Former England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, died this morning at the age of 76.
Eriksson, who famously made history by becoming England’s first foreign boss when he took the role in 2001, died on Monday morning after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
The Swede had been ill for a while and in January 2023 announced the shocking news that he ‘had at best a year to live’.
He had recently resigned from his post as sporting director of Karlstad in his native Sweden and had sought medical advice after collapsing during a 5km run, with doctors also discovering he suffered a stroke.
A statement from his agent on Monday, August 26 read: “Sven-Göran Eriksson has passed away. After a long illness, he died in 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.”
“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.”
Born on February 5 1948, Eriksson grew up in Sweden where he became a professional footballer.
Making his first move into management with Degerfors IF, Eriksson got the job with Swedish giants Goteborg where he announced himself on the European stage by winning the UEFA Cup in 1971/72.
He was then snapped up by Benfica in 1982 where he won three Primeira Divisao titles and a Portuguese Cup alongside finishing as runners-up in both the European Cup and UEFA Cup across two spells.
In January 2001, Eriksson took charge of the England national team and led the team to two World Cups and one European Championship, leading ‘the Golden Generation’ featuring David Beckham, John Terry Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and others.
