LIVERPOOL: Sven-Goran Eriksson said he had fulfilled a life-long 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 “best case a year” 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 favorites 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 ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
“That will be a huge memory in life,” said Eriksson. “Absolutely beautiful.
“To sit on the bench for Liverpool, that’s been my dream my whole life. Now it happened, and it was a beautiful day in all meanings.
“The crowd, the game, the players, everything, fantastic, and thank you to Liverpool for giving me this opportunity, to invite me for such an important game — it’s not points but the importance of the game is incredible.
“It was full of emotions, tears coming. It’s been my dream club all my life — even when I had England, I also supported Liverpool, but I couldn’t say it at that time.
“It’s a good finish, to finish with Liverpool, it can’t be much better than that,” 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 favor.
The Reds were captained by Steven Gerrard, who played under Eriksson for England. “He (Gerrard) is the boss out there — of course (he still has it)!,” said Eriksson.
Eriksson fulfils lifelong dream by managing Liverpool in charity game
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Eriksson fulfils lifelong dream by managing Liverpool in charity game
- The Swede 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 favorites Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge in the home dug-out, helped oversee a 4-2 win
Christensen and Rashford on target as Barcelona beat Guadalajara in Copa del Rey
- Guadalajara’s hopes were extinguished in the dying moments when Lamine Yamal played a sublime through-ball into the path of Rashford
GUADALAJARA, Spain: Late strikes from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Barcelona against third-tier side Guadalajara on Tuesday, sending the Catalans through to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona labored for much of the match at the Pedro Escartin stadium, holding over 80 percent of possession but struggling to break down a disciplined five-man Guadalajara defense.
The home side posed a constant threat on the counter-attack and frustrated the European heavyweights for long stretches.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick introduced regular starters Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde, and Pedri from the bench in the second half, seeking a breakthrough.
The changes finally paid dividends in the 77th minute when Frenkie de Jong whipped in a cross from the right and defender Christensen rose highest to meet the delivery, with his header deflecting off Guadalajara’s Julio Martinez before nestling in the net.
The hosts nearly produced an immediate response, with Salifo Caropitche unleashing a fierce drive from distance, but Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen — who was playing his first game for Barca since May — reacted superbly to tip the effort over the bar, preserving his side’s slender lead.
Guadalajara’s hopes were extinguished in the dying moments when Lamine Yamal played a sublime through-ball into the path of Rashford.
The English forward showed great composure, wrong-footing keeper Dani Vicente with a quick cut to his left before tapping the ball into the empty net to wrap up the result for Barcelona.
“These are tricky matches; they come out with everything they’ve got and we have to do the same,” Cubarsi told TVE.
“In the second half, we picked up the pace and moved them from side to side to tire them out. As the minutes passed, they grew tired, and that was the key point. They played spectacularly well.”
