Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has terminal cancer and believes he has “best case” a year to live.
The Swede, 75, said he was shocked to discover he was living with the condition but hopes to make the best of the time he has left.
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He told Swedish radio station P1: “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.”
Asked if he knew how long he had left, he replied: “Maybe at best a year, at worst even less, or in the best case I suppose even longer.
“I’m not in any major pain. But I’ve been diagnosed with a disease that you can slow down but you cannot operate. So it is what it is.
“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.”
Sending our love, Sven ❤️ pic.twitter.com/s6ga1APO0c
— England (@England) January 11, 2024
Renown for his calm demeanour, Eriksson carved out a reputation as one of Europe’s best coaches in the 1980s and 90s, winning domestic titles with IFK Gothenburg, Benfica and Lazio before taking on the England job in 2001.
He led the ‘Golden Generation’ that included the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen to three successive quarter-final appearances at major tournaments before leaving after the 2006 World Cup.
A year-long spell at Manchester City followed, after which he had a nomadic career that included spells in Mexico, Ivory Coast, China and the Philippines.
