Sven Goran Eriksson
Veteran Swede shock choice to coach Philippines
A part from a brief spell in Leicester at the start of this decade, Sven Goran Eriksson has taken his coaching talents far away from Europe since saying goodbye to Manchester City in 2008.
First there was Mexico, then Africa, then Ivory Coast, before discovering Asia. The third of his three club jobs in China ended in 2017 with the sack from second-tier Shenzhen.
At that time, with his 70th birthday approaching and a long career behind him, there may have been thoughts of retirement. Perhaps financial issues from past investments gone wrong played a part, but the prospect of taking the Philippines to a first-ever Asian Cup in January was an irresistible challenge.
A surprise appointment to take over in October, the Swede became the side’s fourth coach in four months. But the Azkals – they are nicknamed after the word for “Street Dogs” – are not as bad as such a statistic may suggest. Thomas Dooley, the German-born former USA international, was in charge from 2014 to June 2018 and qualified the team for the Asian Cup before his increasingly fractious tenure came to an end.
The appointment of Terry Butcher in June was a surprise and the ex-England captain talked about taking his new side to a future World Cup. But he resigned in early August without even taking charge of a game.
“The vital issue for myself was to carefully build a robust plan to meet the football ambitions of the national team and ‘do the country proud’, ” said Butcher. “Regretfully, I’ve not been able to make this work in the way that I intended and I’ve decided not to continue in the role.”
Sheffield-born Scott Cooper had been Butcher’s assistant and he made the step up but was then replaced by Eriksson.
The former US colony is the only nation in south-east Asia that does not love the game. Being the region’s whipping boy at the biennial AFF Championship for so long was a painful experience, but that changed in 2010 as, under British boss Simon McMenemy, the Azkals beat defending champions Vietnam in front of 40,000 stunned fans in Hanoi on the way to a first semi-final appearance. So surprised were the Philippines that no home stadium was ready for the two-legged clash, so both games took place in Jakarta – in front of a combined attendance of 180,000.
The transformation was propelled by the selecting of a number of players born and raised overseas but with a parent from the Philippines. The most famous is Cardiff City’s London-born goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who was named in the squad for November’s AFF Championship, where Eriksson’s side started the group stage well with wins over Singapore and Timor Leste before drawing with Thailand.
Under the Swede, the Azkals look more organised with his preferred formation of 4-4-2, and beating a resurgent Singapore was a solid performance. There was, however, some concern at how they let Timor Leste back into the game from 3-0 to 3-2.
Playing Thailand at home was encouraging. The visitors, who are the strongest team in the region, led until late, but the Philippines matched the defending champions and were worthy of the point they eventually gained.
While the AFF Championship runs until December, the main focus is January’s Asian Cup and a group containing South Korea, China and Kyrgyzstan is a big challenge.
With the expansion from 16 to 24 teams, finishing third offers a chance of reaching the knockout stage and getting there would be impressive. If Eriksson can help turn the Philippines into a football country, his biggest legacy may come in his last job.
With his 70th birthday approaching and a long career behind him, there may have been thoughts of retirement