Eriksson defends wholesale changes
Artykuł pochodzi z pisma "Guardian"
Daniel Taylor at the Walkers Stadium Wednesday June 4, 2003 The Guardian
Sven-Goran Eriksson last night defended his right to use key players sparingly, in a match which involved 43 different players and finished with the captain's armband that David Beckham cherishes so much passing from Michael Owen to the unlikely figures of Emile Heskey and Phil Neville before ending up on the left arm of Jamie Carragher. Eriksson cited the performance of Joe Cole as an example of why he had made 10 substitutions, with David James the only player on either side to last the entire 90 minutes.
"I made a lot of changes for a lot of reasons but I think I did the right thing. I think the fans still enjoyed themselves, or I hope so anyway," he said.
"I wanted everyone to be fit for the Slovakia game and I wanted to see how young players such as Cole would do. We have an important game coming up, so it's understandable we had so many changes."
Nevertheless, Eriksson was clearly embarrassed by the frequency with which the captaincy was handed around. "I'm sorry about that. We should have given it to David James the first time. Emotionally, I felt it would be good for Heskey on his home ground. Then Heskey gave it to Neville before anything was said."
In mitigation, Eriksson could argue that, unlike the defeat to Australia, he had gained a valuable insight into his understudies. "Look at Joe Cole," he said. "He was excellent and his goal was a la Beckham.
"I told him beforehand I would see what happened, but that I might have to put him back in the Under-21s. He had a good answer. He told me he would practise well, play well and stay in the senior team. I liked that a lot and he will stay with us now."
Cole will cling to the hope that his goal might enable him to force his way into Eriksson's side against Slovakia next Wednesday. "It's been a great night for me," he said. "I had a funny feeling I would score and I think I've done myself justice. No disrespect to the Under-21s but I never want to go back there again."
armband - opaska na ramię, tutaj chodzi o charakterystyczną opaskę noszoną przez kapitana drużyny
cling - trzymać się, chwytać
defeat - porażka; warto zwrócić uwagę na kolokację: defeat to
disrespect - brak szacunku, respektu
embarrased - zawstydzony
enable - umozliwić
frequency - częstotliwość
insight - wgląd, pojmowanie
justice - sprawiedliwość
mitigation - zgłagodzenie, umniejszenie
understandable - zrozumiały
valuable - wartościowy
