GoForGlory
Well-Known Member
Our old assistant manager Hasse Backe is as you might know in the MLS at the moment coaching the NY Red Bulls, who we'll play two months from now. One of my favorites in Swedish football, he seems like the most genuine guy, always a great pundit and always speaks his mind. So one of our Swedish football mags, Offside, has an interview with him about his choice to go to the MLS, and so I had to pick it up. The interview is pretty old by now but I haven't seen anything posted from it here.
He shared two interesting stories about Thaksin which I'll recount here:
First of all, after Sven and Hasse's flying start, three straight wins and no goals conceded if you remember, Sven got a phone call from Thaksin saying he was "very happy". The week after that we lost to Arsenal after a late Fabregas goal, once again Thaksin called saying: "Sven...last week you were very good. This week you are very bad." This, according to Backe, was when they both realised there was a very real potential for trouble ahead.
Later in the season Sven and Hans were invited to a VIP lounge at Anfield to watch the Liverpool - Arsenal game with Thaksin. Once the game was finished Sven and Hans went to get a coffee, when they heard Thaksin knock on the window to the pitch saying "Hurry up! They are playing one more match!" Sven and Hans got back in and saw a few Arsenal reserves who hadn't featured get a feel of the pitch. At this point they started seriously wondering if Thaksin had ever seen a football game before his takeover.
Of course he also told the story we've already heard - by Christmas both Sven and Hans felt they had used the same players a bit too much and knew they had to mix it around a bit and increase the size of the squad come january. Of course they had both been told this was no problem, but by the time January came they were told there wasn't any money and that they had to sell before they could buy. I guess that's what eventually led to the panic buy of Benjani....Bianchi was too homesick and it just wasn't working for him. Afterwards of course Elano's form went...Dunne and Richards were solid but we weren't producing anymore, and of course it didn't take long before Sven and Hans knew they were out.
He's not afraid to say that he's very annoyed that they didn't get the opportunity to stay on through the takeover. He said Sven knew how to handle south americans - that it's a huge insult to them to get singled out and told off in front of a group of people, it's just a cultural thing - and that Hughes probably found that out with Robinho. He said the only job he's really deserved to get fired from was Mexico, where he admits he didn't get the team to perform.
Doesn't seem to hold a grudge though. He's done very well in New York and seems incredibly happy to be there. No prestige at all in the MLS really, but at the moment he seems to be just enjoying himself.
He shared two interesting stories about Thaksin which I'll recount here:
First of all, after Sven and Hasse's flying start, three straight wins and no goals conceded if you remember, Sven got a phone call from Thaksin saying he was "very happy". The week after that we lost to Arsenal after a late Fabregas goal, once again Thaksin called saying: "Sven...last week you were very good. This week you are very bad." This, according to Backe, was when they both realised there was a very real potential for trouble ahead.
Later in the season Sven and Hans were invited to a VIP lounge at Anfield to watch the Liverpool - Arsenal game with Thaksin. Once the game was finished Sven and Hans went to get a coffee, when they heard Thaksin knock on the window to the pitch saying "Hurry up! They are playing one more match!" Sven and Hans got back in and saw a few Arsenal reserves who hadn't featured get a feel of the pitch. At this point they started seriously wondering if Thaksin had ever seen a football game before his takeover.
Of course he also told the story we've already heard - by Christmas both Sven and Hans felt they had used the same players a bit too much and knew they had to mix it around a bit and increase the size of the squad come january. Of course they had both been told this was no problem, but by the time January came they were told there wasn't any money and that they had to sell before they could buy. I guess that's what eventually led to the panic buy of Benjani....Bianchi was too homesick and it just wasn't working for him. Afterwards of course Elano's form went...Dunne and Richards were solid but we weren't producing anymore, and of course it didn't take long before Sven and Hans knew they were out.
He's not afraid to say that he's very annoyed that they didn't get the opportunity to stay on through the takeover. He said Sven knew how to handle south americans - that it's a huge insult to them to get singled out and told off in front of a group of people, it's just a cultural thing - and that Hughes probably found that out with Robinho. He said the only job he's really deserved to get fired from was Mexico, where he admits he didn't get the team to perform.
Doesn't seem to hold a grudge though. He's done very well in New York and seems incredibly happy to be there. No prestige at all in the MLS really, but at the moment he seems to be just enjoying himself.