Sven-Goran Eriksson opens up on his terminal cancer battle as ex-England manager, 76, says he’s ‘not thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow’… before revealing conversation with late Queen
Sven-Goran Eriksson insists that ‘life is beautiful’ and that he is doing everything he can to ‘live a normal life’, two months after announcing his diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer.
The former England boss, who will fulfill a dream on Saturday by coaching Liverpool Legends against Ajax Legends at Anfield, stunned the football world in January when he announced he had ‘about a year’ to live.
He is now back in Sweden undergoing treatment and admits his shock cancer diagnosis has put his life into sharp focus.
‘You appreciate waking up in the morning and feeling good, but normally you don’t. You take it for granted,” he said.
‘At first, when you get the diagnosis out of the blue, it’s a shock, but after a while you learn to live with it.’
Sven-Goran Eriksson has spoken candidly about his life since being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer
The former England boss spoke to commentator Steve Bower and insisted ‘life is beautiful’
Speaking to Channel 4, he added: ‘Today I live a normal life and don’t think about what will happen tomorrow or the day after. Otherwise you’ll sit there and think about feeling sorry for yourself. No. Leave it.
‘I don’t talk about it that much. It is what it is. I probably can’t stand it. Anyway, life is beautiful.’
There was immediate concern for Eriksson at the start of the year when he suddenly collapsed during a 5km run.
After visiting his doctors, it turned out that Eriksson had suffered a stroke and also had cancer.
He later said doctors were unsure how long he had had cancer: “maybe a month or a year.”
Eriksson, 76, was in charge of the England national team for five years between 2001 and 2006, guiding the Three Lions to three consecutive quarter-finals at major tournaments.
His team lost to eventual winners Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, while Portugal were eliminated on penalties in 2004 and 2006.
During his time at the helm, he had the opportunity to sit next to the late Queen at a special dinner, and he revealed they had a brief conversation.
Eriksson managed England for five years and guided them to three consecutive quarter-finals at major tournaments
Eriksson attended a special dinner with the late Queen during his time in charge of England, and she admitted to him that she didn’t really like football
The Queen’s grandson, Prince William, is a huge football fan and supports Aston Villa
The Queen, who died in September 2022 at the age of 96, admitted to Eriksson that she did not really enjoy football, unlike her grandson, Prince William, who is an avid Aston Villa fan.
Eriksson’s focus on Saturday will be on the events at Anfield, where he returns to coach one of his England stars, Steven Gerrard.
He will be in the dugout alongside Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge.
It will not be Eriksson’s first visit to Anfield, as his England side played at the stadium against Paraguay in 2002 and Uruguay in 2006.
Before the 2006 match, he said he had been influenced by Anfield’s famous boot room during his early years in management.
He said: “As a young man I would come here to Anfield every now and then and visit the famous boot room.
Eriksson will take charge at Anfield on Saturday and will be reunited with one of his former England stars, Steven Gerrard
Eriksson led England to victories against Paraguay and Uruguay in 2002 and 2006 respectively at Anfield, and will now be in charge of Liverpool Legends against Ajax Legends this weekend
‘Joe Fagan invited me there thirty years ago. I saw them train and I saw them play often and I learned a lot of things.
‘Joe was a very nice man and I got to know him well. They were always very helpful and I learned a lot. But I think the whole world learned from the great Liverpool teams of that era.
“They kept the ball, kept things simple. It was very difficult to attack them. There’s something really special here that freezes me, and that’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ when it’s sung before the teams come out.”
Watch England vs Brazil live on Channel 4 tomorrow (23.03.24) from 6pm