Former England manager dies aged 76

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died aged 76, his agent has announced.

Eriksson said in January that he had been diagnosed with cancer and given “best case a year” to live by doctors, with the footballing world showing their support for the Swede.

A statement said Eriksson had “died during the morning at home surrounded by family”. Fans have been invited to post messages of condolences online.

We’re tremendously saddened by the passing of our former Director of Football, Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this very sad time 🖤 pic.twitter.com/wmAVa9q33m

— Notts County FC (@Official_NCFC) August 26, 2024

Eriksson began his career in his homeland, where his achievements included winning the Uefa Cup with Goteborg in 1982, and collected a haul of trophies with Benfica, Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio before taking the England job.

England reached the quarter-finals of three major tournaments under Eriksson between 2001 and 2006, and he went on to briefly manage Manchester City before taking over as Mexico boss.

He also led Leicester City and took three roles with Chinese clubs, as well as spells in charge of Ivory Coast and the Philippines.

Everyone at West Ham United is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.

We send our deepest condolences to Sven’s family, friends and loved ones. Rest in peace, Sven ❤️ pic.twitter.com/d26JYdpTb9

— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 26, 2024

Off the pitch, Eriksson was popular because of his charisma, calm demeanour and man management, with the likes of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney voicing their admiration for their former manager in an Amazon documentary, ‘Sven’, which was released on Friday.

A Liverpool fan, Eriksson realised his ambition of managing at Anfield when he took charge of the home side for a charity match in March.

“That will be a huge memory in life – absolutely beautiful,” Eriksson said afterwards. “I cried. It was beautiful. To sit on the bench for Liverpool was the dream all my life and now it has happened. It was a beautiful day in every sense.”

In the documentary, Eriksson thanked fans and the players and coaches he worked with during his career, calling his experiences “fantastic”.

“Don’t be sorry – smile,” he said. “Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”