Former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (75) says he has been diagnosed with cancer and has “best case a year” to live. The Swede made history after becoming the first foreign manager to be appointed by England and led his team to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and 2004 Euros.

Speaking to Swedish Radio P1, Eriksson who managed England for five years, said; “I’m going to resist for as long as I can.” “I have a serious illness. The best case is a year, I have the worst case a lot less. It’s impossible to say exactly, so it’s better to not think about it.”

Eriksson, who has been a manager for more than 42 years, said he learned of his cancer diagnosis “almost one year ago” and this forced him to step down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago.

“I live a normal life,” Eriksson told the BBC World Service’s Sporting Witness program.

“I’m not in hospital, I go now and then for a visit but I live at home and I have friends here. Christmas and New Year, the whole family was here – a lot of people.

“I’m going out to try and exercise as much as possible, which is less than it was one year ago, but I have a normal life. “When you get a message like that, you appreciate every day and you are happy when you wake up in the morning and you feel OK, so that’s what I’m doing.

“I thought I was fully healthy but suddenly I had a small stroke so I fell and my children took me to the hospital. “After one day of examination, they told me I had five small strokes, but said ‘no problem, you will recover 100% from that’, but worse is they said I have cancer which they can’t operate on.

“They said they would give me treatment and medicine to try and live as long as possible. I have that diagnosis and they can’t operate, unfortunately.”

Eriksson led Benfica to three Portuguese top-flight titles and a runners-up finish in the European Cup before guiding Lazio to their second and most recent Serie A triumph in 1999-2000.

He succeeded Kevin Keegan as England boss in January 2001, taking charge of the country’s so-called golden generation – the label attached to a group of players who were thriving for their clubs.