Sven-Goran Eriksson has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and in a “best case” scenario has around a year left to live, the former England manager has revealed.
The 75-year-old enjoyed a varied managerial career which included spells in charge of Benfica, Roma, Lazio, Manchester City and the England national team.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the Swede’s most memorable moments with, and in, England.
Germany 1 England 5 – September 1, 2001Following the resignation of Kevin Keegan after a home loss to Germany in World Cup qualifying, Eriksson left his post at Lazio early to take over and secured several wins before the vital rematch in Germany on September 1, 2001.
Germany’s last match at the Olympiastadion in Munich started well when Carsten Jancker gave them an early lead, but England roared back with Michael Owen scoring a hat-trick, Steven Gerrard netting a brace and Emile Heskey completing a famous rout in the 74th minute.
England 2 Greece 2 – October 6, 2001Despite the heroics in Munich, England still needed a positive result in their final qualifier at home to Greece to secure automatic qualification for Japan and Korea, but found themselves trailing 2-1 deep into stoppage time at Old Trafford.
A play-off against Ukraine loomed until captain David Beckham, who had been off target with five previous efforts, stepped up to curl a 25-yard free-kick into the top corner with virtually the last kick of the game. With Germany held 0-0 at home to Finland, England topped the group on goal difference.
England 1 Brazil 2 – June 21, 2002Draws against Sweden and Nigeria, along with a 1-0 win over Argentina, saw England reach the last 16 in Japan, where a 3-0 victory over Denmark set up an eagerly anticipated quarter-final with Brazil.
Owen gave England the lead midway through the first half, but Rivaldo equalised in stoppage time and the game’s decisive moment came five minutes after the interval when Ronaldinho’s long-range free-kick caught a flat-footed David Seaman off his line and dropped into the far corner. Ronaldinho was sent off soon afterwards but England could not take advantage.
Middlesbrough 8 Manchester City 1 – May 11, 2008Eriksson’s shortlived spell in charge of Manchester City started brilliantly with three straight wins without conceding a goal, the last of which was a 1-0 victory over Manchester United. City completed the league double over their rivals in February but won just one of their next seven games and Eriksson was told he would be sacked at the end of the season by owner Thaksin Shinawatra.
That season ended in humiliating fashion as City were thrashed 8-1 at Middlesbrough on the final day, the home side taking advantage of an early red card for Richard Dunne to run riot, with Afonso Alves scoring a hat-trick.
Leicester 2 Bristol City 1 – February 18, 2011Eriksson was appointed Leicester manager in October 2010, with the Foxes sitting in the relegation zone in the Championship. His first game in charge, a 1-1 draw at home to Hull, was followed by a 2-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road but it was not until the new year that City really hit top form.
As well as taking Manchester City to a replay in the FA Cup, Eriksson’s side won seven of their first eight league games, with a five-game winning streak completed by a 2-1 win over Bristol City, courtesy of a last-gasp winner from Martyn Waghorn. That result lifted Leicester to seventh in the table, just one point off a play-off place, but a stuttering finish saw them finish 10th.
Morecambe 2 Notts County 1 – July 22, 2009Following a brief spell in charge of Mexico, Eriksson was appointed director of football at League Two side Notts County, apparently lured in by the club’s new owners with promises of the money and facilities necessary to take the Magpies all the way to the Premier League.
Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel were high-profile recruits but the goalkeeper was released at the end of the season and the former played just one game, a 2-1 defeat at Morecambe. Eriksson later said that Campbell left midway through a training session, three days after the Morecambe game, and never returned.
Guardiola expecting challenging season for injury-hit Man City
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's current injury problems will make it harder for them to repeat the success of recent years.
Depleted by a number of injuries to key players, the Premier League champions saw a 32-game unbeaten league run ended by a loss at Bournemouth on Saturday after a midweek reverse at Tottenham in the EFL Cup fourth round, marking the first time City have lost successive matches in all competitions since September 2023.
While Guardiola says he is aware of the expectations surrounding his team, he knew they were likely to suffer more defeats due to injuries and the increasing level of their opponents.
"I know our standards, but we've lost just one game. Maybe we are going to lose again in the Premier League against Brighton and against Tottenham and against Liverpool," Guardiola told reporters, referring to their next three Premier League games.
"We are just two points behind Liverpool, who are a top-class team. We've started well in the Champions League, but I know people expect us to win 38 league games and win the treble every season as these are our standards.
"The reason it is difficult is because we have had a lot of absentees, which can happen in some seasons.
"Sometimes, to win the treble, everything has to be on the same page with injuries, but this is not possible this time. The teams are very strong and everything is more difficult, and we have to accept that. That is the challenge."
City will be without Ballon d'Or winner Rodrigo and Oscar Bobb for most of the campaign, while John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias remain sidelined and have not travelled to Portugal.
Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker still have problems despite being in the squad, Guardiola said, and Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho are improving, while Erling Haaland is fit.
City sit third in the Champions League standings after two wins and a draw and are looking for a third consecutive European win at Portuguese champions Sporting CP, who are eighth but also have seven points and are unbeaten across all competitions this season.
Guardiola's side claimed a resounding 5-0 win at Sporting when they met in the 2022 Champions League last 16, and are looking to extend their record run of unbeaten games to 27 in the competition.
"They play quite similar like we faced two seasons ago, the pattern is so clear," Guardiola added.
"They have changed players but have the same manager and same mentality," he said, referring to Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United at the start of the international break.
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
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