(Reuters) – Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former England manager, recently revealed that he has been diagnosed with cancer and has approximately a year to live, under the “best-case scenario”. The 75-year-old oversaw England’s journey through the World Cup finals in 2002 and 2006, where they were defeated in the quarter-finals on both occasions.
In February of last year, Eriksson resigned from his position at Swedish club Karlstad, citing “health issues”.
Eriksson candidly addressed the situation during an appearance on Swedish Radio P1, stating, “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.” According to a transcript on P1’s website, he further elaborated, “I know that in the best case it’s about a year, in the worst case even less. I don’t think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can’t put a day on it.”
Despite only losing five competitive games, Eriksson’s time in charge of England was tumultuous, with excellent on-field performances overshadowed by off-the-pitch scandals. In addition to leading England, Eriksson coached prominent club teams including Benfica, AS Roma, and Manchester City during his illustrious managerial career spanning four decades.
Despite his prognosis, Eriksson mentioned that he is attempting not to dwell on his illness, stating, “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.” He expressed his belief in focusing on the positive aspects of life and not succumbing to setbacks.
Eriksson noted, “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.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in NashikEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
