Sven-Goran Eriksson called England colleague a ‘piece of s***’ in explosive meeting

Sven-Goran Eriksson had an affair with FA secretary Faria Alam during his time as England manager – and the relationship caused plenty of tension behind the scenes

Sven-Goran Eriksson was forced to work alongside someone he considered to be “a piece of s***” during his time as England manager.

Eriksson passed away on August 26 following a battle with cancer and his funeral in Sweden was packed full of well-wishers, including David Beckham. But the well-liked Swede did have his enemies during his reign as Three Lions boss, from 2001 to 2006.

Eriksson was a hugely famous figure, having taken charge of 67 games as England manager and overseen two World Cup campaigns and a European Championship. He was also in the newspapers for reasons other than football, having developed a reputation for having a complicated love life.

While in England, he famously had affairs with Ulrika Jonsson and Faria Alam during his relationship with Nancy Dell’Olio. And a lurid detail of his time with former Football Association secretary Alam has been revealed in Eriksson’s book ‘A Wonderful Journey’.

A section of the book has been published by Swedish newspaper Expressen, in which Eriksson takes us behind the scenes at the FA when his affair with Alam became public knowledge. The Swede claims he was advised to do an interview with the News of the World, but he was not allowed to mention Alam’s previous relationship with FA chief executive Mark Palios. Although that later leaked into the press, it was not yet known at the time.

Eriksson was seething at the advice and, in his book, relays a conversation he had with the FA’s director of communications Colin Gibson. Eriksson said: “I would be sacrificed to save Mark Palios’ skin. I told Colin Gibson that he was a piece of s*** and that I had always thought so. He knew that – we never got along well.”

Palios resigned in August 2004 after the news of his relationship with PA Alam broke. He was a single man at the time and insisted he’d done nothing wrong, but Alam told a tribunal hearing in 2005 that she was “upset at the cold way he ended [it].”

The hearing was brought by Alam, who unsuccessfully claimed she was a victim of sexual discrimination, unfair dismissal and was sexually harassed by FA executive director David Davies. During the tribunal, Alam explained how her affair with Eriksson started. “He would often appear on the floor where I worked and give me compliments,” she said.

“He would telephone me and ask what I was wearing. He told me that I was beautiful. He would often say: ‘You have never tried me, give me a chance’.”

Eriksson was still in a relationship with Dell’Olio at the time, but writes in the book: “The paparazzi photographers never got any pictures of me and Faria Alam. I was very careful, we never met at her house or mine. But the press started digging, contacting friends of her’s. Someone knew, someone gossiped. I suspected that it was Faria herself and I felt both betrayed and cursed.”

Alam claimed that Eriksson told her that he and Dell’Olio had been “leading separate lives for over a year” as a way of convincing her to start the affair. And Eriksson reveals in the book that he never regretted his behaviour.

“I have been asked many times if I regret meeting Faria Alam and Ulrika Jonsson,” he writes. “Well, if I had known what would come of it, then I might have called it all off. But morally, I don’t understand. Shouldn’t I, just because I was the national team manager, get to meet and have a relationship with whoever I wanted?”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.