Eriksson: Former Serie A coach dies aged 76

Former Serie A coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has died aged 76.

Ex-Fiorentina, Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio coach Eriksson died today, Monday, August 26, 2024, aged 76.

The legendary Serie A coach, a Scudetto winner with Lazio in 1999-00, revealed a cancer diagnosis this past January, sadly announcing that he had less than a year to live.

RIP Sven. Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away. He was 76. Such sad news. Lovely, fascinating man, and a very good manager. My thoughts with his family and friends. Bo Gustavsson, an agent in Sweden who worked with Sven, has issued the following sad press release… pic.twitter.com/JFOGdjgGLO

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) August 26, 2024

“I have to fight as long as I can. In the best case scenario, a year or even more, at worst even less. In reality no one can be sure for sure, it’s better not to think about it,” he said.

“You can somehow trick your brain, think positively and see things in the best way, don’t get lost in adversity, because this is obviously the biggest of all, but still get something good out of this experience.

“I suddenly collapsed while I was running a five-kilometre run. After a medical consultation, I discovered that I had had a stroke and that I already had a tumour. I don’t know how long, maybe a month, maybe a year.”

This past May, Eriksson visited his former clubs, Sampdoria and Lazio, receiving standing ovations at Marassi and the Stadio Olimpico.

He had made history for both clubs, winning the Coppa Italia with the Blucerchiati in 1993-94 and five trophies with Lazio, including one Scudetto, one UEFA Super Cup and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

Eriksson coached some of the most talented Italian and Serie A players of all time, including Christian Vieri, Roberto Mancini, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Alessandro Nesta and Pavel Nedved.