The world of football received the news today of the passing of Swedish coach Sven-Göran Eriksson at the age of 76 due to pancreatic cancer. Over his more than 40 years on the sidelines, he coached several prominent figures, although when naming specific players, he praised Dunga.
“He is one of the best footballers I have ever had; he was fantastic, both defending and attacking, and he knew exactly everything,” Eriksson highlighted when speaking about the Brazilian. He coached him at Fiorentina during the 1988-1989 season when the midfielder was 25 years old and had just spent a season at Pisa, also in Italy, marking his first experience in Europe.
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The world champion with Brazil in 1994 also competed against the Swede in a World Cup, already in his role as a coach. It was in South Africa 2010 when the five-time champions defeated Côte d’Ivoire, managed by Eriksson, 3-1 in the group stage.
“I am not surprised that they (Côte d’Ivoire) are an extremely well-organized team. It is not easy to score against them,” emphasized Dunga, returning the compliment to his former coach.
The elimination in the 2002 World Cup
Eriksson, who managed Manchester City, Lazio, and Roma, among other teams, was also the England national team coach from 2001 to 2006. In the 2002 World Cup, he suffered the elimination of the Three Lions against Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Michael Owen opened the scoring in that match, but Rivaldo equalized before the end of the first half. In the second half, a memorable free-kick goal from Ronaldinho, who was later sent off, sealed the final score at 2-1.
