Hodgson keen on 2012 Olympic job

August 30 – Fulham manager Roy Hodgson (pictured) said today he would be prepared to coach Britain’s football team in the London 2012 Olympics if he was asked.

With the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland governing bodies already saying they will not participate, the 62-year-old Londoner has emerged as a candidate to manage an all-English team.
Hodgson, who is multilingual, is one of two candidates targeted by Lord Triesman, the chairman of the Football Association.

The other is Stuart Pearce, the former England captain who now coaches the national under-21 team. 

Triesman hopes to make an appointment before the end of this year and, although Hodgson has yet to be approached, he said he would be delighted to accept it if he was offered it. 

 
Hodgson said: ”If you want to know has there been any contact from anyone regarding the Olympic team, then the answer is ‘no’.
 
“It is a long way off, 2012, but whoever gets that job, it is going to be a great honour for them.
 
“If it ever came about that people thought I would be the right man for the job, of course I would be happy to take it.
 
“There is a lot of time between now and 2012 and I know nothing about it apart from what I’m learning from you guys now.”

 
The highly-regarded Hodgson has won league titles in two countries – Sweden and Denmark – and coached three national sides – Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland. 

His greatest international success was with Switzerland when he guided them to the finals of the 1994 World Cup, the first time they had qualified since 1966.

They eventually reached the last 16.

In 1997 Hodgson also coached Italian side Inter Milan to the final of the UEFA Cup.

Hodgson was appointed manager at Fulham in December 2007 and last year guided them to seventh place in the Premiership, the highest finish in their history, enabling them to qualify for the Europa League.

Related stories: 
August 2009: Triesman rules out Ferguson as manager of Team GB in 2012