Sven-Goran Eriksson’s tenure as manager at Manchester City finally came to an end today.
After one month of speculation as to when it would happen, owner Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed the Swedish coach despite his moving the club five spots up the Premiership table. City’s ninth place finish, however, came after a drop in form that saw the team fall from the third place spot it held in November. The club ended up qualifying for the UEFA Cup via FIFA’s fair play league.
Manchester City had finished the previous Premiership campaign in fourteenth spot, having set a Premiership record for fewest home goals scored in a campaign. In response, the squad pumped £46 million into the roster shortly after Eriksson’s hiring. Eriksson responded with eight summer signings, including Martin Petrov, Elano, Geovanni, and Gelson Fernandes, all of whom played roles in the club’s improvement. During the mid-season transfer window, Eriksson brought Benjani in from Portsmouth for £4 million.
City has already moved to interview Mark Hughes, the current manager at Blackburn, for Eriksson’s job. The Blackburn board has given Hughes permission to talk to City, saying in a statement that permission was given “reluctantly” after Hughes made his desire to interview for the position clear.
Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has also been loosely linked with the Manchester City position, as has Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. Scolari, whose contract with the Portuguese team runs through Euro 2008, has also been strongly linked with the job at Chelsea.
Eriksson has been linked to with Benfica in Portugal - a position he’s previously held twice - as well as the Mexican national team. Eriksson met with Benfica early this month, shortly after stories of his impending firing surfaced. Eriksson’s representation has denied any connection with the Mexico job..
Benfica announced Monday that 19 year old American attacking midfielder Freddy Adu has been loaned out for the upcoming season to French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco. Adu made 11 appearances for Benfica in his first season with the club, scoring 2 goals, and was told by new manager Quiqui Flores that he was not in his first team plans. The move should see Freddy play in what is considered to be a higher quality league, and has a good chance of competing for a starting role. Adu moved to Benfica last season for $2 Million and has earned 8 caps for the United States National Team to date. What do you think of the move? Good for Freddy? 
