Sven-Goran Eriksson said he had fulfilled a lifelong dream by managing Liverpool Legends in a charity match against Ajax Legends at Anfield on Saturday.
The 76-year-old former England boss revealed in January he had โbest case a yearโ to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
At the time the Swede, whose long career in club management included spells in charge of Manchester City and Lazio, revealed his lifelong love for Liverpool and how he had always wished to be manager of the club one day.
His dream became a reality on Saturday as Eriksson, alongside former Liverpool favourites Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge in the home dug-out, helped oversee a 4-2 win.
Eriksson said afterwards he had shed tears before kick-off, when he received a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked out onto the pitch, with fans singing the Liverpool anthem of โYouโll Never Walk Aloneโ.
โThat will be a huge memory in life,โ said Eriksson. โAbsolutely beautiful.
โTo sit on the bench for Liverpool, thatโs been my dream my whole life. Now it happened, and it was a beautiful day in all meanings.
โThe crowd, the game, the players, everything, fantastic, and thank you to Liverpool for giving me this opportunity, to invite me to such an important game โ itโs not points but the importance of the game is incredible.
โIt was full of emotions, tears coming. Itโs been my dream club all my life โ even when I had England, I also supported Liverpool, but I couldnโt say it at that time.
โItโs a good finish, to finish with Liverpool, it canโt be much better than that,โ added Eriksson, who guided England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
Liverpool were 2-0 down at half-time on Saturday before Kop-end goals from Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar and Fernando Torres turned the match in their favour.
The Reds were captained by Steven Gerrard, who played under Eriksson for England. โHe (Gerrard) is the boss out there โ- of course (he still has it)!โ saidย Eriksson.
AFP
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