On a similar theme:
Giuseppe Bergomi: 'I regret not playing in England I could have joined Coventry'
"Did you ever come close to playing in England?
Once. And it has been one of the biggest regrets of my career that it didnt happen. When I was coming to the end of my playing days, Gordon Strachan was the coach of Coventry. He came to me and said 'Ronald Nilsson is leaving, hes 36 the same as you. If you want to come and join us, wed love to have you here'. I said no. I wanted to finish my career having played only for Inter Milan. But looking back its a big regret. Maybe, if I had accepted, I would now be working as a manager. In England, they always gave you the chance to become the manager of a team in the Premier League or the Championship very quickly. Look at Gianluca Vialli, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo
even Attilio Lombardo was given his chance. But its gone. And Im happy to be at Sky [Giuseppe is the main co-commentator at Sky Sports Italia]."
Bonus: "Which player that Hodgson left at home would you have picked for England?
Maybe John Terry. Perhaps Hodgson lacked the courage to stand out and secure Terrys call-up. But what really surprised me most is the absence of Tom Cleverley: I imagined that Hodgson would call him up despite the fact he hasnt played that much this year."