Former England manager Eriksson reveals bout with cancer, says he has a year to live in ‘best case scenario’

Sven-Goran Eriksson, who managed the golden generation of England men’s football team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup, has revealed that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Eriksson, who stepped down from his sporting director role at Swedish club Karlstad last February, revealed his ailment on Swedish Radio P1.

“Everyone can see that I have a disease that’s not good, and everyone supposes that it’s cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as long as possible,” Eriksson said.

The cancer was diagnosed after Eriksson collapsed a day after he had run five kilometers, told by the doctors that he had suffered a stroke. “It’s better not to think about it,” he said. “You have to trick your brain. I could go around thinking about that all the time and sit at home and be miserable and think I’m unlucky and so on.

“I know that in the best case it’s about a year, in the worst case even less,” he said, per a transcript on P1’s website. “I don’t think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can’t put a day on it,” Eriksson added.

Erikkson had led the Three Lions to the quarterfinals of the World Cup and was the first foreign coach to take charge of the side. Despite having lost only five games in-charge, his tenure was marred by off the field controversies. He also won titles with Serie A clubs, AS Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio and also coached a string of teams including Manchester City, Mexico’s national team and Leicester City.

Having had a modest playing career that saw him lift the UEFA Cup with IFK Gothenburg in 1980, Eriksson’s last managerial role was with the Philippines national team.

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“It’s easy to end up in that position. But no, see the positive sides of things and don’t bury yourself in setbacks, because this is the biggest setback of them all of course. It just came from nothing. And that makes you shocked,” Eriksson said of his cancer bout. “I’m not in any major pain. But I’ve been diagnosed with a disease that you can slow down but you cannot operate. So it is what it is.”

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