Remember the day? It was the glory time of Sven Goran Erikssen. England had rocked up at the Olympic Stadium in Munich to play a qualifying game for the 2002 World Cup and scored five goals after the Germans had initially gone ahead. It was the first day of September 2001, and just as the leaves were starting to turn brown, German football recognised that the fortunes of the Mannschaft were also on the wane. Something must be done. The previous year, in the European Championships, played in Belgium and Holland, Germany had finished bottom of their group, garnering a single point from a draw with Romania with just one goal scored. Now even the unthinkable of a potential failure to qualify for the World Cup was in prospect. Continue reading →