Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who led England from 2001 to 2006, passed away on Monday at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, according to his agent.
Eriksson, who guided England to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006, had announced in February 2023 that he was stepping back from public life due to “health issues.” In January, he revealed to Sveriges Radio that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had been given a prognosis of “at best maybe a year to live, at worst a little less.”
Born on February 5, 1948, in Sunne, western Sweden, Eriksson, affectionately known as “Svennis” in Sweden, achieved notable success as a football manager following a modest career as a defender.
He began his managerial career in 1977 with Swedish club Degerfors IF. His success with the small club drew the attention of larger teams, leading him to manage Sweden’s IFK Göteborg and later Benfica in Portugal, as well as several Italian clubs, including Roma and Lazio.
Eriksson’s most high-profile role was as the first foreigner to manage England’s national team. Under his leadership, England reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, where they were eliminated by Brazil, and again in 2006, where they were defeated by Portugal in a penalty shoot-out. Additionally, he guided England to the quarter-finals of the 2004 European Championship, only to be knocked out by Portugal once more in another penalty shoot-out.
Eriksson left the England role in 2006 after a five-year tenure marked by a memorable 5-1 victory over Germany in a World Cup qualifier and various personal controversies.
Following his time with England, Eriksson managed Mexico, Ivory Coast and the Philippines, but never took charge of Sweden’s national team.
