 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Toast of a nation England celebrates Beckham, Eriksson after qualification
LONDON (AP) -- If David Beckham wasn't already on a pedestal in England, he is now. A day after his last gasp free kick propelled England to the World Cup finals, British papers Sunday were full of superlatives to describe the captain's performance. "Captain fantastic to the rescue" said the Sunday Express, while the Sunday Telegraph said England's World Cup chances were "Saved by a shining white knight." The Observer called Beckham "The Ultimate Hero" while the News of the World dubbed him "Captain Colossus." Greece was leading 2-1 in extra time at Old Trafford when Beckham stepped up for a free kick. He scored -- and the draw was enough for England to win Group 9. Its main rival for group honors, Germany, could have qualified instead if it had beaten Finland instead of drawing 0-0. But it wasn't just Beckham's winning free kick that was praised, but his standout play in a match in which England was a shadow of the team that had beaten Germany 5-1 a month previously. The flashy Beckham has been a national icon in England ever since his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Adams, a union that has made them the first family of British popular culture. Since being named as England captain 11 months ago for a 1-0 loss to Italy by interim coach Peter Taylor, the soft-spoken 26-year-old has grown as a leader. As his play has soared, so has England. "For all his glamorous, showbiz lifestyle off the pitch, Becks had -- until yesterday -- yet to prove his talismanic status on it," The Sunday Mirror wrote. Former England striker Gary Lineker said the Beckham was now among the true greats of soccer. "He had pulled England along by the scruff of the neck," Lineker said. "David Beckham's contribution ... was the kind that makes the difference between great players and truly great players." The Sunday Telegraph headlined a picture of Beckham with "Brilliant Beckham seals England great escape. "He had played with marvelous skill and energy, roaming the pitch, urging his mates to lift their performances with shades of maturity beyond the call," the paper wrote. "His unflagging efforts to rouse his team stood out like a beacon in a team performance unrecognizable from the one that had inflicted a 5-1 beating on Germany in Munich only last month. This was a true captain's innings on a day when his teammates were paralyzed by nerves." The Observer also noted the influence of calm Swedish manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. "They showed considerable character in rescuing a triumph from the jaws of anticlimax," it wrote. "Sven-Goran Eriksson has turned England into a steely side capable of getting results from below-par performances. Whatever next?" It has been a remarkable turnaround for England. A year ago, then manager Kevin Keegan walked out on the team after its 1-0 loss to Germany at Wembley. When Eriksson took charge in January, England were at the bottom of Group 9. Around England, fans celebrated the result. Police around the country did not report any major disturbances. The Sunday Mirror reported more than 6,000 British troops in Oman on military exercises watched the game on giant television screens. After Beckham's final free kick, hundreds of cans of beer were thrown into air and gunners danced on top of tanks with Union Jack flags. English Prime Minister Tony Blair punched the roof of his official car after Beckham equalized. Blair had listened to the final 10 minutes of the game on the radio after arriving back in London from a whirlwind tour to Moscow, India and Pakistan for diplomatic talks. "He punched the roof when Beckham scored the second goal and is absolutely delighted," a Blair spokesman said. The match was shown on three different television stations and it's estimated 15 million Britons watched the match -- more than who watched England's 5-1 defeat over Germany. Bookmakers Coral rated England as 7-1 third favorites for the World Cup, behind Argentina and France. Eriksson: England must improve for World CupEngland may have had a whole nation celebrating by reaching the next World Cup, but even coach Sven-Goran Eriksson believes they will need to play better at next year's finals. Fans were partying at home and in pubs and clubs across the country after Saturday's last-gasp 2-2 draw with Greece put England into the finals, a year after all hope seemed dead and buried by the defeat to Germany at Wembley. But the manner in which Eriksson's side completed their remarkable revival since he took effective charge in February has left some nagging doubts. Weaknesses in all departments were laid bare before David Beckham's injury-time equalizer at Old Trafford and the performance left Eriksson in no doubt that England need to buck their ideas up. Yet the Swede's faith in his men remained unshaken. "If we want to do well in the World Cup we have to play better," he said. But he added: "I'm optimistic about our chances and I'm also happy we don't have to play a playoff game and we can concentrate on the finals. "We can plan what we want to do before the World Cup, we are there now and it's the first step to something that can be very beautiful. Let's be happy and satisfied right now and tomorrow we can worry about the future." After Saturday's performance, those worries may not be long in coming. But for Eriksson, the fact that England kept plugging away and refused to give up, also counted for a great deal. "Our squad shows a lot of character in every game," he said. "It means a lot when you don't play well and get a draw in the last minute." England's hopes Before the Greece match, Eriksson had been more bullish about England's prospects in Japan and South Korea. "If we can qualify I think we will have a very good World Cup...we have a young team, with many young players, who can improve a lot yet," he had said. "Every time they play together, they will get better and better." The first of those improvements clearly needs to be how to cope with the devastating effects of striker Michael Owen's absence. Owen has only failed to start two England matches since Eriksson took over and they are the only two they have not won. The Liverpool striker was a late substitute in the 2-0 friendly defeat to the Netherlands and was injured for Saturday's game, in which England put in their worst performance in a competitive game under the Swedish coach. Old Trafford also cruelly exposed some defensive shortcomings. Aside from their two goals, Greece should have had at least two more after Giorgos Karagounis was twice put clean through for a one-on-one with Nigel Martyn. For a young and talented England side, it was a particularly low depth to plumb after the heights scaled in Munich, where Owen bagged his hat trick in a historic 5-1 victory. Over the year's performances, England clearly deserve to be among the leading group of challengers for the next World Cup behind favorites France, the holders and Euro 2000 winners, and Argentina. But as Eriksson has made clear, they will have to learn the lessons from Old Trafford first. Healing hands of Eriksson revive English patientJack Charlton called it a "disaster," a British journalist claimed English football had sold its "birthright down the fjord," while Brian Clough could only refer to him as "The Swede." Yet if the outspoken opinion that greeted Sven-Goran Eriksson's appointment as England's first foreign coach last October was present on Saturday, it constituted a lonely voice. For Eriksson was the toast of a nation after steering his adopted homeland to a place at next year's World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea. Qualification came in the most dramatic of circumstances at Old Trafford, as David Beckham's injury time goal in a 2-2 draw with Greece took England to top spot in group nine ahead of Germany on goal difference. It was a match and rare poor performance that acted as a warning against the deification of Eriksson. But a sense of vindication was prevalent within the English Football Association as they reflected on their controversial choice of coach. Twelve months ago, a photograph of Eriksson alongside glamorous Italian lawyer girlfriend Nancy Dall'Olio on a sun-kissed beach highlighted England's problem. "Would YOU take the England job if you had all this?" read the headline in a British newspaper. With England bottom of their World Cup qualifying group, the pertinent question was whether English football needed Eriksson more than he needed it. 'Well-educated' A multimillion-pound salary over five years helped pry him away from Lazio, where he was lauded to the top of the Spanish Steps and down again after guiding them to a Serie A and Italian Cup double. But ever since his official arrival in January, Eriksson has made a mockery of bookmakers' odds of 6-1 on him still being in the job by the end of the year. Barely eight months have passed since he tip-toed out of his Volvo, insisting that England had "well-educated" players and placing his faith in Beckham as a captain to shape the future of his national side. About the only man who was not affected by the xenophobia was Eriksson himself. "I don't give much thought to being a foreigner," he said. "I have read the book The Second Most Important Job in the Country, which is all about previous England coaches. "It shows that all of them have been declared idiots at some time. So I knew what to expect. "I didn't take the job for the money. I took it because it's prestigious. It's England." With that, he dismissed the press -- who have dubbed him the "rubber ball" because tricky questions just come bouncing back -- and got on with it. Simple approach That he is something of an anglophile has helped. Thrust into coaching with Swedish third division club Degerfors in 1976 at the age of 28, Eriksson began visiting England to study the methods of Bobby Robson at Ipswich Town and the famous "Boot Room" at Liverpool. Yet Eriksson's greatest triumph has been the effectiveness of his simple approach. He has combined the pragmatism of his truck-driving father and the compassion of his mother, a nurse. He knew his almost flawless coaching record with some of the biggest clubs in Europe -- Benfica, Sampdoria, Fiorentina -- was not sufficient to make him an overnight success in England. So Eriksson, along with assistant Tord Grip, sought the England players' respect by treating them as adults. They in turn have developed a firmer grasp of their roles and responsibilities within the set-up, and a desire to win for their boss. The positive vibes have destroyed cliques between players and built a team spirit that has energized a country. Eriksson has also helped good players become great and great ones believe the hype. It has shown in the maturing performances of Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand, and in the reemergence of Beckham and striker Michael Owen. Work ethic When Eriksson took over at IFK Gothenburg, Swedish football analyst Gunnar Persson recalls that the fans "said he looked like someone who's been sitting alone thinking too much." It is true, he is one of the shrewdest and most calm coaches around. It is a fair assumption that no previous England coach has listed Tibetan poetry as a passion. Yet Eriksson allies a work ethic with his sharp mind. He has traveled more than 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) since taking the job, watching matches all over Europe to familiarize himself with English professionals. It all came together in England's stupendous 5-1 win over Germany in Munich that transformed their qualifying fortunes. Tony Adams, the former England captain, said: "Eriksson took a lot of hysteria out of that game. "An hour before kickoff, he apparently came into the dressing room and delivered a short team talk along the lines of 'You play here, you play there.' "I am sure the players appreciated the relaxed manner. "Sometimes less is more. As for the new puritan mood, I'm told the players were allowed to let their hair down after the game. Eriksson aura "There is a warmth to his bearing and he gives off an aura of peace." That Eriksson is a gentleman leaves him with few enemies. On bumping into Jack Charlton some time ago, he shook the skeptic by the hand. But he is not the "ice man" of his caricature. "I'm frustrated, I'm glad, I'm happy, I'm angry like a lot of people," he told reporters before the Greece game. "It's just that I might not show it every time I have those feelings. It's the way I am. I can't do anything about that and I can't change it today, I'm over 50." When he was a teenager, an old friend recalls that Eriksson felt he might become a philanthropist on a South American plantation. He did say recently that he could "see a beautiful future," but South America was not in his thoughts. Rather, English football can be grateful that the beneficiary of "The Swede's" altruism is English football. FA urges government to make World Cup free on TVEngland's Football Association (FA) are lobbying the British government and FIFA to make sure next year's World Cup finals are available free for television viewers across the globe. FA chief executive Adam Crozier said the association was working with the BBC and ITV in their bid to secure match coverage on British terrestrial television. Talks between British broadcasters and the World Cup rights holders, German media group Kirch, have stalled over the asking price -- which the BBC and ITV say is too high. But Crozier, speaking after England reached the finals with Saturday's 2-2 draw against Greece, also said the FA were encouraging FIFA to extend free-to-air coverage around the world. "[The British] government have made it clear that they would like to see the games on terrestrial television. We are very clear that that's what we want...we believe it should be made available to every fan in the country free," Crozier told reporters. Making it clear he was not just talking about the games to be played by Sven-Goran Eriksson's side, he added: "England's games should be available anyway. "We want the whole tournament to be available on free-to-air television. It really does need the government to be strong on this issue and not to waver one iota." Stumbling block Price has been the stumbling block in negotiations so far in Britain. Alex Liegl, Kirch's managing director of sports rights, was quoted in The Times on Friday as saying the BBC and ITV were prepared to offer 55 million pounds (US$81.27 million). Kirch have reportedly asked for about three times that figure. Crozier, who said he believed the asking price to be completely unrealistic, said he expected the situation to be clearer in another four to six weeks. As to what the FA would seek to achieve during that time, he added: "We can simply put as much pressure as we can on the world governing body [FIFA] to put pressure on Kirch. "And we can keep encouraging the [British] government to stay strong and work with the BBC and ITV to try and help them put together a successful bid." Crozier said the FA had also been putting the case during meetings with FIFA. "We've certainly made it clear, and I have personally, that I believe it should be free-to-air and that FIFA should strive to make the competition free-to-air in every country in the world. "Because if they long-term want the World Cup to stay as the biggest show on earth then that's where it needs to be." Asked about the feedback he had received from FIFA, Crozier described it as: "Mixed. They understand the principle but, as always, money comes into it. "Our point is that the principle is more important." England to play Sweden friendly at Old TraffordEngland coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has been handed a friendly against his native Sweden next month after guiding his adopted country into next year's World Cup finals. Adam Crozier, the Football Association (FA) chief executive, said England will return to Manchester United's Old Trafford ground, where they qualified for the finals after Saturday's 2-2 draw with Greece, to face the Swedes on November 10. "I think a game against Sweden is great for Sven, great for the team and a real chance for us to start learning for the next stage," said Crozier, who also promised to make it a cheaper day out for England supporters. "Quite deliberately, we will be having some special low prices because we want to thank the fans for all the support they've given us on the road over the past year." Eriksson gave the fixture a warm, though typically understated, welcome. "I think it's a good idea," he said. "Sweden have qualified for the World Cup and have a good side. "To meet Sweden, I've never done that before. So it's nice," he said. More friendlies Crozier said the match at Old Trafford was one of several being planned as England prepare for next year's finals in Japan and South Korea. A return fixture against the Netherlands, who beat England 2-0 in a friendly at White Hart Lane in August, is scheduled in February. And a return match against Italy, who defeated England 1-0 in Turin last November -- before Eriksson took effective charge of the squad -- is set for March at Leeds United's Elland Road ground. Another friendly may yet be squeezed in during April or, with difficulty, in May before England fly out to the Far East. Crozier and Eriksson have both stressed that since England's squad is relatively young, improving it will include exposure to more top level football. "We're trying to play top-class games because if we want the players to learn, the best way is to play against the best teams in the world," Crozier said. In September last year, England drew 1-1 in a friendly against world and European champions France in Paris. England base The friendlies are part of a bigger raft of preparations for the finals. FA officials have already been scouting out possible locations for an England base. Crozier said England would probably make "a stop along the way" to Japan and South Korea to acclimatize for two to 2-1/2 weeks. And he added: "We're trying to leave nothing to chance and to make sure that when Sven and the team go out there, we're as prepared as it's physically possible to be." England's qualification will also generate a sizeable inflow of money for the domestic game, though Crozier would not be drawn on the specific amounts involved. "It's impossible to put a figure on it," he said. "The more important thing is what it means to the whole country and to the effect it will have on football in England. "If you look at the two big boosts that the English game has had, it's come after Italia 90 and Euro 96 and I think this could prove to be a similar phenomena."
Reuters contributed to this report. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
