Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has “best case a year” to live after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 75-year-old Swede was the first foreign coach to manage England and led the side to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and 2004 Euros.
“I’m going to resist for as long as I can,” Eriksson told Swedish Radio P1.
“I have an illness that’s serious. Best case a year, I have worst case a lot less. It’s impossible to say exactly, so it’s better to not think about it.”
Eriksson, who had a 42-year career in management, stood down from his most recent role as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago because of health issues.
He said he was trying to stay positive and “make something good” from his cancer diagnosis.
“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,” he said.
Eriksson began his managerial career with Degerfors in 1977 before joining fellow Swedish side Gothenburg, where he won the Swedish title, two Swedish cups and the 1981 Uefa Cup.
He then went on to enjoy two spells with Portuguese giants Benfica as well as Italian sides Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Lazio – where he won seven trophies including the Serie A title, two Italian Cups and the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup.
Historic England appointment
Eriksson resigned from his post at Lazio in January 2001 to succeed Kevin Keegan as England manager.
During his time with England, Eriksson led the Three Lions to a famous 5-1 win against Germany in Munich during qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, with Michael Owen scoring a hat-trick.
Eriksson was in charge for two World Cup campaigns, exiting both the 2002 and 2006 editions at the quarter-final stage with Ronaldinho’s long-range free kick helping Brazil beat England 2-1 in the former, while Portugal prevailed on penalties after Wayne Rooney had been sent off following an incident with his Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in the latter.
He took the national side to just one European Championship in 2004 when it was Portugal again who sent England home with another penalty shootout victory in the last eight.
After a five year stint, it was announced in January 2006 that Eriksson was to leave his role following that summer’s World Cup in Germany despite having two years left on his contract.
No official reason was given for his departure at the time, though the Swede had come under pressure after being caught in a newspaper sting by a tabloid journalist.
His years as England manager were marked by scandal over his private life, including newspapers revealing affairs with television presenter Ulrika Jonsson in 2002 and former Football Association secretary Faria Alam in 2004.
Eriksson went on to have a varied managerial career following his England departure, including spells with Manchester City and Leicester City, along with roles with national sides Mexico, Ivory Coast and the Philippines.
He also had a short spell as director of football at League Two side Notts County in 2009-10.
His final club jobs were with Chinese Super League sides Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzhen between 2013 and 2017, while his final managerial position was a 10-game spell as Philippines boss between October 2018 and January 2019.