Sven-Goran Eriksson had lifelong wish granted before sad passing aged 76
Sven-Goran Eriksson's lifelong wish was fulfilled months before his sad passing aged 76.
Eriksson passed away on Monday morning following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
A statement from agent Bo Gustavsson said he was surrounded by family at his home in Sweden and called for privacy.
His death came days after he delivered a final emotional public message as part of an Amazon documentary on his life.
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Eriksson was England's first ever foreign manager and spent five years in charge of the Three Lions, leading them to two World Cup tournaments.
He also took charge of Manchester City, Leicester City, AS Roma, Fiorentina and Lazio, winning 18 trophies.
But there was one major regret from Eriksson's 42-year managerial career - that being he never got to manage Liverpool - the team both he and his father supported.
"My father is still a Liverpool supporter and I am a Liverpool supporter too, always have been," Eriksson told Sky News.
"So I always wished to be the manager of Liverpool and that will not happen, but I'm still a Liverpool fan."
However, Liverpool fans rallied around and Eriksson was invited to manage the club's Legends side against Ajax for a charity game at Anfield in March.
He joined Liverpool legends Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge on the coaching staff and received a special reception when he walked to the home dugout.
When 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was belted out, Eriksson was full of emotion.
Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both turned out for the legends team, as well as Dirk Kuyt, Djibril Cisse and Sami Hyypia.
A special Anfield ovation for Sven-Göran Eriksson ❤️ pic.twitter.com/632Y9uiJQY
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 23, 2024
Liverpool came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 in the fixture, which raised money for the LFC Foundation education programmes and Forever Reds.
Eriksson was invited to Liverpool's training ground and also met Jurgen Klopp before the game.
Eriksson also returned to his former club IFK Goteborg in Sweden and received a spine-tingling ovation as he struggled to hold back tears.
Topics: Liverpool, Sven-Goran Eriksson
Josh Lawless