The first step back almost a year ago. It was February, Sven-Goran Eriksson left football for “health reasons”. Today the revelation: «I have terminal cancer, I can slow it down but not operate on it. I have a year left to live.” The former Lazio coach, the last person capable of winning a championship with the Biancocelesti, is 75 years old. Never over the top, with a smile on his face, a life spent with the ball at his side, Eriksson was also England manager during his career. “Everyone understood that I wasn’t well, they imagined it was cancer and it is. I must fight as long as I can”; he explained to Swedish radio P1. The prognosis leaves little room for hope: «At best I have a year left, at worst even less. In reality, no one can be sure, it’s best not to think about it. You can somehow trick your brain, think positively and see things in the best way, not get lost in adversity, because this is obviously the greatest of all, but still get something good out of this experience.”
The disease discovered by chance: «I was completely healthy, then I collapsed, fainted and ended up in hospital. After a medical consultation I discovered that I had had a stroke and that I already had a tumor. I don’t know how long, maybe a month, maybe a year. It turned out I had cancer but I had run five kilometers the day before. It came out of nowhere, and that shocks you. I don’t feel much pain. But I was diagnosed with a disease that you can slow down but can’t treat. So it is what it is.”
Eriksson was sporting director of Karlstad, a Swedish club, until February last year. Then he resigned for health reasons. He said: “I’m carrying out tests, I have to dedicate myself to my health and my family.”