Former England Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson Shares Terminal Cancer Diagnosis

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson walking past David Beckham during a training session in 2006. (Martin Rickett/PA)

Former England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis Thursday, telling a Swedish radio host that he may have “at best” a year to live.

The 75-year-old shared his battle with the life-threatening illness during a candid interview with Swedish national radio broadcaster P1.

Eriksson said: “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.”

The former manager is well-known throughout European football but is best known in the UK for his fondly remembered tenure as England manager, spanning from 2001 to 2006. It was the first time a foreign manager had taken the role. During that period, he led the team to the quarter-finals in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and 2004 Euros.

Eriksson’s journey in football management also saw him at the helm of Italian teams like Lazio, Roma as well as Premiership sides Manchester City and Leicester City.

Reflecting on his prognosis, Eriksson said: “I’m going to resist for as long as I can. 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.”

He continued: “You can’t be absolutely sure. It is better not to think about it. But you can trick your brain. 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.”

Health concerns had previously led him to step down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad Fotball last year. At that time, he mentioned limiting his public roles due to health issues that were being further examined.