"We all fear the day we die." The legendary Sven-Joran Eriksson left a dying message

Former England head coach Sven-Joran Eriksson is dying. The 75-year-old Swede, who managed Benfica, Lazio, Roma, and Manchester City during his 40-year coaching career, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in January this year.

Eriksson found out about his diagnosis by accident, as he had no previous health problems. During his traditional 5-kilometer run, he fainted, and then went for a checkup, where the disease was discovered.

In the Amazon Prime biographical documentary to be released on August 23, the legendary specialist said goodbye to his friends, family and football fans around the world.

"I had a good life. I think we all fear the day we die, but life is always about death. You have to learn to accept it as it is. I hope at the end people will say: "Yes, he was a good man," but probably not everyone will say that. I hope you will remember me as a positive guy who tried to do the best he could. Don't apologize, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, spectators, it was fantastic. Take care of yourself and your life. And live it. Goodbye," Eriksson said.

Sven-Joran Eriksson first gained international fame with Benfica, which he led to several championships in the early 1980s.

He then went on to manage Roma, Fiorentina and Sampdoria, and spent a second spell in Lisbon before leading Lazio to a domestic double in 2000, which remains their only Serie A title.

This success attracted the attention of the English Football Association, which convinced him to take over the national team's coaching staff in January 2001.

Initial skepticism about the appointment of a foreign manager for the first time in the country's history was mitigated by Germany's defeat in Munich eight months later.

In major tournaments, Eriksson's success in England was determined by penalty shootouts: he lost twice to Portugal at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, both in the quarterfinals, which was his last match as head coach of the England national team.

After that, he coached Manchester City for a season and then moved to the Mexican and Ivory Coast leagues. After 49 games at Leicester City, Sven-Joran moved to China and ended his coaching career in 2019 in the Philippines.

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