After a fight with pancreatic cancer, Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who managed England from 2001 to 2006, passed away on Monday at the age of 76, according to his representative.
Eriksson’s representative Bo Gustavsson told AFP, “He passed away peacefully this morning with his family around him at his home.”
The Swede, who led several well-known teams and led England to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2002 and 2006, declared in February 2023 that he was leaving the public eye because of “health issues”.
He revealed to public radio station Sveriges Radio in January that he had pancreatic cancer and that his doctor had given him “at best maybe a year (to live), at worst a little less” time to live.
“This has been known to us, but it occurred really fast. We didn’t anticipate that happening today,” Gustavsson said to the AFP.
Born in Sunne, western Sweden, on February 5, 1948, Eriksson—known to Swedes as “Svennis”—achieved success as a football manager following his retirement from a middling defense career.
During his tenure, he led England to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals, when Brazil eliminated them.
– ‘Special memories’ –
They also made it to the last eight, which took place four years later. In that match, Wayne Rooney was sent off following a confrontation with Cristiano Ronaldo, his teammate at Manchester United, and Portugal prevailed on penalties.
Eriksson guided England to the 2004 Euros’ round of eight, when they were eliminated by Portugal in yet another penalty shootout.
After five years as the head of the England office, he departed in 2006.
Along with controversies surrounding his personal life, his tenure as manager included a stunning 5-1 victory against Germany in a World Cup qualifier.
It’s a pretty depressing day. The CEO of the England Football Association, Mark Bullingham, stated in a statement, “He gave all England fans such special memories.”
“Sven will be rightly recognised and forever remembered for his significant work with the England team, and for his wider contribution to the game,” Bullingham said.
Eriksson managed the national teams of Mexico, the Ivory Coast, and the Philippines in the future, but never the Swedish team of his birth.
Shikhar Dhawan signs up for Legends League days after retirement
