Special Feature: Football’s best off-the-field U-turn “moments” – Part 2
The year is 1997; the man is Sven Goran Eriksson. People now know Sven as the guy who took England to two World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 and then in 2006 but back then, the Swede was just making his name as a club football manager. In the summer of 1996,
Sven had already announced that he had reached an agreement with Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League that he would manage the club in the 1997-1998 season and onwards. All the contracts were set and the club was waiting for Eriksson to leave his
job at Sampdoria in the Italian football league also known as Serie A when Lazio gave Sven a phone call.
The board of directors at the Roman club informed Sven that they wanted him to manage their team for the 1997-1998 season. Sven was quite predictably caught between a rock and a hard place. He had already committed his future to Blackburn but the offer from
Lazio was just too good. Lazio were a rising power in club football whereas Blackburn Rovers were on a decline after winning the English Premier League in the 1994-1995 season and before that they ended up as runners up in the 1993-1994 season.
The Swedish manager thought that it would be best if he discussed Lazio’s offer with Jack Walker, the chairman at Blackburn Rovers. After extensive discussions with Walker, which even included suggestions that Lazio would pay compensation for Sven’s contract
at Blackburn, Jack acted as the bigger man and told Sven that he can go to Lazio by literally tearing up the contract. However, the story doesn’t end there. Blackburn then appointed Roy Hodgson as their manager, the rest as some Liverpool fans will tell you
“is history”.
Another amazingly controversial topic in football these days is “transfer activity”. Yes, as the value of money has grown in football, more and more transfers have started to come through. Some astonishing amounts of money have been spent by several clubs
to reinforce their squads. But, another trend that has crept into the game is a habit to scout and sign talented youngsters in their youth for a bargain.
John Obi Mikel’s story is a tale of special importance as it took place in the April of 2005 when Chelsea were on the rise and Manchester United’s dominance at the top of the English Premier League was being threatened by Roman Abramovich’s team.
Obi Mikel was signed by Manchester United in April of 2005; all the customary rites were held as the player posed in a red shirt. Mikel was scheduled to join United after the club football season ended in May of 2005 but a twist took place when he went missing
from Norway and was spotted a few days later in London.
It was reported by the man himself that he was “coerced” into signing for United by the Red Devils and his former club, Lyn Oslo as well. In reality, the Nigerian wanted to sign for Chelsea F.C.
The Blues saw this as an opportunity in disguise to once again splash some Russian cash; they gave 4 million pounds to Lyn Oslo and 12 million pounds to Manchester United. The money indeed settled the dispute and as any avid follower of the English Premier
League will tell you, John Obi Mikel is now in his fourth full season as a Chelsea player.
Another U-turn that features Tottenham also concerns their enigmatic striker, Jürgen Klinsmann. Klinsmann was a fan favourite at Tottenham but his differences in 1995 caused reconcilable rifts in his relationship with the club chairman, Sir Alan Sugar. Sugar
was not as sweet as his name suggests. So, when Tottenham’s striker parted ways with the club, Sugar came out with Klinsmann’s last worn shirt in the press and said, “There you can have it now if you want it because I wouldn’t even wash my car with it”.
It was an emphatic statement with no essence of honey in it but the differences were resolved when Tottenham were in relegation trouble in 1997 and the German forward signed for Tottenham for the second time in his career.
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