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The work year begins for the Football Association (FA) of England. Soon, British football leaders will start searching for a new coach for the England national team, replacing the Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson, who will step down from his position this summer. This became apparent after the coach, amidst rumors of another scandal, met with FA officials. The Swedish coach recently slipped up when speaking to a "News of the World" journalist posing as an Arab sheikh interested in buying the "Aston Villa" club. He inadvertently mentioned that he could leave the national team after the World Cup taking place this summer and be tempted by an offer to become a club coach. He also claimed that three Premier League clubs are engaged in illegal activities and disclosed many other things. The publication of quotes by Sven-Goran Eriksson in "News of the World" regarding his most famous players caused quite a stir – the coach stated that David Beckham is somewhat "disappointed" with Real Madrid and would like to return to England, Michael Owen is not satisfied with Newcastle but plays there due to a high salary, Rio Ferdinand "sometimes loses focus," and Wayne Rooney is "temperamental" and comes from a "poor family." Shocked by such revelations, the coach was angry at the deception by journalists and threatened to sue them, but still apologized to his players. According to the Swede, talk of his resignation was only a hypothesis, and the "News of the World" reports were not entirely accurate. The scandal received mixed reviews - some justified the coach, while others criticized him and urged him to resign. Ultimately, after meeting with FA leadership, a mutual agreement was reached, under which the Swedish specialist will step down from his position after the 2006 World Cup. Sven-Goran Eriksson began coaching the national team of his homeland in January 2001 after several very successful years in AS Roma and became the first foreigner to hold this position. In the 2002 World Cup, the team he guided England to the quarterfinals, where they lost to the eventual champions Brazil, and in the 2004 European Championship, they had to acknowledge the superiority of the hosts, Portugal, in a penalty shootout. This year, despite a couple of stumbles, England secured a place in the 2006 World Cup. However, the successful coach, who constantly faces immense scrutiny from the English press, has been surrounded by scandals off the field. In 2003, he was spotted at the London Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's home and accused of lacking loyalty to his work, but he responded by extending his contract with the national football association until 2008. In July 2004, news spread about the coach's affair with FA secretary Faria Alam, who also had romantic relationships with director Mark Palios. The latter resigned, while Sven-Goran Eriksson remained in his position. However, the latest scandal finally eroded trust in the coach, and now the English FA will look for a replacement. "We would like the new strategist to be English or at least British, but we must admit that football or any other professional sport these days is global," said England's Sports Minister Richard Caborn, who did not rule out the possibility of another foreign coach. "If we look at rugby, cricket, or tennis, we will see that these branches have or have had foreign coaches, so we cannot limit our search to just England. If we want success, the most important thing is to choose the best candidate." The English press is already buzzing with reports on who could be the new coach of the national football team. The most likely candidate from England is Sam Allardyce, the successful coach of a competitive team. However, the chances of Steve McClaren and Alan Curbishley are also being well regarded. Among the foreign candidates, three names are most frequently mentioned - former long-time Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, current Australian national team coach Guus Hiddink, and Portugal national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
