Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will fulfil his dream of managing Liverpool amid his ongoing cancer battle, with the club announcing Tuesday he will take charge of the club’s legends side against Ajax in a charity match on March 23.
Eriksson, 76, announced last month he discovered he had cancer after collapsing suddenly and has been told by doctors that he has a year to live “at best.”
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He became England’s first foreign-born coach after making his name winning league titles at club level with Lazio in Italy, Benfica in Portugal and Gothenburg in his native Sweden.
Eriksson coached England between 2001 and 2006, with an all-star cast of players, including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. The team reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups before elimination by Brazil and Portugal, respectively.
In the only other major tournament under Eriksson — Euro 2004 — England were also knocked out at the quarterfinal stage, again by Portugal and via a penalty shootout.
After England, Eriksson coached a string of teams including Manchester City and Mexico.
On a personal level, though, Eriksson remained a lifelong Liverpool fan and, after announcing his diagnosis, told British media how he had never realised his dream of managing Liverpool. On Tuesday, it was announced that dream would come true.
“The former England boss will join a dugout of LFC greats, including Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge, for the annual LFC Foundation charity match,” Liverpool said in a statement.
“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.”
Former Liverpool players due to play in the match include Jerzy Dudek, Martin Škrtel, Fábio Aurélio, Djibril Cissé and Ryan Babel.