Soccer

Sven-Goran Eriksson hopes to be remembered as ‘a good man’

The 76-year-old former England manager is terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.

Sven-Goran Eriksson says he hopes he will be remembered as a “good man”
Sven-Goran Eriksson says he hopes he will be remembered as a “good man” (Martin Rickett/PA)
By PA Sport Staff

Terminally ill former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson hopes he will be remembered as “a good man”.

The 76-year-old stepped down from his most recent role as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad in February 2023 due to health issues.

In January, the Swede revealed he had “best case a year” to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Speaking at the end of upcoming Amazon Prime Video documentary ‘Sven’ and quoted in the Mirror, he said: “I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well.

“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.”

Eriksson became the first foreign England manager when he was appointed in 2001 and subsequently led the team to the quarter-finals of two World Cups and one European Championship.

Erikssen fulfilled a lifelong dream when he took charge of a Liverpool Legends match in March
Erikssen fulfilled a lifelong dream when he took charge of a Liverpool Legends match in March (Peter Byrne/PA)

He was in charge of England for five years before leaving after the 2006 World Cup.

In March, a long-held dream of managing Liverpool was fulfilled when Eriksson took charge of a ‘Legends’ charity match at a packed Anfield.

In January, the former Manchester City and Leicester manager told Swedish Radio P1: “Everyone can see that I have a disease that’s not good, and everyone supposes that it’s cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as long as possible.

“It’s pancreatic – you can’t operate on it. It can be slowed.

Eriksson was the first foreign manager to take charge of England’s men
Eriksson was the first foreign manager to take charge of England’s men (Owen Humphreys/PA)

“I know that in the best case it’s about a year, in the worst case even less. Or in the best case I suppose even longer. I don’t think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can’t put a day on it.

“It’s better not to think about it. You have to trick your brain. I could go around thinking about that all the time and sit at home and be miserable and think I’m unlucky and so on.

“It’s easy to end up in that position. But no, see the positive sides of things and don’t bury yourself in setbacks, because this is the biggest setback of them all of course.”