Eriksson toes party line in plea for extra tickets
By Ashling O’Connor
SVEN-GÖRAN ERIKSSON will usually opt for diplomacy rather than confrontation, but the England head coach chose the polished and stately surroundings of the German Embassy in London yesterday to request, pointedly, that the country’s supporters get more tickets at the World Cup finals.
At least the Swede was aware enough of international traditions at this time of year to start by complimenting Thomas Matussek, the German Ambassador, on his Christmas tree. After the pleasantries, though, his message was delivered loud and clear: an allocation of about 3,000 tickets per group match was unsatisfactory when 100,000 England fans were expected to travel to Germany.
"It will be a big party for one month," Eriksson told the throng of German tourist industry executives. "You will see a lot of English people in Germany next summer. What we need is more tickets, because I think there will be more English people than from any other country."
Although they were able to secure the services of Franz Beckenbauer, the president of the World Cup organising committee, for their promotional video, it is debatable whether the people from Bavaria Tourism have any influence on the allocation of match tickets. The German Ambassador to the UK might, however, and it appeared to be Eriksson’s intention simply to repeat a point made many times by the FA in the past few days, but one that has more impact coming from the England head coach.
One person with influence on the situation is Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa. Eriksson will not miss an opportunity to raise the subject. "If I bump into him in a corridor somewhere I will ask him to listen to the pleas from the FA and give England and our fans more tickets if he can," he said.
As it stands, the only way that the FA will receive more than its 8 per cent allocation is through returns from England’s group-stage opponents. Paraguay are unlikely to take a large contingent of fans to Frankfurt for the first match, but Trinidad & Tobago may rally enthusiasm from all over the world to take up most of their allocation in Nuremberg. Sweden are always well supported, so returns are not expected for the final group game, in Cologne.
Finding tickets outside the official FA channels is a lottery. World Cup organisers yesterday revealed that one million were ordered within 12 hours of going on sale on Monday, with 90 per cent of the demand coming from Europe. With tickets four times oversubscribed, a ballot will be held on January 31.
While the lobbying for more tickets continues, Eriksson is focused on what the fans can expect to see if they can get into the stadiums. There are unlikely to be many surprises, but at least three places in his squad are up for grabs.
"I will be looking at the form of the players and what positions they are playing in. I learn from every match I see," Eriksson said. "I’m very open-minded and what is important is that I pick the 23 best players in the middle of May, when the league is finished and you balance up how many games they’ve played and what is the best. I can’t decide that today.
"At least 20 [could be picked now]. Then I have to start thinking harder. I was very happy to see Jermain Defoe score the goal he did for Tottenham on Monday night, coming on and scoring like that. You look at Wayne Bridge and question how many games he will have for Chelsea, likewise Kieran Richardson at Manchester United. There’s plenty to think about."
