We need to talk about England

Sven Goran Eriksson opens up to Ian Herbert on life with the national side, Rooney's lack of ego and trying to take Leicester to the promised land

The memory of the dressing room in Gelsenkirchen has lived with Sven Goran Eriksson from that day until this and no image more than that of Wayne Rooney, sitting alone with his desolation among the England players whose 2006 World Cup was over.

Rooney's lack of ego is something that has always struck Eriksson and when he saw him late on that July day in the Ruhr, inconsolable rather than indignant about the red card, for that kick at Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho, which ended his own tournament over an hour before his team's, the manager could muster no anger. "You know, when he got sent off, that was my last game for England, so what was I to say to him on that occasion? Or to any of the players?" Eriksson asks. "In the end I did say something. I just said: 'Come on, life goes on.' And then I remember what I said to you and your colleagues, at the press conference. I told you 'don't kill him'."

To his mind, we still are. Perhaps it is the unrealistic weight of national expectation in England, perhaps the lack of world-beating footballers within these shores, but Eriksson expects the talk of Rooney's dismissal against Montenegro last week to be occupying us for months. "It's never finished. If you have done one stupid thing in the past it will take years before you are forgiven," he says.

Spiritually, Eriksson has travelled a very long way from that emotional communion with his England players in Gelsenkirchen. The international break has taken him to the shimmering Atlantic waters of his beloved Cascais, near Lisbon: he has always said that the climate, food and culture of Portugal, where he managed Benfica for five years, make it the most precious place on earth. But now he is restored to the more unsparing heat of Leicester City, where this lunchtime he is tackling with equanimity the weight of expectation placed upon him by the wealth of his Thai owners, the Raksriaksorn family. One of them, co-owner and vice-chairman Aiyawatt, has turned up unexpectedly to meet him, a triallist goalkeeper is waiting next in line at his office door and a player on the fringes of the team also wants to talk. The scent of investment is palpable at Leicester's training ground, with the varnish barely dry on the new oak-veneered floors but there is something distinctly Championship about the way that Eriksson is mopping up most of the jobs himself.

The Swede will always find time to talk Rooney, though. He cannot recall precisely when he first clapped eyes on him as a 17-year-old in an Everton jersey – a little later, he thinks, than the legendary October afternoon he chipped David Seaman from 30 yards, at the age of 16 years and 360 days – but his battles to wrench him off David Moyes and into the England set-up are certainly vivid.

"David was not very keen to let him go," says Eriksson, eyebrow raised at the understatement. "He thought it was too early and [England was] too big [for him] at that time but having had him just one day in training you realise it's not too early and not too big for him. He was excellent when he came into the squad. From the start, none of the ego – and all of that power. I remember when I said to him the day before [his full England debut against Turkey]: 'You are going to start.' 'OK,' he said.

"And that was it. Like he's been there for 10 years. Strong mentality, too. Yes, mentally, very strong."

The challenge for successive England managers being how – if at all – to temper the metal. Brief words to the wise are possible, where Rooney is concerned, said Eriksson, who after watching the striker score twice against Switzerland in Euro 2004 actually admitted that he could not say he knew the player terribly well "because he doesn't talk much". Now he reflects that "there can be some discussions, of course". But the years have not altered his conviction that you alter the make-up of an individual who plays in the raw at your own peril. "One thing for sure is you can't take away the temperament of a player," he says. "Because if you take [that] away – maybe [to ensure] fewer yellow cards – he will lose something else. I mean, Rooney lives on his temperament. He is strong when he is tackling. When he decides to go without the ball he goes, or decides to go with it – boom. Everything is elegance, of course, because he is elegant. But it also power, power, power. If you take aggression from a powerful player, it will be difficult I think..."

The Eriksson candour and quiet conviction are still there, just as always. He is willing to attend to the office blinds for our photographer and to tackle almost any question, save that of whether Manchester United's director and long-standing legal adviser Maurice Watkins really did shake hands with him on a deal to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson, almost exactly 10 years ago. His absence from the rarefied top-flight world is certainly British football's loss, Leicester's gain.

He will be back there among the elite come May, if Mr Raksriaksorn has anything to do with it, and after a stuttering start, Eriksson's new band of brothers, who include a core of the players he assembled at Manchester City, are making good progress ahead of tomorrow's short trip to St Andrew's. He has unexpectedly re-established a relationship with Thailand which was broken when he was treated so badly by Thaksin Shinawatra at City in 2008. His brief City tenure, which saw them finish ninth in the Premier League, ended with him being forced to lead the side on a farcical post-season tour of the country in 2008, already aware that he would be sacked. There is still indignation about that treatment, but the 63-year-old decided within just 24 hours of meeting another Thai, Vichai Raksriaksorn, who commands a $200m (£123m) fortune from his King Power duty-free stores, to accept his challenge to lead Leicester back up to the Premier League.

His latest Thai bosses are also in a hurry to go places, though Eriksson said he looked Raksriaksorn and his father in the eye at a London hotel last year. The mistake with Thaksin was to accept an offer that came second-hand through his football advisers, including Jerome Anderson. He has embraced the city of Leicester, just as he did Nottingham, despite the unhappiness of his stay at Notts County two years ago, where the money for development was simply not forthcoming. "I'm still here and I'm very happy here – because of the football of course, but also because of the quality of the life and the atmosphere around the game in this country," he says. "The English people are always very educated and respectful."

Despite rumours of his professional demise which accompanied Leicester's early struggles in the Championship, he still views this campaign with equanimity and confidence. Eriksson can see all things through a broad perspective. This is the manager, after all, who once had the former Lazio owner Sergio Cragnotti telling him, "win something or I'll sack you in June". And that was in the January of his third season. "You don't have fears, just a way of going about things," Eriksson says. "Yes, of course this is one of my biggest challenges but don't forget I've had a couple of them in my time in the game. This task reminds me of starting out at Gothenburg, where the challenge was to take them into Europe. I managed that and stayed three years."

His Independent column will offer his perspective on the Premier League, on England, continental football and the world game. It will also provide a sense of his life outside of the Premier League bubble, seeking to make a success of things and build a club at Leicester. On Wednesday he will discuss his experiences of working with – and largely against – Ferguson, with whom his disagreements over the availability of Rooney for England put even Moyes in the shade.

He certainly has empathy for Ferguson's work with the striker – challenging as it is at times. He recalls his gamble of removing a fulminating Rooney from the fray – for the player's own protection – with England 1-0 up against France at Euro 2004, the result being a late 2-1 defeat and the wrath of the English nation. "Yes, we lost it 2-1," he reflects, wincing. "I was never in two minds about that decision. We all thought we should win that game but in the end we did two stupid things – one back pass and one penalty. That was our fault and it doesn't have anything to do with Rooney on the pitch, or off the pitch. I don't think so anyway.

"I would not have done anything different with any of those gambles with players," Eriksson adds. "What would the critics have said if I hadn't taken [Michael Owen, Rooney or David Beckham to tournaments]? I think it would be huge if you don't pick those key players – even if you know that they will not be 100 per cent in the beginning. You have to do that."

Anyone For Svennis? Eriksson's life and times

Born: 5 February, 1948, in Sunne, Sweden.

Playing career

Position: Right-back

Clubs: Torsby IF (1966-1971) [Goals (apps) 109(23)]; SK Sifhälla (1971-72) [22(1)]; KB Karlskoge (1972-73) [19(4)]; Västra Frölunda IF (1973-75) [50(5)]

Managerial career

1977-78: Degerfors IF

Swedish Third Division champions 1978

1979-82: Gothenburg

Swedish Cup 1979; League, Cup and Uefa Cup 1982

1982-84: Benfica

League champions 1983, 1984; Cup winners 1983

1984-87: Roma

Coppa Italia winners 1986

1987-89: Fiorentina

1989-92: Benfica

Super Cup winners 1989; League Champions 1991

1992-97: Sampdoria

Coppa Italia 1994

1997-2001: Lazio

Serie A Champions 2000. Coppa Italia 1998, 2000, Italian Super Cup 1998, 2000. Uefa Cup Winners' Cup 1999. Uefa Super Cup 1999

2001-06: England

WC 2002: QF (vs Brazil)

Euro 2004: QF (vs Portugal, penalties)

WC 2006: QF (vs Portugal, penalties)

Highlights: Rated by FA as second most successful England manager; 5-1 win over Germany on 1 Sept 2001

2007-08: Manchester City

Won both league derby matches against United. Lost his last match 8-1 to Middlesbrough. Qualified for Europe via the Fair Play league

2008-09: Mexico

Removed as coach following a 3-1 defeat to Honduras

2009-10: Notts County

Appointed Director of Football of League Two club in July 2009. Resigned on 11 February 2010

2010: Ivory Coast

Knocked out of WC 2010 in group stages (0-0 v Portugal, 1-3 to Brazil, 3-0 v North Korea)

2010- : Leicester City

Took over in October, 10th in Championship last season