
The Mexican team is (very generally) a collection of domestic stars who lack coping skills when challenged by equal (or certainly more) talented opposition.
Sven is the perfect example of the worst possible manager for them, he’s a chequebook manager, or the equivalent when in charge of a national team: a star’s manager. I don’t know his Spanish competency, but I doubt he was even able to play to his strengths and soothe egos, and coax performances from that team.
Obviously hosting contributed, but I don’t think its any coincidence that Mexico’s best performance was under the ultimate underdogs manager, Milutinovic. He would play as underdog if he had 1970 Brazil.
If I recall correctly, he was reviled at the time by the Mexican press, I assume it was likely aesthetics that they damned him over. I imagine he downplayed their chances enough that his players actually began to believe it, just a little, and got over themselves, resulting in performances that came closest to matching their self-regard.
Sven’s time in Mexico really reminded me of the last few chapters of “On the Road,” only sans the looming sense that a moment of maturity may come to be by either party