Former England Manager Sven Goran Eriksson Breathes His Last

Swedish manager Sven Goran Eriksson reached his heavenly abode on Monday, the 26th of August 2024., aged 76 years. The manager was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Eriksson had a swathe of high-profile jobs as a manager with his time in charge of the Three Lions between 2001-2006 widely remembered.

He also has stints with clubs such as Manchester City, Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio, Sampdoria, and Leicester City to name a few.

“He passed away peacefully this morning with his family around him at his home,” Eriksson’s agent Bo Gustavsson said following his passing.

He began life as a head coach with Swedish side Degerfors IF back in the year 1977, with whom he won the Division 3 Västra Svealand in 19789, before making the switch to IFK Goteborg in 1979, who he led to the Svenska Cupen twice. Eriksson also clinched the UEFA Cup in 1981-82 with Goteborg.

He coached Portugues side Benfica to three title during his tenure in Lisbon, before making the switch to Serie A with Roma, where he won the 1985-86 Coppa Italia.

He also clinched the Italian Cup tournament with Sampdoria, following his over to the Ligurian side.

Eriksson enjoyed his most successful stint as a manager with Lazio as he helmed the Roman side to the Serie A title in the 1999-2000 season, while also claiming the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia twice each. He also managed to clinch the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with Le Aquile.

His exceptional performance in the Serie A earned him a management role in the English national setup, which turned out to be controversial time and again during the Swede’s time at the hotseat. He was England’s first-ever foreign-born coach and was the man in charge during the Three Lions’ failed thrust for the FIFA World Cup Ttitle in the 2002 and 2006 editions.

UEFA shared a note thatread, “On behalf of the European football community, everybody at UEFA is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Sven Göran Eriksson. A beloved figure in the game, Sven was a UEFA Cup winner as coach of IFK Göteborg in 1982 before leading Lazio to the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999. Rest in peace, Sven.”