Tributes Pour In After Former England Manager Dies – Live Updates

12.38pm BST

Sven-Göran Eriksson dies aged 76

Sven-Göran Eriksson, England’s first overseas manager and a celebrated winner of numerous honours at the 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 stepped down from his final role as sporting director at Karlstad in his native Sweden the previous February due to what he described at the time as “health issues which are under investigation.”

Eriksson’s passing was confirmed by Bo Gustavsson, his agent in Sweden, through his UK PR agent, Dean Eldredge of Oporto Sports. Gustavsson stated Eriksson died on Monday morning at home surrounded by family.

Eriksson’s managerial career spanned over four decades, commencing in Sweden with Degerfors IF before he took charge of IFK Göteborg. At the age of 30, Eriksson was relatively unknown to the players of one of the country’s leading clubs, yet he remained unfazed and proved to be a considerable success, leading Göteborg to the Swedish title and the UEFA Cup in 1982.

This triumph led to his appointment as manager of Benfica, where, once again, he achieved success, winning two league titles and reaching another UEFA Cup final in 1983. Although he faced a setback with a 2-1 aggregate defeat by Anderlecht, his star continued to rise.

Eriksson moved to Roma and then Fiorentina before returning to Benfica in 1989, leading the Portuguese club to another league title and a European Cup final in 1990, where they were defeated by AC Milan. He later returned to Italy with Sampdoria, leading them to a Coppa Italia victory in 1994.

Eriksson’s career reached another peak when he moved to Lazio, where he was heavily backed in the transfer market by the club’s wealthy president, Sergio Cragnotti. Eriksson repaid this support with a Serie A title in 2000, marking only the second time the Rome club had won Italy’s premier football prize.

Source: The Guardian, Reuters