MUMBAI: Former England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, who is currently managing the Philippines team at the ongoing AFC Asian Cup, believes that the Beautiful Game needs countries like India, China and the United States to compete with the best in Europe in the next 10 to 15 years.
Eriksson, who took England to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, told ESPN: “World Cup…you shouldn’t say this…but unfortunately, it’s like the Euro and you put in Argentina and Brazil. That’s the teams who can win it. And I hope for football that changes. I’m talking about India, China, United States. Big countries, but football hasn’t changed. How many Messis do you have in India if they had the chance to play?
“It’s not that India, China and the United States need football, but football needs these three countries. Because it will be even bigger.
“Football needs you.”
Eriksson, speaking ahead of Philippines’ crucial game against Bahrain, noted that India’s 4-1 win against Thailand was the “biggest surprise” of the tournament.
Eriksson told ESPN he believes advancement in the Asian Cup will be great for both countries, where football isn’t considered the main sport. “It would be very good. Especially when the country’s No.1 sport is not football. I hope the whole of India talked about you (India) beating Thailand,” he told ESPN.
“In football, you know you can have big luck, [and] you win 1-0. But you (India) dominated the game and you scored four goals. Wow!” he said. “The whole world who saw that match [felt] they were physically good, technically good players. Working hard. And maybe Thailand was….I’m sure they were surprised with what’s going on here. And if you are not 100 percent, it’s difficult to change to win the game. All merit to India.”
If results go their way, India might end up finishing second in Group A, and could possibly meet China in the next round. A country where Eriksson has coached in four of the past six years, across Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen. “That would be great..China vs. India,” he says.
