After terminal cancer diagnosis, Liverpool fan Sven-Göran Eriksson is set for emotional day at club’s Anfield stadium
By Sammy Mncwabe, CNN
(CNN) — Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will be part of the Liverpool FC Legends management team for a charity soccer match, the club announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Eriksson, who publicly revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis last month, will be on the sidelines alongside Liverpool greats Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge against an Ajax Legends team.
The annual LFC Foundation charity match will be held at Anfield on March 23.
“All connected with the club and LFC Foundation look forward to warmly welcoming LFC fan Sven and his family to Anfield and seeing him in the dugout on the day for a fantastic fundraising occasion,” Liverpool said.
The 75-year-old Eriksson, best known for his time as England manager, publicly revealed to Swedish radio station P1 earlier this year that he has terminal cancer and “about a year” to live.
In an interview with Sky last month, Eriksson said that he and his father are both Liverpool supporters and that he “always wished” to have the chance to manage the club.
Following the news of Eriksson’s diagnosis, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp invited the Swede to Anfield after the former England boss said he would never be able to fulfil his dream of managing Liverpool following his terminal cancer diagnosis.
“You’re invited from the bottom of all our hearts to come here,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “You can have my office, you can lead a session if you want, that’s no problem.
“That’s actually coaching and managing … So here we are, with open arms, come on over and let’s have a few great hours together.”
Eriksson was the first overseas coach to manage the English national team. Under his management – at Euro 2004 and the World Cup in 2006 – England was twice defeated by Portugal in penalty shootouts, on both occasions at the quarterfinal stage.
The team that he coached is commonly referred to as England’s “Golden Generation” and included the likes of star players David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand.
Eriksson also had stints coaching in China, Mexico and the Philippines during an extensive managerial career spanning more than 40 years.
According to Liverpool, all proceeds from next month’s charity match will support the work of the club’s foundation and its charity partners.
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CNN’s Thomas Schlachter contributed to reporting.
