I really struggle to understand what motive the News of the World had in tricking Sven-Göran Eriksson with the old fake sheikh hoax.
No, let me qualify that. I understand their short term motives… the celebrity kiss-and-tell, the unmasking of a supposed hypocrite, the thrill of knowing a secret, the threat of blackmail. But what about the long-term effect? In an industry where the jingoistic, tribal element of football support is regularly exploited (remember the Mirror headline? “Achtung! Surrender! For you Fritz, ze Euro 96 tournament is over”) the tabloids have a lot to gain by proudly supporting Our Boys. England’s reasonable overall form of late may well be *despite* Sven, not because of him, but who cares as long as they do well?
Of course, it all boils down to shifting units by whatever means possible. We can’t expect the owners of the tabloids (especially not Murdoch) to give a damn about the England football team, can we? But wait… don’t the readers look to their favourite papers for the flag-waving build-up to the big matches? Doesn’t a successful performance in the World Cup promise opportunities for special editions and souvenir supplements… in other words, more money?
Whatever.
While it’s always a pleasure to indulge in tabloid-bashing, Sven hasn’t come out of this whole affair particularly well, either. For a top-flight football manager of his vast experience, his actions were incredibly naive. The sunny Swedish idealism is all very charming, but years of exposure to the Italian and English tabloid press really should have taught him something by now. Everyone who talks to him has an angle, an agenda. Doesn’t he have media representatives and advisors who could vet such meetings? It’s not difficult, Sven… if someone you don’t know well buys you hugely expensive wine and asks pointed questions about your career, just keep your gob shut!