Sven-Göran Eriksson, England’s first overseas manager and winner of multiple honours at club level, has died at the age of 76.
Eriksson revealed in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and that he likely had “at best” about a year to live. He had stood down from his final job, as sporting director at Karlstad in his native Sweden, the previous February because of what he described at the time as “health issues which are under investigation”.
Eriksson’s death was confirmed by Bo Gustavsson, the former Lazio coach’s agent in Sweden, via his UK PR agent, Dean Eldredge of Oporto Sports. Gustavsson said Eriksson had died on Monday morning at home surrounded by family. “The family ask that their wish to be able to mourn in privacy is respected and that they are not contacted,” a statement said.
Eriksson’s managerial career spanned more than four decades, during which he won 18 trophies. It began in Sweden with Degerfors IF before he took charge of IFK Göteborg. Eriksson was 30 and barely known to the players of one of the country’s leading clubs, but he was unfazed and proved a huge success, leading Göteborg to the Swedish title and the Uefa Cup in 1982.
That led to Eriksson being appointed manager of Benfica and, again, he proved a success, winning two league titles and reaching another Uefa Cup final in 1983. This time he was on the wrong side of the result after a 2-1 aggregate defeat by Anderlecht.
Eriksson’s star was on the rise, however. He moved on to Roma and then Fiorentina before returning to Benfica in 1989, leading the Portuguese club to another league title and, in 1990, a European Cup final, where they lost to Milan. That led to a return to Italy with Sampdoria, whom he guided to a Coppa Italia triumph in 1994, before a move to Lazio where Eriksson was backed in the transfer market by the club’s wealthy president Sergio Cragnotti and repaid that faith with a Serie A title in 2000. It was only the second time the Rome club had won Italy’s biggest prize.
By that stage Eriksson was one of the most highly regarded managers in Europe and, as such, it was not a great surprise that the Football Association targeted him to be Kevin Keegan’s successor as England manager. His appointment in January 2001 still proved controversial within a section of the media, however, given his nationality. “We’ve sold our birth-right down the fjord to a nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half their life in the dark,” wrote the Daily Mail. The Sun described Eriksson’s appointment as a “terrible, pathetic, self-inflicted indictment”.
Eriksson dealt with the rage in typically cool, calm fashion and got off to a perfect start, leading England to a 3-0 victory over Spain at Villa Park in February 2001. Seven months later, came the high point of his England career – a 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich. Writing in the Guardian, David Lacey described the result as “ecstasy in spades”, and for Eriksson it well and truly represented lift-off. As Lacey also wrote that night: “The appointment has taken on the touch of genius.”
England would require another memorable result – a 2-2 draw with Greece at Old Trafford in October 2001 – to secure qualification for the following summer’s World Cup and it was at this point that the other aspect of Eriksson’s time in charge – controversy – came to the fore. Not long before the tournament in Japan and South Korea, it was revealed Eriksson had had an affair with television presenter, and fellow Swede, Ulrika Jonsson. It was not the last time his love life received such attention.
Eriksson was accused of not getting the most out of England’s so-called golden generation but he led the county to three major tournaments and, in each one, reached the quarter-finals. He departed from his post at the end of the 2006 World Cup having been caught up in a tabloid sting in the January of that year that saw him tell the ‘Fake Sheikh’ that he would be willing to manage Aston Villa were they to be the subject of a Middle Eastern takeover. That followed reported dalliances with Manchester United and Chelsea and, ultimately, his position had become untenable: it was announced prior to the World Cup that Eriksson would be leaving, regardless of how England performed in Germany.
“The unfair thing is not the football press,” Eriksson later said about the tumultuous nature of his five years in charge of England. “The unfair thing is the rest of the press, which can’t see the difference between your private life and your professional life. When that gets mixed up, one way or another, that’s bad, very bad.”
Eriksson went on to manage a host of clubs and countries, including Manchester City, Leicester, Mexico and, finally in 2019, the Philippines. In March 2024 he also realised a childhood dream by managing Liverpool at Anfield in a charity game. “It was a beautiful day,” Eriksson said afterwards.
A documentary about Eriksson’s life, simply entitled ‘Sven’, was shown on Amazon Prime before his death and contained a message from the man himself that poignantly summed up his good humour, grace and dignity. “Don’t be sorry, smile,” Eriksson said. “Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”
