Sven-Goran Eriksson says goodbye and how he wants to be remembered | Football | Sport

Terminally ill Sven-Goran Eriksson has sent the world an emotional farewell message as he approaches the end of his life. The former England manager, 76, announced in January that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had, at best, “a year to live”.

In the months since, Eriksson has been on something of a farewell tour, having made appearances at various football grounds across Europe including those of former teams Lazio, Benfica and Sampdoria. Speaking on a new Amazon Prime documentary about his life, titled ‘Sven’, the Swede issued a heart-wrenching goodbye message, telling fans: “Don’t be sorry… smile”.

“I had a good life, yes,” an emotional Eriksson said. “I think we all are scared of the day when it’s finished, when we die. But the life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it, of what it is.”

Continuing, he added: “Hopefully at the end, people will say, ‘Yeah, he was a good man’. But everyone will not say that.

“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry. Smile. Thank you for everything – coaches, players, the crowd. It’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself, and take care of your life, and live it. Bye.”

Eriksson became England’s first-ever foreign manager in 2001, and spent five years in charge of the team. He led them into three major tournaments, but was knocked out at the quarter-final stage in each of them, despite being blessed with a so-called ‘Golden Generation’ of players, which included the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole.

Eriksson’s philandering is the stuff of legend, and he made headlines on the regular during his stint as Three Lions boss. His relationship with glamorous socialite lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio caught the public’s attention, as did his affairs with TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson and FA secretary Faria Alam.

Opening up about his various flings, Eriksson admitted he was “stupid” but insisted he never did anything illegal. “Sex is one of the good things in life for all of us. She was not married. I was not married.

“Probably I was stupid but I think I didn’t do anything criminal. I didn’t really disturb anyone.” He later added: “I had a good life, maybe too good. You have to pay for it.”

Elsewhere, Eriksson had stints in charge of Manchester City and Leicester City, as well as a brief six-month spell as director of football at Notts County. He also managed in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, with notable spells at Benfica, Lazio, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and IFK Goteborg.

Aside from England, he managed three other international teams; Mexico, Ivory Coast and The Philippines, the latter of which ended up being his final job in football. He retired from the game in 2019.