January is off to a devastating start. In a surprise announcement former England and Manchester City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed that he had terminal cancer and had ‘at best a year to live’.
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Eriksson who is 75 made the announcement on Swedish radio. For the football community this has been a devastating news as Eriksson is known for coaching what is called the ‘golden generation’ - that includes David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Sven-Goran Eriksson announces he had ‘terminal cancer’
On Swedish radio Eriksson said:
Everyone understands that I have an illness that is not good. Everyone guesses it's cancer and it is. But I have to fight as long as I can,
In the interview he continued to explain his diagnosis. He explained that his life expectancy is short.
maybe at best a year, at worst 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.
Finally, he added,
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.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s impressive career
As the news of his health update continues to spread, a look in his career is needed to understand why it is making headlines. As previously stated, Eriksson coached iconic players like Beckham but it isn’t all.
The man started by playing football himself in Swedish clubs. His playing career wasn’t as rich and successful as the players he coached but on the side Eriksson studied economics and physiotherapy.
After retiring from the game at 27, he transitioned into coaching. He started in Sweden in the 1970s and then moved to Portugal where he led Benfica to being runner-ups of the 1983 UEFA Cup.
Quickly after, he moved to Italy coaching at Roma. His career in the 1980s and 1990s saw him coach all over Europe before becoming England’s manager in January 2001. As the coach of the national team, he had many high and lows and never managed to lead the team to win the World Cup. Moreover, as time went on, commentators and fans were less than impressed with his performance.
He left the national team after the 2006 World Cup. After this he moved back to club management including Manchester City and Leicester City. In 2018 he became the coach for the Philippine's national team. A stint which didn’t last very long as the team didn’t manage to win the Asian Cup.
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Sources:
Sky News: Sven-Goran Eriksson: Former England manager reveals cancer diagnosis and has 'a year to live'
