England’s former national coach
©IMAGO
England’s former national coach Sven-Göran Eriksson is terminally ill. The 75-year-old said in an interview published on Thursday by the Swedish radio station “SR P1” that he was seriously ill with cancer and, in the best case scenario, had perhaps another year to live. It is therefore incurable pancreatic cancer. Almost a year ago, the Swede announced that he would have to take a break from work for health reasons.
Eriksson surprisingly won the UEFA Cup with IFK Göteborg in 1982, first defeating 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the semi-finals and then Hamburger SV in the final. During his decades-long coaching career, the former defender then coached numerous clubs and several national teams, including top clubs such as Benfica, AS as well as Lazio Rome and Manchester City. In addition to championships in Italy and Portugal, he also won the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Lazio and subsequently the UEFA Super Cup.
From 2001 to 2006 he was the first foreigner ever to be England’s national coach, which the Swede led to the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup, the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup in Germany. In Sweden, “Svennis” is considered the greatest football coach the country has ever had. He most recently worked as sports director at the Swedish third division club IF Karlstad until the end of February.
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