By Chris Charles BBC Sport Online

As marriages go, football and music are hardly a match made in heaven.

Like Burton and Taylor, the novelty wears off as quickly as the amnesia drugs.

Sure, there have been some good times - New Order, Baddiel and Skinner...

But for every Three Lions there are 12 swamp monsters waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting public.

Think Kevin Keegan's Head Over Heels In Love, Gazza's Fog On The Tyne and those Diamond Lights from Hoddle and Waddle.

Can a blast of Jerusalem put Beckham on the road to recovery?

More spine-chilling than tingling, it has to be said.

But at last it seems the record companies are realising the joke is wearing thin and have come up with a revolutionary idea.

Don't let the football personality within striking distance of a microphone - let him pick his own songs instead.

Brilliant.

Better still, convince an England coach who has been transformed from Johnny Foreigner to Johnny B Goode in 18 heady months to be your guinea pig.

Foolproof.

Let's face it, Mr Eriksson could have selected Agadoo, the Birdie Song and Head Over Heels In Love and no-one would have batted an eyelid.

Instead he has gone for an interesting selection of classical numbers unlikely to be found in your average England fan's record collection.

England fans may buy the CD in anticipation of the World Cup

Although you have to wonder just how many of these tunes are truly Sven's cup of tebuske (that's tea in Swedish for the uninitiated.)

Would a Scandinavian intellect really reflect in a tastefully-lit room for a few hours and come up with the rousing English anthems Jerusalem and Rule Britannia?

It is akin to your average Premiership footballer not listing a Phil Collins number in his all-time top 10.

And yet, according to Sven's sleevenotes, the choices are all his own work.

"These classics are among my absolute favourites," he enthuses.

Hmm.

Other pieces he has plucked from the archives include Handel's Arrival of the Queen Of Sheba, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and Profokiev's Dance of the Knights.

Homeward bound

There is also a number called Elizabethan Serenade by Binge - a composer very close to the hearts of some England footballers, one suspects.

But the most worrying selection in these post-Beckham times, is the inclusion of a Swedish composition called God in Disguise by Larsson.

A quick glance at the World Cup fixtures calendar reveals England's first opponents are a Swedish side propelled by the striking talents of one Henrik Larsson.

Might as well get the return flight booked now.

The Sven Goran Eriksson Classical Collection is available on the Naxos record label.