
Liverpool Legends' manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (C) and Liverpool Legends' manager Ian Rush (R) congratulate Liverpool Legends' striker Fernando Torres as leaves the pitch after being substituted off during the Legends football match between Liverpool Legends and Ajax Legends at Anfield in Liverpool, north-west England on March 23, 2024. Photo: AFP
The former England manager was a Liverpool fan from childhood and said it was a dream come true to be given the chance to manage a team of the Merseyside club's greats against Ajax in a charity match at Anfield.
Eriksson revealed in January he had cancer and might have less than a year to live.
With his love of Liverpool well documented, he was asked to join club greats John Aldridge, John Barnes and Ian Rush on the sidelines for the annual charity game.
An Anfield crowd of 59,655 showed its appreciation for the Swedish coach, who is 76, with rousing applause as he walked onto the field before kickoff.
Earlier, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp showed his support when meeting Eriksson and the squad at their hotel.
A team that included Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres ensured Eriksson enjoyed a debut win after coming back from 2-0 down at halftime.
Derk Boerrigter and Kiki Musampa put Ajax in front at the break, but goals from Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar and Torres sealed a win for the home team.
In January, Eriksson said he has pancreatic cancer and it was inoperable.
“At best I have maybe a year, at worst maybe a little less,” he said.
Eriksson had a storied career, winning championships in Italy, Portugal and Sweden. He was England manager from 2001-06.
This week he spoke about finally fulfilling his long-standing wish to manage Liverpool.
“When I was manager, I always dreamt about Liverpool, but it never happened,” he said. “It was close once. There were some discussions once. It was many years ago. It never happened but now it happens.”
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