Swedes 'flattered by attention'

Rumour of an affair has set Swedish people talking

By Cecilia Hagen Columnist with Swedish newspaper Expressen

How do we Swedes react to the rumours about Ulrika and Svennis, our two most famous compatriots in Britain?

We are amazed, somewhat excited, a little worried about how it will affect the World Cup, consider it a nice piece of gossip and are rather proud.

He is to us a totally unglamorous person

Two Swedes make the headlines and front pages in all major British newspapers.

We are not at all used to that.

When did it happen last time, if ever?

All Swedes know who Svennis-Goran Eriksson is.

All Swedes are proud of him.

The fact that this person, with his very humble background, born and bred in the middle of nowhere in Sweden is now the leader of the English football team is unbelievable.

Respect

He is to us a totally unglamorous person who, to our astonishment, is starting to behave like a man of the world.

We respect him, at least we have respected him so far, but we have not known very much about his private life.

Few Swedes knew he had left his Swedish wife until recently, though this had happened several years ago.

The Swedish sports media has been very discreet.

Svennis is our big hope during the World Cup

They have not written anything about him that did not concern football.

He did not want them to write about anything else and all the reporters wished to stay on good terms with him.

When he was in Stockholm a month ago to promote his CD containing classic music he had chosen, he talked a lot about how furious he was that some paparazzi had photographed him and Nancy Dell'Olio in a swimming pool in Italy.

Before then we didn't even know how to spell her name.

Stay focused

Svennis is our big hope during the World Cup.

If the Swedish team loses at an early stage, the English might still be playing and then we will regard you as Swedes.

If you win, we will consider ourselves as winners too.

Since Svennis is one of us.

If he messes up his life now, if he doesn't concentrate on football, we will start to think that he doesn't deserve the huge amount of money he now makes.

We never think others should earn more than we do ourselves, Svennis has been an exception. Till now.

So he is having an affair with Ulrika Jonsson?

Questions asked

She is not at all as well-known in Sweden as in England.

A blonde, ambitious, PR-minded television beauty with a number of disastrous relationships and a passion for beer, that is about all we know. If we know anything at all.

"Oh", we might exclaim, "is that the girl who was supposed to have had an affair with the English prince what's his name, Edgar or something?

We want to be able to keep respecting Svennis

"Is it the same Ulrika? Is she the one who is confusing our Svennis right now?

"Can't anyone tell her to stop it?

"And can't he try to behave himself. He's too old for things like this."

Do we prefer Nancy to Ulrika? No, I don't think we care about that choice.

If we prefer any of the women in his life, I think that would be his ex-wife.

She was also born and bred in the middle of nowhere in Sweden.

But most of all, we want to be able to keep respecting Svennis, to keep being proud of his achievements.

I suppose the next few days will tell if that is still possible.

But, as I said, we are rather flattered by the attention.