Is Sven-Göran Eriksson the Worst Coach in the World?

The headline says it all. Is Sven-Göran Eriksson the worst coach in the world? Well, lets look at his credentials:

·           IFK Göteborg

·            Svenska Cupen Winners 1979, 1982

·            Allsvenskan Champions 1981, 1982

·            UEFA Cup Winners 1982

·           S.L. Benfica

·            Portuguese Liga Champions 1983, 1984, 1991

·            Cup of Portugal Winners 1983

·            SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira Champions 1989

·            European Cup Runners Up 1990

·            UEFA Cup Runners Up 1983

·           A.S. Roma

·            Coppa Italia Winners 1986

·           U.C. Sampdoria

·            Coppa Italia Winners 1994

·           S.S. Lazio

·            Coppa Italia Winners 1998, 2000

·            Italian Super Cup Winners 1998, 2000

·            UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners 1999

·            UEFA Super Cup Winners 1999

·            Serie A Champions 2000

·           England

·            FA Summer Tournament Winners 2004

I guess those numbers do not look too bad do they? Well, for the mexican media, they do.

Over the past few days, the IFFHS (which is not run by FIFA like many mexican journalist keep repeating) named Sven as the fifth best coach of all time.

This list is based on carrer statistics, yet the mexican media took it with a grain of salt and kept mentioning that Sven is a terrible coach.

You can say that a coach who can have his players at his disposal only one or two days before a game, won't have the time to train them correctly.

Yet, the mexican media does not seem to understand that challenges of having a team train only one or two days before a FIFA Qualifier.

The mexican media is known for focusing on the negative. They believe the Mexican National team is one of the best in the world.

However, the world does not see Mexico as a contender in any tournament.

Even thought he is one of the best coaches of ALL TIME, he is treated with a lack of respect that is hard to imagine.

I hope Sven can make it until this summer as the Mexican National team head coach.

He will play the Concacaf Gold Cup during that time and will finally have his team for close to a month to work with them.

Only then, will he be judged on something concrete and not just to sell papers. He deserves better.

He decided to train the Mexican National Team as a challenge. No train a team in the Americas, the new world.

This is a man that takes challenges no matter how succesful he has been. Its time to acknoledge that Mexico has a fantastic coach and all he needs is time.