"How Did Coach Eriksson Fulfill His Dream of Coaching Liverpool Despite a terminal Diagnosis?"

The dream of the famous Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has finally come true, and on Saturday he took charge of coaching Liverpool in a charity match at Anfield.

Eriksson, 76 years old, announced last January that he had only a few months to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He later revealed in statements to Sky Sports a wish he wanted to fulfill in his life.

This wish is to have the opportunity to coach Liverpool at Anfield on any occasion, as he dreamed of that step during his long coaching career.

Eriksson said at the time that his only regret in football was not coaching Liverpool, the team he and his father supported.

The following month, Liverpool announced that it would give Eriksson the opportunity to take charge of coaching the club's Legends team to face the Dutch Legends of Ajax Amsterdam in a charity match at Anfield.

Eriksson's dream turned into reality today, Saturday, as he took on the task of coach of the Liverpool Legends team against the Ajax Amsterdam Legends team, with the aim of raising money for the Liverpool Charitable Foundation, Sven-Goran Eriksson and John Barnes walk off to a warm applause at Anfield before kick-off.

With his family present at Anfield, the Swedish coach was very emotional, especially when the fans chanted Liverpool's famous song, "You'll Never Walk Alone."

Eriksson was also applauded warmly as he entered the pitch before kick-off.

Eriksson sat on the bench alongside former Liverpool stars, such as Welshman Ian Rush, John Barnes, and John Aldridge, to lead a team of “Reds legends” that included Polish Jerzy Dodek, Slovakian Martin Shkrtil, Steven Gerrard, and Spaniard Fernando Torres, against a group of former Ajax players.

In addition to taking over as coach of Liverpool Legends, the English club confirmed that Eriksson will spend a day at the team’s training facility and meet with the current first team coach, Jurgen Klopp.

Eriksson was one of the most famous football coaches in the 1990s and at the beginning of the third millennium. He became the first foreign coach to lead the England national team in 2001, before continuing his career by coaching Manchester City and Leicester City in England, in addition to the national teams of Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire, the Philippines, and Chinese clubs.

Source: sportbible + theguardian - Publication date: 23/03/2024