Ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson passed away this morning at the age of 76.
Eriksson, who famously made history by becoming the nation’s first foreign boss when he took the role in 2001, passed away from pancreatic cancer.
The former manager had been ill for a while and in January announced the shock 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 read: “Sven-Göran Erikssonhas passed away. After a long illness, he died during 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.”
Paying tribute, FA CEO Mark Bullingham said:
“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.
Playing as a right-back in his home country, it was in management where he became one of the most recognisable figures in world football.
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.
Spells with Roma, Fiorentina and a return to Benfica followed, before a successful five years with Sampdoria saw him secure a move to Lazio in 1997.
His time at the Stadio Olympico was arguably the most successful of his career with Eriksson winning the Serie A title in 2000, along with two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italianas.
He also won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, along with finishing as runners up in the UEFA Cup.
At Lazio, Eriksson led a number of iconic stars including Pavel Nedved, Marcelo Salas, Alen Boksic and Diego Simeone.
He was also responsible for signing Christian Vieri from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 1998 for £21million, before selling him to Inter Milan a year later for a world-record fee of £32million.
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.
Most famously, Eriksson masterminded the famous 5-1 hammering of Germany at Berlin’s Olympiastadion with Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey and a Michael Owen hat-trick earning a memorable win.
Speaking of that result to talkSPORT earlier this year, Eriksson said: “That was my best result in one football match, yes.
“Germany away, normally you don’t win. You don’t win 5-1. That was too much to be true, but it was true.”
Discussing his England reign as a whole, he added:
“It was [enjoyable]. Absolutely. I was very happy. Very proud to have that job.
“To be the England manager, I think is the highest you can come in that profession.”
After England, he managed Manchester City, Mexico and Leicester, with his last role coming as manager of Liverpool Legends.
It was a poignant moment in one of his last public appearances as Eriksson finally finally got to manage the team he had supported since he was a child.
He was visibly moved at hearing a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – a song dedicated to Eriksson and in an interview with LFC TV after the game, he remarked: “A memory for life. Everybody was the winner today.
“It was beautiful, absolutely incredible. Everything from You’ll Never Walk Alone to the rest of the match.
“I think we were the better team even in the first half. You always worry that you lose, but it was a very good first half, an extremely good second half. But the big winners were all of us.”
Meanwhile, Gerrard praised Eriksson for masterminding the comeback win, as he stated: “He changed everything at half-time, he knew we had no width in the first half and we were trying to fit through the middle.
“He’s still got it, he’s still got the magic. He made the difference.
“Sven being here today was very special, as soon as I knew he was going to be the gaffer today, I couldn’t wait to come and play with him one last time.”
Renowned for being one of football’s good guys, Eriksson – and his trademark smile – will be hugely missed.
