The art of Swedish management
Swedish management, is once again attracting world attention. But what exactly is it?
Swedish management, as personified by England soccer coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, is once again attracting world attention. But what exactly is it? And can it be made to work as successfully outside the particular mix of Swedish culture and history?
In the world of professional sport, the difference between success and failure is razor-thin and it only takes one bad result for a star player or coach to fall from grace. But the story of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s turnaround of the England soccer team is worth taking a look at, even if the England team’s performance in this summer’s World Cup ends up falling short of expectations.
Eriksson, for anyone who does not follow sport, took an England team lying bottom of its World Cup qualifying group and, 12 months later, brought it out on top. He has restored national pride in the sport – largely through the 5-1 defeat of Germany – and has justified the Football Association’s controversial decision to bring in a foreign coach rather than an Englishman.
