How Eriksson tried to console 'a broken man'

As the final whistle brought a conclusion to England's World Cup, Marcos, the Brazil goalkeeper, knelt and raised his arms in an almost religious gesture. At the other end, David Seaman looked to the heavens, too. You would not blame him if he had silently mouthed "Why?"

The devil himself must have carried Ronaldinho's free-kick beyond the England goalkeeper for Brazil's winner, whatever the midfielder may say about it. At what many will presume will be the culmination of a splendid international career, it is not the finale that Seaman merited after contributing to England's success up to the quarter-finals.

There were tears flowing as he left the pitch, and he was still red-eyed as he made his way through the area, where players can, if they wish, stop to discuss their night's work with the media between dressing room and bus. He halted briefly – a rare break with a Seaman convention – to issue an apology. "The main thing is I want to just say sorry to the fans," he said.

It would be fair to say that the Arsenal man is unlikely to secure the sports writers' most popular player award, principally because he refuses to do interviews, apparently because of what was written about his private life some time ago. Yet, here it was difficult not to feel sympathy for the 38-year-old holder of 73 England caps as he departed for the team coach.

"He looked a broken man afterwards," England coach Sven Goran Eriksson admitted. "I talked to him in the dressing room – or at least I tried. It was very difficult. I don't think he listened to me very much. Then I talked to him when we came back to the hotel, and I said: 'If you go on thinking about that goal, it will break you. Stop it! That's it. It's over. Remember you saved us in Germany; you saved us in many games here. You should not think about it any more'."

There were mixed views on how deliberate Ronaldinho's placing of the ball from that 50th-minute free-kick, some 40 yards from goal, was. Ronaldinho insisted that it was intentional, his decision being helped by captain Cafu, who told him that Seaman often strays off his line.

However, at least Juninho offered the goalkeeper some comfort when he declared: "I don't think it was his fault because Ronaldinho had no intention to put the ball there. He intended to cross, but the ball went another way."

The goal will also have evoked unwanted memories of that night in the 1995 European Cup-Winners' Cup final, when Real Zaragoza's Nayim observed Seaman off his line and looped in a kick from distance, although on that occasion from open play.

England's goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence also did his utmost to console the 6ft 4in goalkeeper. "It's just one of those things," he said. "The lad tried to cross it. David probably anticipated that, and the ball just blew and went over his head. He had no chance then. He's had a fantastic tournament. He's made vital saves in all the games. It's a shame that that should happen in this last game. At his age, to perform to the level he has in this tournament, has been magnificent."

The expectation will be that the England coach will begin afresh with a new goalkeeper when qualifying for the 2004 European Championship begins in September. Obviously Nigel Martyn and David James will be key contenders to succeed Seaman, although the former is 35. It may be that young contenders such as Leeds' Paul Robinson, Liverpool's Chris Kirkland, and Arsenal's Richard Wright will be given their chance.

However, according to the England coach, we may not have quite heard the last of Seaman at international level. "We've not talked about it at all," said Eriksson. "It's natural that if he goes on as first goalkeeper at Arsenal then he's my first choice, too, but Arsène Wenger will sort that out for me, I guess."

Eriksson is probably grateful that he will. Clearly it is the occasion to usher in a new generation of goalkeepers, but to cast Seaman perfunctorily into the bin marked "past use-by date" would be the unkindest act after such a calamity. We may well see old "Safe Hands" installed in Eriksson's England against Slovakia come October.