12 October 2005
Exclusive Tord Grip interview

England Coach Tord Grip talks exclusively to TheFA.com about his friendship with Sven-Goran Eriksson 


England Coach Tord Grip has known Sven-Goran Eriksson for more than 30 years. He paints a portrait of the Three Lions Head Coach...

"The first time I met Sven was at a training ground in Sweden where I was the player manager in the early 1970s, he came there to ask if he could join us and of course I said yes.

After that he came into our squad but he didn't play in the team at first because we had a rather good team at that time.

But after a while he got his chance and he took it, playing at right back with me playing in front of him. He certainly learned how to defend because I didn't do much to help him!

He was a good player, very ambitious with a good right foot, good in the air and he could run as well. He continued playing there after I left for about four or five years in the first division.

He could have reached the Premier League if he hadn't got injured, but he did and I brought him in to coach as my assistant. He used to say that when I brought him to start coaching, football lost a very good football player! 

It started in Gothenburg. He became manager when I left to work for the Swedish FA. He was just over 30 years old and he won the league and the UEFA Cup, then Benfica took him and he won the league there.

He always believed that he could do what he did at Gothenburg at other clubs. And he did in Italy where he won the league (with Lazio).

He is very structured in his way of coaching, very organised and that was his strength.

He had knowledge about football and systems so he knew how to organise a team and get it right and he knew how to deal with the players as well. He was very good at that. He is more or less the same these days.

He has always had the same calmness. He doesn't scream or dance after a win or cry after a loss but you can see he's happy after a win.

He doesn't show his emotions but he's always been like that. He hasn't tried to be like that, it's who he is - it's natural for him. He doesn't do things against his nature. I'm a little bit more emotional when I sit on the bench."

To watch the full interview with Tord, click on the links above...