Ericksson relishes chance to win CSL title
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 26, 2015
 |
|
Ericksson's side sits second in the 16-team league after 26 games, two points behind defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande. |
Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is enjoying a terrific run with Shanghai SIPG, still retains hope of pulling off a dramatic Chinese league title as the race goes down to the wire.
"The chance (of winning the CSL title) was bigger before we lost to Guangzhou Evergrande," admitted Eriksson. "But as long as there is a possibility, we have to try our best and believe in it."
SIPG had a one-point lead going into that crucial match against Evergrande on September 12 at Shanghai Stadium. A near-packed stadium watched SIPG's star striker Asamoah Gyan — the club's biggest signing this season — hobble off the pitch 15 minutes into the game. Things went downhill after that and SIPG lost 3-0 to Luiz Felipe Scolari's Evergrande.
"It's unlucky Gyan played for only 15 minutes. He is a player for big matches," Eriksson told Shanghai Daily this week. "But that's life, that's football.
"It has been a very good season so far as we are always one of the top three or four teams in the league. And I'm happy to see the increasing number of fans coming to the stadium to support us," said the Swede.
SIPG is second in the 16-team league after 26 games, two points behind defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande. Eriksson said the last four games would be crucial, not only for the battle for the championship, but also in determining whether he wants to make adjustments to the squad at the end of the season.
The Swede's contract ends after the 2016 season but he has strongly hinted that he would be willing to sign an extension.
"In football, you can't really have a fixed plan, because if you lose too many games, they sack you. I don't want to go back to Europe. It's exciting to be in a country where you can feel the growth of football.
"It's easy to like the city of Shanghai because it's like living in London or Paris or Rome, regarding its culture. It's an international city. What I don't like, maybe it's the same with lots of others, is the traffic, and sometimes the air condition, which is a problem for cities like New York and London sometimes, too."
The 67-year-old has a wealth of coaching experience, winning 17 major trophies as a manager with a variety of clubs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy between 1979 and 2000. He became the first foreigner to coach the England national team and later managed three English clubs including Manchester City. He also had stints with the national teams of Mexico and Ivory Coast before returning to club football and testing the waters in China.
The much-traveled coach said he prefers to manage clubs simply because he gets to spend more time with the players.
"It's better to coach a club team because you are together with the players every day, while in the national team, you have them only now and then."
This is his third year in China. He spent the first two years with another Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F before taking over the reins at SIPG at the start of this year.
"I think it's the right time to be in China and China's football. The government and President Xi (Jinping) have been pushing for the development of football in China, and that helps tremendously.
"It's very strange to see China's FIFA world ranking of football (84th on September 3) given that they are always a top-tier country in a lot of other sports," said Erikson. "China has been good in individual sports like ping pong, badminton, etc. I also see that the grass-roots football has now become stronger in China. I have read news that they started to build football schools all over the country and football courses in normal schools. And I'm sure all the big football clubs in China will start their academies. It will take some years, but China will be a big nation in football in the future, though they should have been better in football than where they are now."
"Evergrande was close to a second chance to win the Asian Champions League (in 2014). It will be good if more and more teams can follow them, to invest a lot of money and try to come out in the Champions League and come out of Asia. The clubs are OK, but it's a pity to see the national team is struggling to qualify for the World Cup."
There are three SIPG players in the 23-member Chinese national squad — Yan Junling, Wu Lei and Cai Huikang. Midfielder Wu Lei is one of the only two Chinese among this season's top 15 scorers, ranking 10th with nine goals. His teammate Tobias Hysen ranks fifth with 12 goals together with Evergrande's Chinese striker Gao Lin. Argentine Dario Conca and Brazilian midfielder Davi also take up important roles in the team.
Eriksson considers the current CSL foreign player policy a "very good rule," which allows every club to register a maximum of five foreign players with at least one from Asia.
"At this moment it's necessary to allow four or five foreign players, who can make a difference. If you recruit a foreigner, that means he is good and can bring something to the team. A lot of Chinese footballers learn from foreign teammates. Maybe in the future, in another five to 10 years, there could be less (quotas for foreign players). But now, don't make it more or make it less."
If there is one thing that keeps the Swede motivated and hooked to the sport it is his wish to win the Champions League — in Europe or in Asia.
"I have never won a Champions League though my teams have played in the final and the quarterfinals," the Shanghai SIPG manager said. "So to win a Champions League, even if it's in Asia, that will be great."
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)