Beware the roaming doppelganger

• by Soccer America , Jul 18, 2008

[OFF THE POST] Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has been so busy with his coaching duties that some people have wondered how he manages to get it all done. Turns out, there are two of him.

The Mexican soccer federation grew suspicious when they heard reports placing Eriksson at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario in Mexico City while he simultaneously checked in from the United States.

A little research revealed that an Englishman, Derek Williams, was traveling through Mexico impersonating the new national team boss. The Eriksson doppelganger visited UNAM Pumas coach Ricardo Ferretti at one of his practices.

"To be honest I was quite amused [when I found out]," Ferretti said. "The fake Eriksson told me that he was watching my players ahead of his next call-ups, and I believed him."

The Mexican federation didn't think the impostor was so funny, releasing a statement that said, "The real Eriksson is in the United States at the moment, and the character who has been claiming to be him is just a ringer. [Williams] has carried himself with a total lack of respect."