8 months ago
57 ARTICLE AD
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The 75-year-old, who managed the Three Lions between 2001 and 2006, revealed he has 'at best a year' to live.
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Eriksson told Sweden's P1 radio station: "Everyone understands that I have an illness that is not good. Everyone guesses it's cancer and it is. But I have to fight as long as I can."
When asked for a specific prognosis, the Swede added: "Maybe at best a year, at worst a little less, or at best maybe even longer.
"You can't be absolutely sure. It is better not to think about it."
Eriksson recently resigned from his post as sporting director of Karlstad in his native Sweden.
He sought medical advice after collapsing during a 5km run, with doctors also discovering he suffered a stroke.
Eriksson added: "See the positive in things, don't wallow in adversity, because this is the biggest adversity of course, but make something good out of it.
"They don't know how long I had cancer, maybe a month or a year."
The former manager took charge of Roma, Benfica, Lazio, Manchester City and Mexico during a glittering career.
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Eriksson collected 13 major titles, winning the Portuguese Primeira Liga three times with Benfica and the Italian Serie A twice with Lazio.
In England, he is best known for his five years in charge of the national team after taking over from Kevin Keegan in 2001.
Eriksson oversaw the famous 5-1 win over Germany and took England's 'Golden Generation' to three major tournaments.
The Three Lions suffered traditional heartbreak under Eriksson, getting knocked out in the last-16 of the 2002 World Cup - and then the quarter finals of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Since leaving the England job, Eriksson had stints at Man City and Leicester, plus the Mexico and Ivory Coast national teams, and also spent time as Notts County's director of football.
He led Chinese Super League sides Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzhen between 2013 and 2017 and his final managerial post was with the Philippines from October 2018 to January 2019.
Eriksson says he still watches an 'incredible amount' of football and remains in contact with Karlstad - who are in the third tier of the Swedish league system - although he is not employed by them.
He said: "Football has been like a poison for me. A good poison.
"My divorce many years ago was partly due to the football. My wife at the time wanted me to get a job where we could live more spontaneously and be free some Saturdays or Sundays. But I couldn't imagine that.
"I would never have changed that decision [to make football my life] if I had got to live again."
