Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76, his family has said.
Erikssonhad pancreatic cancer and at the beginning of 2024 revealed he only had a year to live “at best”.
“Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away,” his family said in a statement. “After a long illness, SGE died during the morning at home surrounded by family.
“The closest mourners are daughter Lina; son Johan with wife Amana and granddaughter Sky; father Sven; girlfriend Yanisette with son Alcides; brother Lars-Erik with wife Jumnong.”
The Swede became the first foreign manager of the England men’s football team in 2001, coaching the so-called “golden generation” of players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, and Frank Lampard.
Among those paying tribute was Prince William, president of the Football Association (FA), who said: “Sad to hear about the passing of Sven-Goran Eriksson.
“I met him several times as England manager and was always struck by his charisma and passion for the game.
“My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game.”
Image: Eriksson after being unveiled as England’s new manager. Pic: Reuters
During his career, Eriksson managed a string of high-profile European clubs such as Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio.
Eriksson left the England role after the 2006 World Cup and would later manage Mexico and the Ivory Coast, as well as English clubs Manchester City and Leicester City.
He rose from being a PE teacher in a small Swedish town to the peaks of English football.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Due to his health issues, he stepped down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad in February 2023.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “This is a very sad day. He gave all England fans such special memories.
“No one can ever forget the 5-1 victory in Munich against Germany under Sven’s guidance.
“Sven will be rightly recognised and forever remembered for his significant work with the England team, and for his wider contribution to the game.
“On behalf of my colleagues at The FA, past and present, our thoughts are with his friends and family today. He will be much missed, and we will pay tribute to him when we play Finland at Wembley next month.”
After announcing his cancer diagnosis, Eriksson was granted his lifelong wish when he led out Liverpool Legends, as they played in a charity match against Ajax at Anfield in March.
Image: Eriksson waves to the crowd at the Liverpool Legends match in March. Pic: PA
He described that moment as “absolutely beautiful” and a “huge memory” in his life, with Liverpool winning the game 4-2.
Paying tribute, Liverpool said: “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Sven’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.”
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Speaking previously, Eriksson said he hoped to be remembered as “a good man”.
“I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well,” he said, speaking at the end of the Amazon Prime documentary ‘Sven’.
Image: Sven-Goran Eriksson and David Beckham.
Pic: PA
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
He added: “You have to learn to accept it for what it is. Hopefully, at the end people will say, ‘yeah, he was a good man’, but everyone will not say that.
“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do.
“Don’t be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” by news of Eriksson’s passing.
He said: “He will be remembered for his tremendous contribution to English football which brought joy to so many over the years. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Sven-Göran Eriksson doubted so much whether England could ever have a foreign manager that an initial approach was considered a joke. Intrigued eventually by the ground-breaking opportunity, rather than being deterred by the indignation, the Swede would launch the Three Lions into five of the most frenzied years in their history. Everything belied his suave demeanour - from allowing a celebrity culture to consume the team to being an unlikely headline-making […]
Post comments (0)