Eriksson granted wish to take charge of Liverpool after being announced as manager for charity game

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Sven-Goran Eriksson will finally get his chance to take charge of Liverpool.

The Swedish coach, who is a Liverpool fan and has said his wish has always been to manage the English club, revealed last month that he has cancer and might have less than a year to live.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp responded by offering Eriksson, who coached England from 2001-06, the opportunity to come over and help coach his team in a training session, use his office and “have a few great hours together.”

Now Liverpool has announced that Eriksson will be part of the management team for a “Legends” charity match against Ajax at Anfield on March 23. Eriksson will be in the dugout alongside Liverpool greats such as Ian Rush and John Barnes, the club said on Tuesday.

“All connected with the club and LFC Foundation look forward to warmly welcoming LFC fan Sven and his family to Anfield — and seeing him in the dugout on the day — for a fantastic fundraising occasion,” Liverpool said.

Eriksson, who turned 76 last week, said he has pancreatic cancer and that it is inoperable.

He was England’s first ever foreign-born coach, after making his name winning league titles at club level with Lazio in Italy, Benfica in Portugal and IFK Gothenburg in his native Sweden.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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