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Sven-Goran Eriksson, former head coach of Lazio, acknowledges the fans ahead of the club's Italian Serie A game against Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, May 26, 2024. /CFP
Veteran Swedish football coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who became the first foreigner to manage the English national team, died on Monday at the age of 76.
Eriksson, a charismatic coach who guided Swedish, Portuguese and Italian clubs to major trophies in the 1980s and 1990s before taking on the England job in 2001, announced in January that he was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.
His long-time agent, Bo Gustavsson, said Eriksson had lost his battle with cancer early on Monday, surrounded by his family.
"We knew it was going to end bad, it all went really fast in the last few weeks," Gustavsson told Reuters. "He has always been so positive, and has had time for others and never thought of himself, and he was that until the very end."
His two children, Lina and Johan Eriksson, thanked all those people who had supported their father.
"I get to hear it while I'm alive and I'm incredibly grateful for that. The heart beats twice and the tears come," they quoted Eriksson as saying in a statement. "I have had the best job in the world and I was happy every day for long periods. It's been fantastic."
Eriksson led England to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006, as well as the 2004 European Championship, managing a golden generation of players including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
"On behalf of my colleagues at the FA, past and present, our thoughts are with his friends and family today. He will be much missed, and we will pay tribute to him when we play Finland at Wembley next month." English Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham posted on social media.