Former Azkals coach Sven-Göran Eriksson dies at 76

MANILA, Philippines – Former Philippine national men’s football team coach Sven-Göran Eriksson died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 76.

“Our father Sven-Göran Eriksson fell asleep peacefully in his home at Björkefors outside Sunne this morning,” read a statement from Eriksson’s children Lina and Johan Eriksson posted on his website.

“He has for a long time fought bravely with his illness, but now it came to an end. Our thoughts go out to Sven-Göran’s father Sven; girlfriend Yaniseth and her son Alcides; to his brother Lasse and wife Jumnong, as well as to all good friends and acquaintances in Sweden and around the world,” the announcement added.

Lina and Johan said that their father told them about his serious illness at the beginning of the year, and that he received an “amazing response” from friends and football fans around Europe.

He was invited to several football teams in England, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden, where the teams shared “their love for football and for dad.”

Eriksson’s children quoted him as saying: “I get to hear it while I’m alive and I’m incredibly grateful for that. The heart beats twice and the tears come. I have had the best job in the world and I was happy every day for long periods. It’s been fantastic.”

Lina and Johan thanked everyone for the positive memories and support during his battle with cancer.

“We hope that you will remember Svennis as the good and positive person he always was both in public and at home with us,” they said.

Eriksson is famous for being the first foreigner to lead the English national football team from 2001 to 2006, where he led the team to quarterfinal appearances in the 2002 and 2006 stagings of the FIFA World Cup and the 2004 Euros.

The Swede also coached the Philippine men’s team, then known as the Azkals, from October 2018 to January 2019.

During his Azkals stint, Eriksson steered the Philippines to a semifinal finish in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, where the team fell to eventual champion Vietnam.

Eriksson parted ways with the Azkals after a winless run in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

He also mentored the national squads of Ivory Coast and Mexico, as well as football clubs in Europe, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and China.

Diagnosed with terminal-stage pancreatic cancer, Eriksson said in January that his “best case scenario” was one year to live.

He was also the subject of an emotional Amazon Prime documentary entitled Sven, where he discussed his football career and his battle with cancer.

Last March, the long-time Liverpool fan was able to fulfill a dream of coaching his favorite club during a charity match pitting the Merseyside legends against Ajax, with the home team winning, 4-2.

Condolences and greetings can be left on his website. – Rappler.com