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10 January 2005  
Sven Exclusive 

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Sven-Göran Eriksson today becomes the first manager since Sir Bobby Robson to celebrate four years as England manager.

In that time, he has taken England to two major tournaments - Robson was again the last England manager to achieve this - enjoyed competitive wins against Germany, Turkey and Argentina and uncovered new international talent including Ashley Cole, John Terry and Wayne Rooney.

There were question marks when Sven started work on 10 January 2001 as the first overseas coach of England.

A debut victory at Villa Park against Spain in February helped convince many he was the right man for the job. Beating Finland 2-1 in his first World Cup qualifier persuaded even more. When he beat Germany 5-1 in Munich later that year, he was a national hero.

World Cup qualification was clinched with a 2-2 draw against Greece but the 2002 campaign in Japan was ultimately frustrating after qualification from the ‘Group of Death’ against Sweden, Nigeria and Argentina.

David Beckham and Michael Owen were less than 100 per cent fit against Brazil in the quarter-final whereas Gary Neville and Danny Murphy hadn’t even been able to go to the World Cup because of injury.

Brazil’s 2-1 win was nevertheless the equal-third best World Cup performance by an England side.

Sven guided England through to Euro 2004 by taking four points from two games against Turkey. The home win at The Stadium of Light introduced the world to a new superstar, Wayne Rooney.

Rooney was on course to become the leading scorer of last year’s European Championship until injury forced him out early into the quarter-final against Portugal.

What would have happened if he’d stayed on? We will never know but the history books record that without Rooney, England lost to the hosts on penalties after having a late header by Sol Campbell controversially disallowed.

Apart from some great results, Sven has brought a new culture to the manager’s job with players praising him for his calm and methodical approach to football.

"He has a lot of experience and the players realise that," says captain David Beckham. "Everyone of us has a massive respect for him. That is a vital thing for a manager."

Happy anniversary Sven!