Eriksson: Seaman still number one
Sven-Goran Eriksson has reassured David Seaman that he remains his first-choice England keeper as he told him to forget about his World Cup error or he will remain a ‘‘broken man’’.
Seaman, 38, has yet to decide whether to continue an England career that has already spanned four tournaments after publicly breaking down in tears following the quarter-final defeat by Brazil.
However, the Arsenal keeper has received the full backing of Eriksson in the wake of the misjudgement which contributed to Ronaldinho’s freak free-kick winner.
The England coach revealed: ‘‘David looked a broken man afterwards. I tried to talk to him in the dressing-room but it was very difficult.
‘‘I don’t think he listened to me very much. Then I talked to him when we got back to the hotel and said ‘if you go on thinking about that goal, you will break yourself down’.
‘‘I said ‘stop it, that’s it, it’s over, it’s finished. Remember you saved us in Germany and in many games here. That’s it, you should not think about it any more’.
‘‘We haven’t talked about his future at all. But it’s natural that if he goes on as the goalkeeper at Arsenal then of course he is my first-choice as he’s the best we have in the country, even if he’s 38.
‘‘But that’s up to him and Arsene Wenger, I guess.’’
