David Dein has revealed that former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson told Sir Alex Ferguson to f*** off during a blazing row over Wayne Rooney being called up for international duty.
Dein, who was formerly the vice-chairman of both the Football Association and Arsenal, played a key role in appointing Eriksson; England's first ever foreign manager. The Swedish coach was named as Kevin Keegan's successor in November 2000 on a five-year deal and went on to lead, arguably, one of the most star-studded teams in the country's history.
Eriksson, who didn't officially start his now role until the summer of 2001, guided England to three successive quarter-finals at major tournaments before he left his role in July 2006 - a feat many consider to be an underachievement based on the amount of quality he had at his disposal.
During his time at the helm, Eriksson was a cool customer. The 74-year-old, who later went on to manage Manchester City in the Premier League, often made headlines with his personal life, but he cut a composed figure on the touchline for the majority of his Three Lions tenure.
However, Dein has revealed the one occasion he saw Eriksson lose his temper. The England chief clashed with Ferguson over Rooney, England and Manchester United's star player, before the 2006 World Cup. The striker was struggling for fitness after breaking his metatarsal just weeks before the tournament - but that wasn't enough to deter Eriksson from taking him to Germany.
Unsurprisingly, that didn't go down well with Ferguson. In an extract from Dein's new book 'Calling the Shots: How to Win in Football and Life' , shared in The Mail, he wrote: "The only time I ever saw Sven annoyed was when Sir Alex Ferguson called him at our World Cup base in 2006.
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"Fergie was furious that Wayne Rooney was going to play at the World Cup, with England gambling on his recovery from a broken metatarsal. 'You’re finished,' he screamed. Sven lost it. 'F**k off,' he said. 'Alex, I will pick Rooney. Have a nice holiday. Ciao, bye.'
"Overall, I believe Sven was a success. Of course, he wasn’t perfect. He was flawed — as we found out."
Although Eriksson eventually got his way, Rooney was unable to change England's fortunes, as they were dumped out at the quarter-final stage by Portugal - just two years after they were eliminated from Euro 2004 by the same team.
Rooney, on the night, went from hero to zero after finally working his way back to full fitness. He was sent off amid the infamous Cristiano Ronaldo 'winkgate' drama and was forced to watch from the sidelines as England's depleted squad lost yet another penalty shootout in the final match of Eriksson's reign.
