Soccer

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson dies aged 76

The Swede, who had been battling cancer, was the first foreign manager of the English national side.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has died aged 76
Sven-Goran Eriksson has died aged 76 (Peter Byrne/PA)
By Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76.

A statement on his official website confirmed he had died on Monday morning, surrounded by his family.

The Swede, who had been battling cancer, was the first foreign manager of the English national side, taking charge of 67 matches from 2001 to 2006.

Eriksson’s final tournament in charge of England was the 2006 World Cup
Eriksson’s final tournament in charge of England was the 2006 World Cup (Martin Rickett/PA)

He led England to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments in succession, including the World Cups of 2002 and 2006.

He was appointed after a successful career in club management, notably in Italy, where he won a Serie A and cup double, as well as the European Cup Winners’ Cup, with Lazio.

He returned to the World Cup with Ivory Coast in 2010 and also had spells in charge of Manchester City and Leicester among stints in several other countries in a lengthy career.

He was never far away from the headlines during his time in England where, apart from football, his private life was a seemingly endless source of fascination for newspapers.

Eriksson’s life and career is the subject of a new Amazon Prime documentary which was released on Friday.

In it, the Swede talked about how he hoped to be remembered.

“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do,” he said.

“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.”

The England fans’ group Free Lions were among the first to pay tribute, posting on X: “RIP Sven. For the night in Munich, amongst everything else, thank you for the memories.”

That was a reference to England’s incredible 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich in a World Cup qualifier back in September 2001.

Eriksson had succeeded Kevin Keegan as national team boss and inherited a talented squad featuring the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard.

They were beaten by eventual winners Brazil at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea, before suffering penalty shoot-out defeats to Portugal in the last eight of both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Current Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham paid tribute to Eriksson on behalf of the governing body.

“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,” Bullingham said.

“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.”

Eriksson, centre, coached a Liverpool Legends team in a match at Anfield in March
Eriksson, centre, coached a Liverpool Legends team in a match at Anfield in March (Peter Byrne/PA)

Eriksson revealed in January he had been told he had “best case” a year to live after being diagnosed with cancer.

There was a huge outpouring of support and love towards the Swede from former players and fans, and in March he was given the opportunity to coach his beloved Liverpool in a ‘Legends’ match at Anfield.

Eriksson said after the match: “To sit on the bench for Liverpool, that’s been my dream my whole life. Now it happened, and it was a beautiful day in all meanings.”

Eriksson first enjoyed coaching success in Sweden, leading IFK Gothenburg to the 1982 UEFA Cup.

He took his skills to Portugal to take charge of Lisbon giants Benfica, where he won successive top-flight titles in 1983 and 1984. In a second spell with the Eagles between 1989 and 1992 he led the team to the 1990 European Cup final and the 1991 Portuguese league title.

As well as his successful stint at Lazio, he also coached their local rivals Roma, along with Sampdoria and Fiorentina.

In 2007 he was appointed manager of Manchester City, with the team finishing in ninth position in his one season in charge. He left City in June 2008, just less than three months before the club was transformed by Sheikh Mansour’s takeover.

He also had spells in charge of Leicester and Notts County, but it is for his spell in charge of the national team that he is best remembered in England.

The Prince of Wales, patron of the FA, described Eriksson as a “true gentleman of the game” on the @KensingtonRoyal X account.