Former England Football Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson Dies at 76

Those of us who grew up watching English football (and are old enough) may remember former England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, a legendary football manager from the 1980s to early 2000s.

The Swedish manager passed away peacefully in his home at Bjorkefors, Sweden, on Monday (26 Aug), more than seven months after he had revealed that he was battling with pancreatic cancer.

Eriksson stepped down in Feb 2023 from his role at Swedish club Karlstad as sporting director due to health issues, and was diagnosed with terminal cancer in early Jan 2024.

Although he was told that he had only about a year left to live, Sven remained positive and told Swedish Radio P1 that it was “better not to think about it”.

Received warm welcomes and heartfelt messages

Following his announcement in January, Sven was invited to many of his former football clubs in Sweden, England, Portugal and Italy, including Lazio and Sampdoria.

Many of the clubs also expressed their best wishes to the Swede, with English football club Manchester City sending their “collective support to our former manager, and his family and friends, during this time” and England’s national team saying they were “sending our love, Sven”.

In Mar 2024, Eriksson helped lead a Liverpool Legends team in a charity match to win 4-2 against Ajax Legends at Anfield, which was a lifelong ambition of his.

Eriksson’s Career

After retiring as a player at the age of 27, Eriksson started his career as a manager at Swedish football club Degerfors in 1977.

His international breakthrough came shortly after he was appointed as manager at IFK Göteborg in 1979 and led them to win the 1981-82 UEFA Cup, making them the first Swedish club to clinch the title.

After securing several league titles in Italy and Portugal, Eriksson led Italian club Lazio to win the title at Italian championship Serie A in 2000, making it their second time in history doing so.

He then went on to lead England’s national team from 2001 to 2006 as the first non-Briton manager of the team, and subsequently became the manager for other clubs like Manchester City, Leicester City and the Ivory Coast national team.

Like former England striker Michael Owen said after Eriksson’s passing, Eriksson is “one of the very best” and “a man who will be sadly missed by everyone in the world of football.”