Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he has terminal cancer, with the Swede revealing he has ‘best case a year’ to live.
The 75-year-old became the first foreign manager to lead the England national team and took charge of the Three Lions at three major tournaments, leading the side to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and the 2004 European Championship.
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Eriksson had earlier coached Italian side Lazio to a host of honours, including the Serie A title and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, during a decorated career in which he won 18 trophies across a number of countries. He also had short spells in charge of Manchester City and Leicester City.
Eriksson has now revealed the sad news regarding his health, telling Swedish radio station P1 of his cancer diagnosis. He said he is trying to remain positive and will ‘resist for as long’ as possible.
“Everyone understands I have an illness that’s serious. Everyone is guessing it’s cancer, and it is. But I’m going to resist for as long as I can.
“Best case a year, I have worst case a lot less. It’s impossible to say exactly, so it’s better to not really think about it.”
“You try to trick the brain, it’s too easy to succumb and become negative and get stuck at home. Better to try and see positives and not give in during hard times. Try to make something good from it.”
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