Top 115 Quotes & Sayings by Sven-Goran Eriksson - Page 2

David Beckham, for me, every time he came to England camps he was an extremely professional football player.

The Philippines is unfortunately not a football country - basketball is more popular.

Sir Alex Ferguson was a genuinely nice man. We met many times and even had dinner together on a few occasions. But woe to the person who threatened or bothered Manchester United in any way. Then Ferguson would not spare his venom. I know, because he often aimed that venom at me.

No woman was good enough for me, according to my mother.

I have two great children, even if they don't live with me.

I didn't care: if I liked a woman and wanted to meet her, why shouldn't I be able to?

If you're manager, you're always responsible for the good times and the bad times. Every time you don't win a game you think if you could have done it another way.

Football is beautiful and cruel.

My private life was not very private in England.

Paul Scholes was at home on a cold February day away to Newcastle.

Probably I would have got more money if I'd stayed in Italy. It was said that I took England for the money. Absolutely not. I took it because it's the biggest football job in the world, the finest job you can have. I enjoyed it every day.

If you travel around the world with David Beckham it's total chaos everywhere you go.

China is beautiful.

I thought I was prepared for England but I was not prepared for things outside football, my private life. I am not very proud that fans could probably name three of my former girlfriends. I don't think it damaged my football results. But my image outside football it damaged, yes.

When I was at Shanghai SIPG, I had the Brazilian player Hulk, who had joined for over £50 million from Zenit St Petersburg. He had no problems with life in China - his only problem was that he got injured on his debut and was out for two months after that. But I never heard him complain about life in China at all - everything else was good.

Didier Drogba is one of the best strikers in the world and he has showed that for many years now in the Premier League.

Without big money you can't stay at the top. Maybe you can reach it for one year but you can't if you don't have money to buy important players.

I had a lot of respect for Ferguson. How could you not? He had built so many great teams throughout the years and I appreciated that his teams always tried to play attacking, positive football.

Many clubs use sports psychologists today. But you have to work with a mental coach for months. You can't just start when you are in the World Cup.

As a football man, I always want the best team.

You don't give Capello advice. Capello's a better talker than listener.

Gerrard is quiet; if he speaks people listen. If he has something to say, it's important and clever. He's a hard worker, disciplined.

I would like to return to the Premier League but I think if you put that question to more or less every manager in the world, then they would like to do it as well.

I have remained a Lazio fan and that was the strongest team I ever coached.

I think if you want be a big team and stay a big team, it costs money. Whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter.

Personally, I've never liked confrontation.

Shanghai is a beautiful city, with theatres, shopping malls and restaurants that can rival anything in London.

I met Ulrika Jonsson on December 8, 2001, at some party hosted by the Daily Express, or maybe it was the Daily Star. The FA wanted me to travel around to various newspapers to be courteous and meet the editors. I visited the News Of The World too, and met a woman with big, red hair. I didn't memorise her name.

It is more difficult for any coach to work in the Premier League than any other league. You can lose or win against any team.

David Beckham deserves all the respect you can give to him.

The first time I met Faria Alam was at the Football Association offices in London.

If you are the coach of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid, the chances to win something are huge. When you go to the Premier League, you have six, seven, eight teams who are fighting to win.

Scholes was England's best football player. He had everything except the ability to tackle without earning a yellow card. It was impossible to take the ball from him, and he never mishit a pass.

Premier League is one thing. World Cup is totally different.

I'd won three cups with Lazio - then, against the odds, we won Serie A, the Italian equivalent of the Premier League. Rome went wild. Thousands of people filled the streets, and fans even jumped on my car. I became known as Il Mitico - 'the legend.'

I know Mourinho very well. He has a very strong mentality and is very peculiar man.

By April 1998, the fortunes of Lazio were on the rise as they won their first trophy in 24 years. Meanwhile, my salary of around £400,000 basically tripled overnight when TV companies started paying for rights to broadcast games.

My role as Manchester City manager was different to being manager of clubs in other countries. You share responsibility more in other European countries. You have the last word, though, in who to buy and who plays and things like that.

Ranieri won the Premier League and no one would've expected that.

The truth is that I never cared about money. Not one bit.

He has many qualities as a prince, but he is not a surgeon.

You don't look for jobs. You don't phone up 10 clubs and say, Here I am. You are offered the job. I was in Benfica many years ago. I was leaving the training ground and I had a car after me. It went on for 10 minutes. Anyhow, he stopped and I stopped and he said, I'm from the Italian embassy. Ah yes, and what do you want? I want your phone number because Roma wants you as a manager next season. Three months later I was sitting on the bench in Roma. I don't think the rest of working society works like football.

We need goals when the scoreline is zero zero

He was magnificent; very clever with outstanding technique. He could pass the ball over five yards or fifty; he could see things to set up other people; he could shoot and he could score goals. If you gave me Paul Scholes and ten others, I would be happy. I would tell them to give him the ball and then we would have a good team.

The only way I will leave this job will be because of results. I'm too stubborn to quit because of criticism - too stubborn.

I've always said Crouch is special. He's tall and that makes him special but he is special because he has good feet as well

Whichever country you are, if you lose games you are criticised. It's only when it's England it's like a new world war.

It was fantastic for me to see the cheering and clapping and it showed maybe not all of them want me out of a job!

I am quite sure they are a little bit angry, they want revenge. I think they've wanted that since Monday morning. They look forward to the game, they've been waiting several days now so the players will react very well.

The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.

David [Beckham] should think that talking is silver, but being quiet is golden.

The only real failure in life is the failure to try.

To be the England manager you must win every game, not do anything in your private life and hopefully not earn too much money!

Scholes was England's best football player. It was impossible to take the ball from him, and he never mishit a pass.

Football is much harder if you don't have the ball.