As far as the national and international media were concerned, Leicester City’s name changed on October 3rd 2010. On that day the Foxes became Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Leicester City as the former England manager took up the reins at the Walkers Stadium. Quite simply, the mild-mannered and fascinating Swede commands a box office profile that has transformed the club’s reputation and appeal.

Sven’s list of achievements includes unlikely European glory with IFK Gothenburg and Benfica, Scudetto success with Lazio and leading England to the latter stages of three consecutive major tournaments. Now, after a managerial career spanning three decades, filled with almost as many trophies as headlines, the iceman of the dugout is aiming for a return to the Premier League…

Jon Reeves: Sven, tell us about your memories of growing up in Sweden and your first interest in football?
Sven-Goran Eriksson: We always played football. I started in the local team when I was 16. We had an apartment with one kitchen and one bedroom. I think there were six or seven families living in that one house. We had a garden and always played football there in the summer. In winter you could never play football so I played ice hockey and I was a ski-jumper for eight years.

JR: You gave up playing football at quite a young age to become a manager. Did you get more enjoyment from coaching?
SGE: When I played I was also a sports teacher at school and even during my first three years as a coach, I spent half the time in school. I did enjoy coaching more than playing. I tried very hard to be a good football player but I was not talented enough to reach the highest level. I stopped when I was 27 because of that, and because Tord Grip took over another team, told me to stop playing and be his assistant.

JR: English football had quite an influence on your early career. Which managers did you look up to?
SGE: When I was young I came over many times to see Liverpool train. I became friends with Joe Fagan and with Bobby Robson at Ipswich Town. I was there one Friday to see training and afterwards we were sitting talking, well I didn’t talk, Bobby talked! Then he said, “Do you want to see the match tomorrow?” They were playing at home against Aston Villa and he asked if I had ticket, which I didn’t so he said, “I’ll fix you a ticket. Where do you want to sit, in the stand or on the bench with me?” So I sat on the bench with him and that was the first time I’d met him.

JR: What is it about English football that appeals to fans, players and managers from all over the world?
SGE: For Sweden it’s very easy because for 35 to 40 years, on Saturday afternoons you could always see a live English game on television and English football is simply more popular than Swedish football.

JR: Which has been the most enjoyable period of your career so far?
SGE: A lot of them, every year, more or less. Being England manager is a big job. I enjoyed that very, very much and I was very proud to have it. I had good times in Sweden becoming the first and still the only Swedish team to win in Europe. I had good times with Benfica and very, very good times with Lazio. We won seven trophies in three years. If you win the league in Italy with a team that’s not Milan, Inter or Juventus it’s always very big.

JR: Which players have you enjoyed working with the most?
SGE: The most important player for the team was Roberto Falcao. I had him many years ago at Roma. If he was on the pitch we always won, if he wasn’t on the pitch we always lost. He was like a coach during the 90 minutes. But then, I am lucky, I’ve managed a lot of good players.

JR: How do you assess your time as England manager? Did the expectancy and the profile of the job take you by surprise?
SGE: I didn’t do too badly. If we had won a big tournament then it would have been fantastic. We went out twice on penalties. In that last World Cup in Germany, I thought we would reach the final because we had a good team.

I was with Lazio and I wouldn’t say I was the king of Rome, but almost, because if you win what we won there, it’s fantastic. It was a good life, a good club and people in Italy thought I was mad when I signed with England, but I had to do it because it’s probably the biggest job you can have and you can’t say no to it. They will never offer you it twice so I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life if I hadn’t taken it.

I knew it was a big job, I understood that, but your private life is of more interest to the press than what you’re doing on the pitch. That would never ever happen in Portugal or Italy, unless you go out and kill somebody. But, you learn. You have to think, ‘ok leave it, write what you want,’ because you can’t control it.

JR: People often talk about there being a problem with English players tactically. Is that something you’ve experienced?
SGE: No, it’s not true, it can’t be true. They are very dedicated, at least the players that I have had in the national team and at club level anyway, very open-minded, and that’s not a problem.

JR: Looking at Leicester City, how pleased are you with how the team is progressing?
SGE: They are getting better and better and there is a good attitude here at the training ground. Most of the sessions we have are of very, very good quality. We’re playing some good football, getting some good results and becoming a little more aggressive. We can also have a clean-sheet now and then which is good.

The players that we have brought in are doing very well for us, the loanees and Vassell are very good. Some of the players who maybe didn’t play very much in the beginning, like Yuki Abe, are getting better and better. I think everybody has been impressed with him during our training sessions. He is absolutely first class.

JR: Is the club bigger than you thought?
SGE: I knew it was a big club. I went to see them a couple of times when they were in the Premier League and I fixed-up Roberto Mancini to sign here when Peter Taylor was the manager. I knew it was a big club, but it’s a good club, it’s like a big family with nice people working here at the training ground and at the stadium, and I am very happy to be here.

JR: How are you settling into the area?
SGE: I’ve seen some beautiful houses in some beautiful places but I’ve gone for an apartment in the city centre. I don’t want to sit in traffic in the morning.

JR: Finally Sven, you’ve lived and worked in different countries, but where is home?
SGE: I don’t know. I’m a gypsy today! Home is probably the place I have in Sweden, but I’m not there very often, maybe two or three weeks in the summer. If I’m not working in English club football, I normally spend three or four days there at Christmas, but in England you play football then. I have no problems, wherever I am, I adapt and it’s just great to be in football and to be in England.

Words by Jon Reeves