England Lose the Fear of Losing

It's barely a year since Sven Goran Eriksson arrived to find England in utter disarray. Now he's the toast of country. What's his secret formula? Chris Nawrat reports

THE very first question Sven Goran Eriksson was asked at his first press conference as the England manager was how was his name pronounced. He smiled and quietly explained that Goran was pronounced Yoran in Swedish and then added: "but I don't mind." There was the man in a nutshell. Self-effacing, almost shy, but suave, dapper and tranquil. And already team-building.

Contrast this with the first words John Bond said to the Manchester City players when he took over as manager in 1980. "Call me boss. Not Mr Bond, not John. Boss." He was sacked three years later as City were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 20 years. Eriksson's gentle remarks almost certainly stemmed from his grounding in personal psychology. Bond's from the Brian Clough Finishing School of English Football Management.

Implicit in Eriksson's first dealings with the press rottweilers was a "we" mentality which is a cornerstone in the construction of his teams. As are other psychological techniques gleaned from a long association with Dr Willi Railo, a psychologist who has enjoyed unparalleled success in aiding sportsmen and women to reach the very top of their profession.

Eriksson and Railo have spent ages analysing why things go wrong on a football pitch and how to turn that around. Eriksson has been putting their conclusions to the ultimate test. Taking England into the World Cup finals automatically from a near-impossible situation and turning David Beckham, a sulky, rebellious young man into a leader - something nobody would have thought possible.

Two examples of the success of the Svengali's philosophical magic on England and Beckham stand out. First the astonishing 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich and second, that vital game against Greece when, not only did Beckham work his socks off, he coolly executed the killing free-kick which booked their passage to the Far East this summer. (Interestingly, Beckham had only scored once in his first 37 internationals, under Eriksson, as England captain he has scored five times in 11.)

Of course Eriksson had pulled off the near-impossible the year before when his Lazio team overhauled a nine-point deficit in two months to pip Juventus for the League title on the last day of the season. He did much the same for England. "In critical situations," he says, "you have to continue to motivate your players, to calm things down, while you explain there is still a chance of winning.

"It is also extremely important to spend extra time talking to my most important players, the ones that could take the whole team with them. What is decisive in critical situations is the atmosphere in the squad. A good atmosphere is not something that can be built up in a short time. It takes work and patience. I always try to instil a "we" feeling among the players.

"So little is required to be successful in sport. It's certainly mostly a matter of psychology, and in the end it's that psychological difference that decides whether you win or lose."

Asked to single out the most important factor in achieving success, Eriksson will, unhesitatingly, say self-confidence. "When two teams are equally strong in technique, tactics and feel for the game, the team with the greater self-confidence is going to win," he says.

"Talent is only a prerequisite for success," he says. "So it's mental differences which will decide who the real winners are." Eriksson and Railo have identified two conflicting forces in the psychological make-up of a sportsman. One is 'ambition' - a positive force which drives us to achieve our goals. The other is 'performance anxiety' - a fear of failing. It is the tug-of-war between these two forces which determines performance.