Former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed the sad news that he has been given "about a year" to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The 75-year-old has been out of the game since leaving his role as sporting director with IF Karlstad at the end of February citing health problems, and he revealed his diagnosis to Swedish radio station 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.
"I know that in the best case it's about a year, in the worst case even less. Or in the best case I suppose even longer. I don't think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can't put a day on it.
"It's better not to think about it. 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.
"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. 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."
Eriksson's announcement led to an outpouring of tributes from former teams and players of the 75-year-old, with England - whom he was in charge of between 2001 and 2006 - saying on X: "Sending our love, Sven."
Manchester City and Leicester City also offered their sympathy, while ex-England striker Wayne Rooney wrote on social media: "Sad news this morning. Thoughts are with Sven Goran-Eriksson and his family. A brilliant coach and a special person. Loved and respected by everyone. We're all with you Sven, keep fighting."
Following an unspectacular playing career as a right-back, Eriksson first ventured into management in the 1970s with Degerfors before a successful stint with IFK Goteborg, whom he led to UEFA Cup glory in the 1981-82 campaign.
The well-travelled Swede also achieved notable success with Benfica and Lazio, guiding the former team to three Primeira Liga titles over two spells in charge and taking them to the final of the 1989-90 European Cup, where they were beaten by AC Milan.
While in the Lazio dugout, Eriksson won seven major honours - including a Serie A and Coppa Italia double in the 1999-00 season - before making history as England's first foreign manager with his appointment in 2001.
Eriksson failed to deliver major tournament success to England, who fell at the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups as well as being knocked out of Euro 2004 at the same stage, but he oversaw the Three Lions' historic 5-1 crushing of Germany in 2001.
After ending his England stint after the 2006 World Cup, Eriksson went on to manage Manchester City, Leicester City, Mexico, Ivory Coast and the Philippines, as well as taking charge of three separate Chinese Super League clubs.
The Scandinavian also held a number of administrative roles in football, most notably spending just over six months as Notts County's director of football between 2009 and 2010. body check tags ::
