Former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former England manager, has recently disclosed that he has been diagnosed with cancer and has approximately one year to live. The 75-year-old, who has not held a management role since 2019, had been serving as an advisor to Swedish third-tier side IF Karlstad since February 2022. However, in February 2023, Eriksson announced that he would be stepping back and reducing his public appearances due to health issues.
The Diagnosis and Eriksson’s Outlook
During an interview with Swedish radio station P1, Eriksson confirmed his cancer diagnosis. He stated, “Everyone can see that I have a disease that’s not good, and everyone supposes that it’s cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as long as possible. I know that in the best case, it’s about a year, in the worst case 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.”
Eriksson acknowledges the difficulty of his situation but chooses to focus on the positive aspects of life. He believes that dwelling on his misfortune would only lead to misery. He said, “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. It’s easy to end up in that position. But no, see the positive sides of things and don’t bury yourself in setbacks because this is the biggest setback of them all, of course.”
Eriksson’s Career Highlights
Eriksson’s managerial career includes notable achievements with the England men’s national team. He led the team to the quarter-finals in the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, and the 2006 World Cup. Following his tenure with England, Eriksson took charge of Manchester City in 2007 but was sacked after one season. He then had stints with the Mexico and Ivory Coast national teams, as well as Leicester City. From 2013 to 2017, Eriksson managed various Chinese clubs before his final role with the Philippines from 2018 to 2019. Prior to his time with England, Eriksson held managerial positions at Roma, Lazio, Sampdoria, and Benfica.
Despite his current health challenges, Eriksson’s contributions to football will always be remembered.
(Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)