Ex-England Boss Sven-Goran Eriksson in Talks Over Becoming Iraq Head Coach
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is reportedly in talks with the Iraqi FA about becoming head coach of the country's national team.
The Sun report that the 70-year-old Swedish manager is in advanced negotiations about returning to the international game to manage the Lions of Mesopotamia.
Eriksson's last international management job was in 2010 when he was in charge of Ivory Coast, having managed England between 2001 and 2006.
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Iraq are ranked 89th in the FIFA world rankings and considered a relative minnow in Asian international football.
Their last manager was Iraqi Basim Qasim, but the country has had some star-studded managers in the past. Brazilian Zico managed the national team between August 2011 and November 2012.
Eriksson has been managing in China since 2013, with his latest job being as manager of Shenzhen FC between 2016 and 2017.
Since he took up management in 1977, Eriksson has gone on to manage a total of 16 teams in a mix of club and national management. He has managed various teams at both levels across seven different countries.
Eriksson has previously managed both Manchester City and Leicester City - the latter between 2010 and 2011.
He has also been appointed as technical director at clubs in both Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. As England manager, he went on to take the Three Lions to the quarter finals in two World Cups and a European Championship.
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Iraq failed to qualify for this year's World Cup in Russia. Their next match is a friendly against Palestine, before their Asian Cup campaign begins with a group match against Vietnam in January.
The Iraqi national team currently has three players playing their football in Europe, whilst Justin Meram plays for Orlando City in the MLS.
Most notable of the European footballers is Udinese left back Ali Adnan who plays in Serie A, who has been dubbed the 'Iraqi Gareth Bale' and the 'Iraqi Roberto Carlos' by national press.
Midfielder Yaser Kasim plays in England for Northampton Town, while another midfielder Brwa Nouri - who has recently joined Bali United in Indonesia - played for Ostersund in the Europa League last season, becoming the first Iraqi to score in the competition.
The other European representative is Ahmed Yasin Ghani, who plays for Swedish side AIK.
