Sven and Fergie: Football's rivals united as the accusations fly

Two of the biggest names in sport braced for tabloid revelations.

Usually forced apart by rivalry and mutual loathing, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven Goran Eriksson suddenly have a lot in common this morning. The pair, who regularly conduct a bitter tug of love over the best football players in England, now find themselves on the front pages rather than the back, both because of women.

Yesterday, the Manchester United manager denied indecently assaulting a young woman after she had given him a lift back to his hotel from a night club in Cape Town. He said his high profile was being exploited by the woman and her boyfriend.

In a statement issued last night, Mr Ferguson, 60, said he had been in South Africa on Thursday evening attending a function on behalf of Manchester United: "Following an enjoyable dinner the entire group went on to a nearby jazz club. At the end of the evening arrangements were made for lifts back to the hotel, at which time a young lady who had been talking to myself and members of our party suggested that she could drop me back at my hotel since it was on her way home.

"The claim that it was my suggestion that I travel with her or that I forced myself into her car is untrue. In retrospect, clearly it would have been better if I had travelled back with members of the party who were already known to me, but I had no reason to expect that it would lead to her and her boyfriend making false claims to the police and then selling their story to British newspapers."

Prosecutors are expected to say tomorrow whether or not charges will be brought against the Manchester United manager.

Meanwhile, Sven Goran Eriksson was in Slovakia last night leading the English national team ­ but he would have been forgiven for letting his mind wander to today's tabloid serialisation of a book by his former lover, Ulrika Jonsson. Her autobiography, Honest, was due to be serialised in the Mail on Sunday, and one worry will be that she has let slip his personal criticism of England players or the administrators to whom he answers. Ms Jonsson has reportedly been paid close to three-quarters of a million pounds for the extracts of her book, and yesterday's "teaser" left no doubt about what section Associated Newspapers most prized ­ "The Truth About Me and Sven" shouted a banner headline with photo on the front page.

While the initial extract concentrated mainly on Jonsson's chaotic upbringing ­ her mother left home when she was just 10, and Jonsson was brought up by her "swinger" dad ­ the main plot for this week's revelations was laid out.

Essentially, it will concern not just the affair with fellow Swede Eriksson, but also that other tug of love involving Eriksson's long-term girlfriend, the high-powered Italian lawyer, Nancy Dell'Olio. So far then, there is nothing for Eriksson to fear. He is a divorced man with two grown-up children, he is living with a divorced woman, and he had a fling with a younger woman who is also divorced, with two children by different fathers.

The complications for Eriksson and his employers at the Football Association will be serious if further revelations encompass anything more than his lack of judgement. Quite apart from any indiscretions about Goldenballs and his team-mates, Jonsson's house in Cookham Dean, Berkshire is only a short drive from the England squad's usual base at Burnham Beeches. So if at any time Eriksson skipped off for a "quickie" while he was supposed to be on duty, the charge of "corporate neglect" could be laid at his door, along with his now infamous platform-heeled shoes.

Sven and Sir Alex make odd companions "in the dock" ­ Eriksson is a quietly spoken, sophisticated polyglot, while Ferguson is noted for his brash integrity and will to win, derived from the ship-building area of Govan where he grew up. It seems bizarre that the two most powerful men in English football should feature so prominently in apparent scandals, but such is the celebrity now associated with football management that all the top practitioners are at risk. No matter how minor their offences in public or private are perceived to be, they are valued among the higher denominations in the currency of tabloid sensation.

There is a further, and ironic, possibility that could have repercussions. There was a strong rumour going around football circles last spring that Eriksson had been approached by Manchester United to desert the England job and take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. In 2001, Ferguson had announced his intention to retire before later changing his mind and securing a new, three-year contract.

If this scenario is confirmed by the coming week's "pillow-talk" it will certainly undermine the FA's faith in the Swede, and especially that of Adam Crozier, the Chief Executive, who went out on a limb to secure Eriksson's appointment. And it certainly won't improve relations with Sir Alex Ferguson, who seems almost to take sadistic enjoyment in reminding Eriksson that the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand owe their first loyalty to Manchester United, not to England.

But the biggest threat to Eriksson's career will be his own reaction to the media storm that will almost engulf him this week. Last Friday, he was putting up a stoic display ­ "I have no idea what's in the book, so why don't we wait until we know?" he told the non-football journalists who are on the Slovakia trip for non-footballing reasons.

Eriksson's one source of puzzlement when he first took up the England job two years ago was the interest of the tabloid press in his private life. He conceded last Friday that while the new commotion "might be my fault ... but it might just be the way things are in the country I am now working in".

The FA is unlikely to want to lose him or sack him. Apart from funding the head-hunting that preceded Eriksson's appointment and dealing with the back-lash to it from many quarters, the FA has allowed him to reconstruct the national coaching system, and most of the staff are Eriksson appointments.

"There's too much at stake to lose him," former FA Chairman Graham Kelly said yesterday. The same sentiments will no doubt be swirling around Old Trafford should Ferguson's troubles deepen.

The manager files: how they measure up

Sir Alex Ferguson

Age: 61

Born: Govan, Glasgow

Style: Passionate hard man. Rages at refs, chucks tea cups at errant players, jumps about in glee when they win things.

Favourite word: Hunger, as in desire to win: "You may be on £100,000 a week laddie but are you hungry?"

CV: Bolshie apprentice toolmaker turned indifferent Rangers midfielder then great coach. Made no-hopers Aberdeen one of Europe's best sides. Briefly managed Scotland , before restoring Manchester United to former glories in 1986. Nearly sacked before the golden age of Cantona, Giggs and Beckham .

Long-term partner: Married Cathy Holding on a Saturday morning in 1966; went off to play for Dunfermline in the afternoon. No honeymoon. She thinks football trivial.

Offspring: Three boys, three grandchildren.

Nickname: The Hairdryer. That's what it feels like when he shouts in your face.

Other loves: Horses. Recently seen drinking bubbly alongside a fine creature called Rock of Gibraltar.

Sir Alex on Sven: "I did not snub Sven Goran Eriksson at any time. I'd never do that. I have the utmost admiration for him as a person and a coach."

Cathy on Alex: "When he's under your feet, it's a nuisance. If he's here too long, he gets in my road."

Sven Goran Eriksson

Age: 54

Born: Torsby, Sweden

Style: Cool. Reads Tibetan poetry, quotes Japanese proverbs, keeps a distance from his players. Made rimless glasses and high foreheads fashionable.

Favourite word: Beautiful, as in: "David, that free kick was ..."

CV: Indifferent player quit early to become great coach. Won league titles in Sweden, Portugal, and Italy. Took Lazio to the top in 2000. Their club president mourned the loss of "a stylish champion". Honeymoon period in charge of England lasted until last summer's World Cup.

Long-term partner: Met fiery lawyer Nancy Dell'Olio while he was in charge of Lazio. Her husband was close to the powerful family that ran the club; Sven had a wife too, but preferred Nancy.

Offspring: Two children by ex-wife Ann-Kristin.

Nickname: The Iceman. Because he doesn't show a lot of emotion (except, it seems,in Swedish).

Other loves: Introduced to Ulrika Jonsson at a party, by Downing Street spin doctor Alastair Campbell.

Sven on Sir Alex: "I don't feel there has been a row."

Ulrika on Sven: "He was charming and generous emotionally, a real gentleman, almost more Italian than Swedish. Our relationship felt nice and warm."

By Cole Moreton