Swedish football coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was the first foreigner to coach the English national team, has died at the age of 76.
Eriksson, a charismatic coach who led Swedish, Portuguese and Italian clubs to major trophies in the 1980s and 1990s before taking over as England manager in 2001, announced in January that he had been diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer.
Eriksson’s long-time agent Bo Gustavsson told his family early Monday (local time) that Eriksson had lost his battle with cancer.
“We knew it would end badly, everything happened very quickly in the last few weeks,” said Gustavsson.
Affectionately known as “Svennis” in his native Sweden, Eriksson had a modest nine-year playing career before retiring at the age of 27 and embarking on a nomadic coaching career that culminated in his being signed by the England national team in 2001.
Eriksson led England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2004 European Championships, coaching a golden generation of players including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
The Football Association’s patron, Prince William, said he had “always been impressed by Eriksson’s charisma and passion”.
In a personal tribute, the Prince of Wales called him a “true gentleman of the game”.
In a post on social media platform X signed W, Prince William said: “Sad to hear of the passing of Sven-Göran Eriksson. My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game. W.”
It is sad to hear of the passing of Sven-Göran Eriksson. I met him several times when he was England manager and was always impressed by his charisma and passion for the game. My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game. W
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) 26 August 2024
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to Eriksson.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sven-Göran Eriksson,” he said in a statement.
“He will be remembered for his enormous contribution to English football which has brought joy to so many people over the years. Our thoughts are with his family.”
In Sweden, Eriksson was praised as a great sports leader.
“Svennis was a football innovator and a very popular person who, despite all his international successes, remained true to his core values,” said Sweden’s Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed in a post on the social media platform X.
After leaving his post as England manager in 2006, Eriksson coached Manchester City and Leicester City, as well as the national teams of Mexico and Ivory Coast, and clubs in China and the Philippines.
He fulfilled his career dream of managing a Liverpool team at Anfield when he coached the Reds Legends in a charity match in March.
“Rest in peace, Sven-Göran Eriksson. The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Sven’s family and friends at this extremely sad time,” Liverpool said on X.
Eriksson’s life and career are the subject of a new Amazon Prime documentary released last week.
In it, the Swede spoke about how he would like to be remembered.
“I hope you will remember me as a positive person who tried to do everything he could,” he said.
“Don’t be sad, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, spectators, it was fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it.”
– with agencies
