Sven-Goran Eriksson, Swedish soccer coach who was 1st foreigner to lead England team, dead at 76

Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swedish soccer manager who spent five years as England's first ever foreign-born coach after making his name winning trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died Monday. He was 76.

Eriksson died at home surrounded by his family, his agent Bo Gustavsson told The Associated Press.

His death followed eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.

That news led to Eriksson receiving a surge of affection and tributes from his former players and clubs, a biographical documentary being made, and a visit to his favorite club Liverpool which invited him to be manager for the day at a charity game.

Fondly known as "Svennis" in his native Sweden, Eriksson had a modest, nine-year playing career before retiring at the age of 27 and embarking on what proved to be a nomadic coaching career that reached its peak when he was hired by England in 2001.

Within months, he led an underachieving team to a stunning signature win — 5-1 against Germany in Munich in a World Cup qualifying game.

Eriksson led what was regarded as a "golden generation" of players, including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, at the World Cups in 2002 and 2006 and got the team to the quarterfinals at both tournaments before elimination by Brazil and Portugal, respectively.

In the only other major tournament under Eriksson — the European Championship in 2004 — England was also ousted at the quarterfinal stage, by Portugal and via a penalty shootout like at the World Cup in 2006.

"We laughed, we cried and we knew we were saying goodbye," Beckham wrote in a post on Instagram alongside footage of a recent meeting with Eriksson, who made him captain of the