Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 753 Mon. July 10, 2006  
   
Sports


Eriksson turns down Jamaica


Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has knocked back separate offers to coach a Champions League team on the continent and the Jamaican national team, his agent Athole Still said Sunday.

"It would be unfair of me to name which club, but we have already turned down an extremely good offer from a Champions League club," the Swede's agent told the BBC's Sportweek program.

"It was not in this country. I'm afraid I cannot say (which club) because it would be embarrassing to the club concerned."

Since Eriksson's reign effectively ended with England's World Cup quarter-final loss to Portugal last weekend, press reports have suggested a Carribbean move could be on the cards, which Still confirmed.

"It appeared in the press before there was any contact to myself, but then there was contact to myself," Still said.

"I just have to say this: I had a very pleasant conversation with an agency, a company representing Jamaica, and I can tell you that in the course of that conversation the person concerned told me that Jamaica, the government there, had made a substantial amount of money available.

"He actually told me what their hit list was, and you would be very surprised at the level of people that they are going for."

The agent went on to defend Eriksson over England's World Cup performance, saying no one was more disappointed than the Swede in their early exit after losing on penalties to Portugal in the quarter-finals.

"Of course, he (Eriksson) failed, he knows he failed," Still said. "He went to the World Cup believing genuinely, as did most of the team, that they could win, and they had every reason to believe that they could win."

Speculation is mounting over Eriksson's plans and he was for a time linked with the Real Madrid job, which went to Juventus's Fabio Capello.

The agent said his client was open to offers but, asked if he would only consider one of the top English Premiership clubs, Still replied: "I haven't actually asked him that.

"He will go to any club, or indeed national team, where he feels there is real ambition and the real possibility of doing something.

"He will work with any team where he feels there is real ambition.

"Naturally nowadays, you need a certain amount of money if you are going to compete at the top level, so he would only go to a club which had a reasonable basis of players already there and a reasonable amount of money to strengthen the squad so that he feels he could challenge for titles, because that's what he's really interested in."

Eriksson's time in charge of England repeatedly plunged him into controversy as links with Manchester United and Chelsea and his infamous meeting with the "Fake Sheikh" spawned a succession of tabloid headlines.

However, Still insisted there had been no underhand dealing.

"Everybody knows that I exclusively represent Sven in all his football dealings," he said.

"I - and this is the absolute truth - at no time exchanged a single word with anybody at Manchester United or anyone purporting to represent Manchester United during that particular scenario, and exactly the same thing during the scenario when he was photographed going into (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich's apartment."

Still also played down the "Fake Sheikh" controversy, in which a News of the World reporter, posing as a businessman, met the England coach and coaxed him into commenting on his post-England future and making disparaging remarks on various England players.

"All that I will say, absolute fact, is this: we had an invitation for Sven to perhaps take over as a consultant to a sports academy in Dubai.

"Immediately that came in, I asked him and he said: 'we could have a look at it.'

"I wrote to (Football Association director) Trevor Brooking to explain this and got a reply saying: 'no problem, he can go. Of course, if it were to impact on his position as England coach, then we would need to know.'"

Still added: "We checked it out, my lawyer went to see the people twice. I cannot say any more than that."