Sven-Goran Eriksson: former England manager diagnosed with terminal cancer and told he has 'one year to live'

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has been told by doctors that he has one year to live.

The manager, who led the national team from 2001 to 2006, told a Swedish radio station P1 that he has "at best a year to live", adding: "Everyone understands that I have an illness that is not good. Everyone guesses it's cancer and it is. But I have to fight as long as I can."

The 75-year-old Swede said that he has been fit and healthy, running five kilometres a day before he "collapsed and fainted" and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with cancer. He said: "I'm not in any major pain. But I've been diagnosed with a disease that you can slow down but you cannot operate. So it is what it is."

Eriksson added: "It's better not to think about it. You have to trick your brain. I could go around thinking about that all the time and sit at home and be miserable and think I'm unlucky and so on.

"It's easy to end up in that position. But no, see the positive sides of things and don't bury yourself in setbacks, because this is the biggest setback of them all of course."

Eriksson is famed for having managed some of England's greatest modern footballers - dubbed the 'Golden Generation' - including David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in multiple competitions, including leading them to the quarter finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and the 2004 Euro Championships. During the qualifying stages for the 2002 World Cup, he delivered a famous 5-1 win for the Three Lions against their long-standing rival Germany.

Prior to his role in the England squad, Eriksson had success as a manager at club teams, including Portuguese team Benfica and Rome-based outfit Lazio. Since leaving the England dressing room, he took charge of multiple teams including Manchester City, Leicester, as well as other national teams such as Mexico and Ivory Coast. He served as sporting director at Swedish club Karistad Football, however he resigned 11 months ago due to health issues.