Former England Coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, has revealed that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and that he has “best case a year” to live.Speaking to Swedish Radio P1, Eriksson said, “I’m going to resist for as long as I can… I have an illness that’s serious. Best case a year, I have, worst case, a lot less. It’s impossible to say exactly, so it’s better to not think about it.”As the first foreign manager of England, the 75-year-old Swede guided the team to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2002, 2006, and the 2004 European Championship.Following a 42-year career in management, Eriksson was diagnosed with cancer “almost one year ago.” Due to health concerns, he resigned from his most recent position as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago.Eriksson also spoke to BBC World Service’s Sporting Witness about his condition, saying, “I live a totally normal life, I’m not in hospital, I go now and then for a visit but I live at home and I have friends here. Christmas and New Year, the whole family were here – a lot of people.”I’m going out to try and exercise as much as possible, which is less than it was one year ago, but I have a normal life.”When you get a message like that, you appreciate every day and you are happy when you wake up in the morning and you feel OK, so that’s what I’m doing.”I thought I was fully healthy but suddenly I had a small stroke so I fell and my children took me to the hospital.”After one day of examination they told me I had five small strokes, but said ‘no problem, you will recover 100% from that’, but worse is they said I have cancer which they can’t operate on.”They said they will give me treatment and medicine to try and live as long as possible. I have that diagnosis and they can’t operate, unfortunately.”After starting his management career in 1977 with Degerfors, Eriksson moved on to Gothenburg, a Swedish team, where he won the 1981 Uefa Cup, two Swedish cups, and the Swedish championship.Later on, he had two successful stints with the Portuguese powerhouse Benfica and the Italian teams Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, and Lazio. During his time there, he won seven trophies, including the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup, two Italian Cups, and the Serie A championship.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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