Swedish salvation

If ever a man has silenced the sceptics it is the highly respected manager of England Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He took up the post in 2000 with England languishing at the bottom of their qualifying group. A year later, he masterminded a never to be forgotten 5-1 win over bitter rivals Germany in Munich and England were on their way to the 2002 World Cup.

At the tournament in Asia, England reached the quarter-finals where they lost their only competitive match to date under Eriksson, undone by a freak free-kick against Brazil.

Amid swirling rumours in 2003 that he was set to abandon England and take over at big-spending London club Chelsea, Eriksson simply went about his business and guided England to qualification for Euro 2004, finishing ahead of group rivals Turkey.

Back in October 2000, his appointment was greeted with a hail of criticism in England, where the idea of a foreigner being given the job of national coach was for some people unthinkable.

Football in the blood

He had a modest playing career only reaching the third division in Sweden but a move into coaching met with immediate success.

He began by taking little known outfit Degerfors from the depths of the Swedish third division to the top flight, prompting giants Gothenburg to snap him up.

After leading Gothenburg to a national championship victory in 1981, sandwiched between two Swedish Cups, he left for Portugal and the top job at Lisbon-based Benfica.

His calm demeanour, immaculate preparation and supreme diplomacy earned him respect wherever he went and it was no surprise when he won a host of Portuguese titles.

He had even more success in Italy with AS Roma, Fiorentina and Sampdoria before Lazio took him back to the Italian capital in 1997.

The highlight of his tenure in Italy was a Cup Winners' Cup and a League and Cup double in the club's centennary season àf 1999-2000.

Despite England's failure to go further than the quarter-finals in the 2002 World Cup, he still has a marvellous record and he ended speculation he would quit the post by signing a contract extension which runs until 2006 when the next World Cup will be in Germany.

The pressure will be intense as always on England at Euro 2004 to win their first major tournament since 1966 but unlike the World Cup in Asia, Eriksson has most of his big guns fit as they continue on a collision course against France for the Group B opener on June 13.