LONDON – Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But now that he’s lost the winning habit at Lazio, Swedish professor Sven-Goran Eriksson’s arrangement to take the reins of England’s national team next May has begun backfiring embarrassingly.
Initially content to see Eriksson see out his final season in a blaze of glory after he led the club to its first championship in 26 seasons, Lazio’s fans now
have little tolerance remaining and in the space of a month all good will has vanished. An anemic haul of two points from the last possible nine has seen the team slide down the standings, with an unexpected defeat at Anderlecht in the Euro Champs’ League blackening the mood further.
Beyond that, the buccaneering style of Roma has taken it to the top of the standings, giving the club rare bragging rights over Lazio, its cross-town rival. Playing second fiddle never has gone down well in Rome, so it was scarcely a surprise to see the first hostile banners unfurled in Sunday’s lame 2-0 loss art home to Parma. “Eriksson, get out of here,” one read.
Already taking on the appearance of a lame duck, Eriksson risks being quickly turned into pate unless he can reverse this recent trend. Yet he rejects completely the notion that with his own future commitments lying elsewhere, his players are unable to give him quite as much as they did before he agreed to hoist the Union Jack and ship out for London.
“That is an absurd hypothesis,” Eriksson growled, resisting the temptation to use the usually more colorful language of the locker room. He pointed out in the absence of injured Argentinean powerhouses Claudio Lopez and Juan Veron, his midfield and offense haven’t carried quite the same menace. True enough, but that’s only part of the story.
In spite of all their magnificent riches, typical pros are still an insecure breed, worrying about whether their new contract will reflect their true worth. With the coach their key negotiator, there’s little motivation for them to turn out a series of five-star performances until the new man is installed, and right now no one knows who that might be.
The fans, too, need appeasing. Perhaps they are completely fickle and maybe they possess notoriously short memories but anything other than a winning club will not even be contemplated. They alone determine the atmosphere at home matches and if they turn nasty, then it really is time to go.
Fortunately for Eriksson, redemption is on the horizon in the shape of Reggina, the current whipping boys of the entire division with a solitary win from eight games. A more interesting test follows, against Leeds in the Champs’ League. A loss there, and Eriksson can pack his bags and deliver himself as a Christmas present to his new paymasters.
This is a scenario that would actually suit Eriksson’s new employer, the English FA, which has appointed Peter Taylor as temporary coach. Right now he is scheduled to pick the team for the next match, a World Cup qualifying tuneup against Spain in February. But depending on events in Rome over the next 10 days, the brave new era for England could begin earlier than expected.
The goal that keeps Roma atop the standings in Italy was Gabriel Batistuta’s explosive volley against Fiorentina. But when his shot hit the net with eight minutes left in the match “Batigol” did not roar in delight; instead, he promptly burst into tears. The powerhouse striker even refused to accept his teammates’ congratulations.
Emotional guy that he is, Batistuta was overwhelmed at having to stick the knife into Fiorentina, the club where he spent eight productive years, racking up 152 goals before finally being traded away to Rome in search of a fresh challenge last summer.
“I played the whole match with conflicting thoughts in my head,” he said afterwards.
Batigol is still worshipped in Florence, where a statue stands outside the stadium depicting his feats. The traveling fans even chanted his name at the final whistle, in spite of his having inflicted defeat on them. That’s a rare bond in a get-rich-quick age where loyalty counts for little.
Rioting fans at dead-last Reggina in southern Italy forced the ref to abandon the home match against Brescia six minutes early as they tore up seats, then threw debris and bottles on to the field. The visitors led 3-0 at the time.
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LEEDS, which faces Lazio next week, set a new world-record transfer fee for a defender by paying some $25 million for Rio Ferdinand of West Ham. There was almost universal astonishment at the size of the fee because cash transactions may become a thing of the past next year, as Europe considers adopting the free-agency route familiar to U.S. sports.
But behind Leeds’ possibly dubious investment lies some shrewd financial calculations, even beyond tax loss. Making the next round of European competition should bring in at least that amount, and even failing that, Leeds can have another shot at it next year with a formidable asset adding steel to its defense.
Glasgow Rangers also raided its savings account to bring beanpole Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo to Scotland in a bid to prevent city rival Celtic galloping off to into the sunset with the league title. The Rangers paid $16 million to acquire Flo from Chelsea, and he made that look like money well-spent by scoring to go-ahead goal in a victory over Celtic.
