Eriksson in the photo Ansa
LONDON (ENGLAND) – Sven Goran Eriksson told a curious backstory about a fight with Sir Alex Ferguson during an interview with the Times. It was 2006 and Eriksson was the coach of the English national team . Ferguson was still the Manchester United manager. The two fought heavily for Wayne Rooney. Eriksson wanted to summon him to the national team while Ferguson was against it because the player was back from an injury.
Sven Goran Eriksson's story at the Times begins: "It was morning, it was very early. I don't remember exactly the time but it was before seven. I hear the phone ring and I answer. It was Sir Alex Ferguson. The first thing he told me was certainly not 'Hi Sven, how are you?' He didn't even greet me, he was furious and immediately went to the point.
He practically threatened me by telling me I shouldn't call Rooney. What exactly did he tell me? 'If you call Rooney, I'll kill you. You're done, I'll kill you! " It is not my style to lose my temper so I dismissed him by saying: Alex fitti, summoned Rooney himself. Bye bye and happy holidays ".
After recounting this anecdote between him and Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Lazio coach recalled his precedents against the former Manchester United coach: "Ferguson is a winner, he has won almost everyone but few know that against me lost three times out of three. I beat him in the final of the European Super Cup, when I was coach of Lazio, and twice when I was part of Manchester City. Perhaps also for this reason he has so much with me … ".
In his over thirty years of career he is the only one to have hit the double national championship-cup in the same year in three different countries: Sweden, Portugal and Italy. In these three countries it boasts a total of 5 championships and 10 cups and supercups.
In Europe he led Lazio to victory in the Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup (also losing a UEFA Cup final), and Göteborg to UEFA Cup success. Before his arrival neither company had ever played a European final. With Benfica he played in a UEFA Cup final and a European Cup final, the latter losing on Arigo Sacchi's Milan. He is the coach with the highest number of appearances in international competitions on the Lazio bench (43).
In 2001 he became technical commissar of the English national team, a role he held until 2006, leading the team to the fourth in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and to the 2004 European Championships. he led the Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup (sources Times and Wikipedia).
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Source: Blitz Quotidiano