Sven-Goran Eriksson was an England great

Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has died aged 76, was an unlikely choice for the England job in 2000. He was inexperienced with English football – his only exposure having been as young visiting coach in 1978 when Bobby Robson invited him to sit in the dugout during an Ipswich match. But Sven was a serial winner. He had just won the Italian league, the toughest in the world, with Lazio, the club’s first title in 30 years. Before that, he had won 17 trophies over two decades at clubs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy. 

The Football Association had burned through top English managers in the previous decade. Bobby Robson was let go; Graham Taylor resigned; Terry Venables left over dodgy business dealings; Glenn Hoddle was sacked after making some unwise comments about disabled people; Kevin Keegan quit after a humiliating 1-0 defeat to Germany at the last game at Old Wembley stadium.