Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has a “best case scenario” left to live for a year.
The 75-year-old coached England at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, losing in the quarter-finals on both occasions.
In February last year, Eriksson left his role at Swedish club Karlstad due to “health problems”.
“Everyone sees that I have a disease that is not good, and everyone thinks it is cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as much as possible,” Eriksson said in an interview with Swedish radio station P1.
“I know at best it’s about a year and at worst it’s even less,” he said, according to a transcript on the P1 website. “I don’t think the doctors I have available can be absolutely sure, they can’t set a day for it.”
Eriksson said he was trying not to think about his illness, adding: “You have to trick your brain. I could think about it all the time, sitting at home and feeling miserable, thinking I’m unlucky and so on.”
“It’s easy to end up in this situation. But no, look at the bright side of things and don’t bury yourself in setbacks, because this is obviously the biggest setback of all. It came out of nowhere. And that leaves us shocked,” Eriksson added .
“I don’t feel much pain. But I was diagnosed with a disease that can be slowed down but cannot be operated on. So things are as they are.”
Eriksson began his career at Degerfors IF in Sweden before managing Benfica during a period of immense success between 1982 and 1984.
He also won titles with Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio before becoming the first foreign coach to lead the English national team in 2001.
Despite missing just five competitive matches, Eriksson’s time in England was a rollercoaster, with some excellent performances on the pitch accompanied by scandals.
His England team was heralded as a golden generation, with a squad featuring high-profile players such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, but failed to win any major titles.
As well as two World Cup quarter-finals, England also reached the quarter-finals of the 2004 European Championship, when they lost on penalties to Portugal.
The Swede hit the headlines after an affair with former English Football Association secretary Faria Alam and was involved in the infamous ‘Fake Sheikh’ operation, when a tabloid put him in touch with a journalist posing as a rich Arab investor.
Since his departure from the England national team in 2006, Eriksson has managed several teams, including Manchester City, the Mexican national team and Leicester City.
Source: Terra
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