Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swedish football manager who rose to fame winning championships with clubs in Italy, Portugal and Sweden before spending five years as England’s first foreign manager, died on Monday. He was 76.
Erickson died at home surrounded by his family, his agent, Bo Gustafson, told The Associated Press.
He died eight months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and revealing he had a year left to live.
The news has showered Eriksson with affection and tributes from former players and clubs, and has led to a biographical documentary being made. His favourite club is Liverpoolinvited him to coach a charity game for a day.
Known affectionately as “Svenis” in his native Sweden, Eriksson enjoyed a modest nine-year playing career before retiring at the age of 27 and embarking on a nomadic coaching career that culminated with his recruitment into the England national team in 2001.
Eriksson led a “golden generation” of players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, leading the team to the quarter-finals in both tournaments, where they lost to Brazil and Portugal respectively.
In the only other major tournament under Eriksson, at the 2004 European Championships, England lost in the quarter-finals to Portugal and, like the 2006 World Cup, were eliminated on penalties.
Eriksson’s tenure in one of the most high-profile roles in football will be remembered as much for what happened off the field as it was on it.
He had two extramarital affairs, one with the Swedish TV personality Ulrika Jonsson and the other with the Football Association secretary Faria Allam, which kept the gossip-hungry English newspapers busy.
“My personal life in the UK was not very private,” Eriksson said in 2018.
His time with England coincided with the emergence of WAG culture, with celebrities like Victoria Beckham’s partners making headlines after Eriksson allowed his players to attend the World Cup in Germany.
Eriksson later had brief stints in charge of the national teams of Mexico, Ivory Coast and the Philippines, but his only trophies came at club level.
With Swedish team IFK Gothenburg he won the league and cup double in 1982, capping off a fantastic season by also winning the now defunct UEFA Cup.
Eriksson won consecutive Portuguese titles in his first two years at Benfica (1982-84) and also won the Portuguese Cup in 1983. He returned to Benfica in 1990 and led the club to the European Cup final, losing to AC Milan, before winning the league again in 1991.
He made his name as a coach in Italy, primarily with Lazio, after stints at Roma (1984-87), Sampdoria (1992-97) (Italian Cup winner) and Fiorentina (1987-89).
He played for Lazio from 1997 to 2001, helping the team win a second league title in 2000 after Juventus collapsed late in the season, as well as two Italian Cups and finally the European Cup Winners’ Cup (1999).
Eriksson’s Lazio had a chance of winning Serie A again in 1999 but lost by a single point to AC Milan and also lost the UEFA Cup final in 1998.
“It was the best period of my career,” Eriksson said of winning seven trophies in four years at a time when Italy was competing with Spain for the top spot in European football.
