Former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson Dies Aged 76
Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76. The former England manager died this morning in his home surrounded by his loved ones after a battle with cancer. Report by Dessent-Jacksonl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00The 2000s produced some memorable moments for England's national football team, both
00:09good and bad, more often than not with Sven-Jørgen Eriksson on the sidelines.
00:25After managing clubs in Italy and his native Sweden, Eriksson was appointed England's first
00:31non-British manager in 2001.
00:34The more myopic England supporters were not too keen on the Three Lions breaking with
00:38tradition to appoint a Swede.
00:41But any fears about a foreign manager taking over the national team evaporated in one of
00:45the country's finest victories, an historic 5-1 win against Germany in Munich on their
00:51way to qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
00:56Eriksson's calm and uncomplicated approach won the respect of his players and the nation,
01:01although in a five-year stint he presided over England's so-called Golden Generation
01:06being knocked out of three major competitions at the quarter-final stage, a disappointing
01:11return for the squad he had at his disposal.
01:14His life off the pitch generated just as many headlines.
01:17The affairs with TV presenter Ulrika Johnson and FA secretary Faria Alam, and being forced
01:23to deny links to Chelsea whilst still contracted to England.
01:27Eriksson struggled to understand the often unfair media circus around him.
01:32It's always very difficult to understand that who has this job, should be a man, should
01:43be a saint, shouldn't earn a lot of money, shouldn't have a private life, and should
01:52absolutely not listen to other world possibilities in life.
01:56That I have very difficult to understand.
01:59But he did not hold any grudges as his tenure approached the end.
02:03The press is very strong in this country and football is very important, so it's a lot
02:09of pressure but I like that, it should be very bad not having pressure going into the
02:13World Cup, very bad.
02:14If you would have known what our press was like, would you have behaved differently over
02:17your time here?
02:18No, I shouldn't have behaved differently, I think, and it's OK, there's been five very
02:27good years.
02:28Following the national job, Eriksson managed Manchester City and Leicester City, and was
02:32director of football at Notts County.
02:35But there were to be no more major trophies, his last big success being the league and
02:39cup double with Italian side Lazio in 2000.
02:42He stood down from his last footballing role at Swedish club Karlstad in 2023 due to health
02:48issues, and, a year later, revealed that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
02:54Live your life as normal as possible, as long as you can, and that's what I'm doing, really.
03:01I refuse to give up, I want to live every day.
03:07Eriksson's lifelong dream was to manage Liverpool, and in March 2024 he was granted that wish,
03:12joining the management team at Anfield for a Legends charity match against Ajax.
03:18Eriksson was the man who arrived in England with a reputation as one of the world's best
03:22managers, and ultimately shared the fans' disappointment that the national side did
03:27not progress further with a talented group of players.
03:30I wish to be judged honest men, try to do the best, and that's it.
03:36Then if three quarter-finals is good enough or not, I think the two firsts were good enough,
03:45this is not good enough.
03:47And yet Sven provided us with moments that the country will never forget.