|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Eriksson quits Lazio coach resigns, free to take up England contract
Updated: Tuesday January 09, 2001 1:10 PM
ROME (AP) -- Following a home defeat to lowly Napoli, Sven Goran Eriksson resigned Tuesday as the coach of Italian champion Lazio, clearing the way for him to take over the England team. He was replaced by Dino Zoff, the team's general manager and former Italian national star player and coach. "I think it's better for the club," the Swede told reporters at the team's training camp in Formello. "I think Lazio will win by this." "The results are not coming as we hoped. The team is not playing well at this moment. Being responsible for the team, I have chosen to take this step," Eriksson said. Eriksson's assistant coach, ex-player Roberto Mancini, also resigned. "It is very bad news and a very difficult day for us," Lazio owner Sergio Cragnotti said. "Lazio owes Eriksson a lot." Eriksson was initially scheduled to take charge of England at the end of the Italian season in late spring, but the Football Association chief executive Adam Cozier said that the Swede would be in London "within the next few days" to take up the job. He added that Eriksson planned to attend a Premier League game this weekend to begin assessing his players. England plays crucial World Cup qualifying matches in March, against Finland and Albania, and then June, when it takes on Greece. But Cozier said that Eriksson's first match in charge will be a Feb. 28 friendly with Spain. "Selfishly, I'm absolutely delighted the uncertainty is at an end. The important thing now is for everyone to unite behind the coaches and the team," Cozier said, adding that Eriksson is "one of the top three or four managers in the world." In Rome, Eriksson said he believed he could begin his new role as England coach on Feb. 1. The pressure had been rising around the 52-year-old Swede since October, when he signed a five-year contract to succeed Kevin Keegan -- and to become the first foreigner to lead England's national team. "My season is over, even fans are booing me now," a bitter Eriksson said after Sunday's 2-1 lost to Napoli, during which Lazio scored its fourth own goal of the campaign. The fans had booed him throughout the match and had put up banners calling on him to quit. The Rome powerhouse has stumbled all season. It is currently in a tie for fourth place, 11 points behind cross-town rival and league leader AS Roma. In a 22-year-long coaching career, Eriksson has won a number of trophies, including a Swedish title and a UEFA Cup with Gothenburg, three Portuguese titles, one European Cup Winners Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Italian Super Cup and two Italian Cups with Lazio. Last season he led Lazio to its first Serie A title since 1974. Zoff was widely expected to replace Eriksson. He has already been at the helm of the squad from 1990 to 1994. "Eriksson did an extraordinary job," Zoff said after the announcement. "I wish to do well, this team has amazing potential." His new contract expires in June 2002, but Cragnotti said that details were still being worked out. The timing of Eriksson's decision was doubly ironic, as Tuesday marked Lazio's 101st anniversary and was also Cragnotti's 61st birthday. The celebrations included a friendly match with the Chinese national team on Tuesday night.
Zoff takes over LazioZoff, the former Italy goalkeeper and captain of the 1982 World Cup-winning side, had been working as Lazio vice-president since he resigned as coach of Italy following the finals of Euro 2000. The former Juventus player has signed a contract with Lazio until June 2002 and said he was surprised to find himself back in charge at the Olympic stadium after a spell as coach from 1990 to 1994. "I wasn't expecting this and I wasn't hoping Eriksson would resign but I feel myself to be part of the Lazio family and I want to make my contribution,' said the 58-year-old Zoff. "I will do all I can to help this club. I am a close friend of [Lazio president Sergio] Cragnotti and we didn't even talk about the salary. Eriksson won many trophies for Lazio and I will continue his work with great desire. I think I have the potential to do well." Zoff said he had not asked for any changes to the club's coaching staff, but assistant Roberto Mancini, a close friend of Eriksson's and once tipped by the Swede as his successor, stepped down. Zoff was coach of Lazio for four years but was unable to deliver the title for Cragnotti, and his best season saw them finish third in 1994. He then became club president but returned to the bench as caretaker manager midway through the 1996-97 season. He took over as Italy coach following the 1998 World Cup finals and led his country to the final of Euro 2000 but surprisingly quit following the "golden goal" defeat to France. Zoff was expected to take charge of the side for a friendly match against the Chinese national side later on Tuesday and his first Serie A match will be away to Udinese on Sunday. "We are always in the trenches and that's how it should be," he said. "I wasn't expecting this and I wasn't hoping that Eriksson would resign. But I feel myself to be part of the Lazio family and I want to give my contribution," he added. Shares in Lazio (SSL.MI) rose more than four percent on the back of Zoff's appointment to trade at 3.31 euros. "I'd like to thank everyone -- [club president] Sergio Cragnotti, the club, the fans, for these four great years," Mancini said. 'For the best'"I took the decision this morning as I was in the car travelling to [Lazio's training ground] Formello," Eriksson said. "The players were the first to know about it. "I don't like what I'm doing but I think it's for the best," he added. "I think there's every chance he'll be at more than one Premier League game this weekend," Crozier said. "He's very much up to speed with the English game, more than some people realize, and will be very much in charge for the Spain game." England is bottom of qualifying Group 9 with just one point from its opening two matches. Keegan resigned as coach in early October after a home defeat by Germany. Eriksson was given a glimpse of the size of the task awaiting him when an English bookmaker offered odds of 7-1 on him parting company with England before the end of the year. Prompted by resultsEriksson said his decision to quit was not linked to the timing of the England post, which he was originally due to take from July 1 after seeing out the season with Lazio. "The main reason I am going is because of the results, which in football these days are everything," he said. They are out of the Italian Cup and face elimination from the Champions League. Two matches against holder Real Madrid next month will almost certainly decide their fate in the competition. "I've received very bad news, on my birthday no less, and it's made me unhappy," Cragnotti said. Sacchi's also backZoff's return to management coincided with that of another former Italy coach, Arrigo Sacchi, who was appointed at Parma shortly after Zoff was named as Eriksson's successor. Sacchi has been out of the game since he left Spain's Atletico Madrid in February 1999. He has not coached in Serie A for four years and returns to Parma 14 years after he guided the club up from the third division.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
