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Sven-Goran Eriksson's England reign ended tearfully and trophy-free last July.
Almost a year later and Eriksson is back in work as manager of Manchester City.
His international coaching credentials may leave a lot to be desired, but at club level his trophy collection is impressive.
Eriksson's CV contains league and cup Doubles in three different countries as well as European titles with Gothenburg and Lazio.
But how is he now viewed in the three countries where he cut his managerial teeth? BBC Sport spoke to journalists from Sweden, Portugal and Italy to find out.
SWEDEN
Robert Laul
Sportbladet
"Eriksson started his coaching career at Degefors in the third division but nobody knew who he was before he got the job at IFK.
"They had a good team but Sven was also credited for this because he had a new tactic where his sides pressured the opponent high up the field, which was not common in those days.
"That kind of play was new - it was a mix between the traditional English football style and the more modern game.
"He got his big breakthrough when they won the Uefa cup in 1982. No Swedish team has done anything like that.
"We followed his progress and he continued to get bigger and bigger and when he took over the English national team and they beat Germany 5-1 he was at the top of his legendary status.
"But his profile has fallen a little bit in the last few years with the side stories outside of football - the womanising and everything.
"And now by joining Manchester City it has fallen a bit more.
"I think Swedes hoped he would pick a bigger team for probably the last club of his career.
"He has been a big coach before and we hoped he would be a big coach again. But apparently not when you see him now.
"Among football trainers he is highly regarded. The Swedish coach Lars Lagerback rates Sven as he doesn't care about his affairs.
"I think he will probably take over the Swedish national team after Manchester City as his last job in his career. Despite everything that has gone on he would be a popular appointment."
PORTUGAL
Alberto da Silva
A Bola
"Eriksson worked for Benfica twice and on both occasions he was loved by the people.
"He is a man of great kindness, a very quiet person who knows a thing or two about football.
"When he came back in 1989 it was after a wave of popularity demanding his return.
"The club wanted him back and he did not disappoint, although they didn't win what they all wanted which was the European Cup.
"That was the moment of truth for him but he lost it and he looked for a different future.
"Benfica won the title the following year and then he was off to Italy again.
"That was a long time ago - now it is a different world.
"Eriksson wanted to come back here this summer but the people at Benfica were not keen on him - that is when he came to the conclusion he should take a club in England.
"He couldn't give Benfica anything else after being manager of England - everyone can see his days are over and he is a man of the past.
"Obviously the hunger has gone - when he was leading England in the World Cup he had nothing to offer any more.
"He would like to go back to Italy but they also don't want him. He had no alternative but to go to Manchester City.
"At Manchester City I don't know what he will do but certainly nothing that we don't already know.
"If there is money to come from the Thai consortium that is what he is now after."
ITALY
Giancarlo Galavotti
La Gazzetta dello Sport
"Eriksson came to Italy with what was at the time quite an innovative 4-4-2 system.
"When he arrived at Roma he was unquestionably the new kid in town.
"He was a modern coach in a number of ways and presented himself decently - he had this aura of a professor and a niceness about him.
"He created his own image which has lasted a good few years in spite of the way it ended at Roma.
"The famous moniker that was attributed to him in his final years, before he finally won the title with Lazio in peculiar circumstances, was "il perdente di successo" - the successful loser.
"He was the nearly man in a way. He won with Lazio in his last full season but on a couple of occasions he managed to lose the title despite being in a position of favour.
"They won the title with Pierluigi Collina's help when he let that awful game between Perugia and Juventus go on in spite of the pitch being unplayable because of a storm.
"And how much did he spend? Had Roman Abramovich managed to take him away from England he is the sort of coach who would have gone along with each and every one of his whims - he would not have questioned him like Jose Mourinho does.
"With Eriksson it would have been a feast of galacticos.
"When he moved from Sampdoria to Lazio he insisted Roberto Mancini would join him at the earliest and a couple of others followed. He was not the sort of manager who would just do with what he had.
"Sampdoria were the nearly club. Their owner Paolo Mantovani was a gentleman and he got gentleman Sven in as coach, and with Gianluca Vialli and Mancini they were everyone's second club.
"They had some good spells and undoubted quality in the squad. They had an appealing package but Sampdoria were not expected to challenge for the title every year like AC Milan, Juventus or Inter were.
"They were the fairytale team and Eriksson milked such advantages, any success such as a cup or playing in Europe would be a plus rather than concentrating on the failure of not challenging for the title.
"It was good enough for him to keep himself in the picture as one of top managers in Serie A.
"It always seems that 90% of his players love him - perhaps because he hardly ever loses his temper.
"He is a chairman's manager and a player's manager, they can express themselves without any dictatorial restrictions.
"Eriksson and Manchester City is a meeting of two parties that have run out of options. City wanted Claudio Ranieri or someone from Europe and he is the only one available.
"Eriksson was still hoping something would happen with Fabio Capello at Real Madrid in the false belief he would be in the picture.
"He hasn't realised everyone has their sell-by date."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/6240842.stm
So what do people make of this? Is it too premature to write Eriksson off already?
Almost a year later and Eriksson is back in work as manager of Manchester City.
His international coaching credentials may leave a lot to be desired, but at club level his trophy collection is impressive.
Eriksson's CV contains league and cup Doubles in three different countries as well as European titles with Gothenburg and Lazio.
But how is he now viewed in the three countries where he cut his managerial teeth? BBC Sport spoke to journalists from Sweden, Portugal and Italy to find out.
SWEDEN
Robert Laul
Sportbladet
"Eriksson started his coaching career at Degefors in the third division but nobody knew who he was before he got the job at IFK.
"They had a good team but Sven was also credited for this because he had a new tactic where his sides pressured the opponent high up the field, which was not common in those days.
"That kind of play was new - it was a mix between the traditional English football style and the more modern game.
"He got his big breakthrough when they won the Uefa cup in 1982. No Swedish team has done anything like that.
"We followed his progress and he continued to get bigger and bigger and when he took over the English national team and they beat Germany 5-1 he was at the top of his legendary status.
"But his profile has fallen a little bit in the last few years with the side stories outside of football - the womanising and everything.
"And now by joining Manchester City it has fallen a bit more.
"I think Swedes hoped he would pick a bigger team for probably the last club of his career.
"He has been a big coach before and we hoped he would be a big coach again. But apparently not when you see him now.
"Among football trainers he is highly regarded. The Swedish coach Lars Lagerback rates Sven as he doesn't care about his affairs.
"I think he will probably take over the Swedish national team after Manchester City as his last job in his career. Despite everything that has gone on he would be a popular appointment."
PORTUGAL
Alberto da Silva
A Bola
"Eriksson worked for Benfica twice and on both occasions he was loved by the people.
"He is a man of great kindness, a very quiet person who knows a thing or two about football.
"When he came back in 1989 it was after a wave of popularity demanding his return.
"The club wanted him back and he did not disappoint, although they didn't win what they all wanted which was the European Cup.
"That was the moment of truth for him but he lost it and he looked for a different future.
"Benfica won the title the following year and then he was off to Italy again.
"That was a long time ago - now it is a different world.
"Eriksson wanted to come back here this summer but the people at Benfica were not keen on him - that is when he came to the conclusion he should take a club in England.
"He couldn't give Benfica anything else after being manager of England - everyone can see his days are over and he is a man of the past.
"Obviously the hunger has gone - when he was leading England in the World Cup he had nothing to offer any more.
"He would like to go back to Italy but they also don't want him. He had no alternative but to go to Manchester City.
"At Manchester City I don't know what he will do but certainly nothing that we don't already know.
"If there is money to come from the Thai consortium that is what he is now after."
ITALY
Giancarlo Galavotti
La Gazzetta dello Sport
"Eriksson came to Italy with what was at the time quite an innovative 4-4-2 system.
"When he arrived at Roma he was unquestionably the new kid in town.
"He was a modern coach in a number of ways and presented himself decently - he had this aura of a professor and a niceness about him.
"He created his own image which has lasted a good few years in spite of the way it ended at Roma.
"The famous moniker that was attributed to him in his final years, before he finally won the title with Lazio in peculiar circumstances, was "il perdente di successo" - the successful loser.
"He was the nearly man in a way. He won with Lazio in his last full season but on a couple of occasions he managed to lose the title despite being in a position of favour.
"They won the title with Pierluigi Collina's help when he let that awful game between Perugia and Juventus go on in spite of the pitch being unplayable because of a storm.
"And how much did he spend? Had Roman Abramovich managed to take him away from England he is the sort of coach who would have gone along with each and every one of his whims - he would not have questioned him like Jose Mourinho does.
"With Eriksson it would have been a feast of galacticos.
"When he moved from Sampdoria to Lazio he insisted Roberto Mancini would join him at the earliest and a couple of others followed. He was not the sort of manager who would just do with what he had.
"Sampdoria were the nearly club. Their owner Paolo Mantovani was a gentleman and he got gentleman Sven in as coach, and with Gianluca Vialli and Mancini they were everyone's second club.
"They had some good spells and undoubted quality in the squad. They had an appealing package but Sampdoria were not expected to challenge for the title every year like AC Milan, Juventus or Inter were.
"They were the fairytale team and Eriksson milked such advantages, any success such as a cup or playing in Europe would be a plus rather than concentrating on the failure of not challenging for the title.
"It was good enough for him to keep himself in the picture as one of top managers in Serie A.
"It always seems that 90% of his players love him - perhaps because he hardly ever loses his temper.
"He is a chairman's manager and a player's manager, they can express themselves without any dictatorial restrictions.
"Eriksson and Manchester City is a meeting of two parties that have run out of options. City wanted Claudio Ranieri or someone from Europe and he is the only one available.
"Eriksson was still hoping something would happen with Fabio Capello at Real Madrid in the false belief he would be in the picture.
"He hasn't realised everyone has their sell-by date."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/6240842.stm
So what do people make of this? Is it too premature to write Eriksson off already?
