Sven-Goran Eriksson was granted his dying wish by managing Liverpool at Anfield (Image: Getty)
Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted he was reduced to tears during a touching rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone as he fulfilled his dying wish by managing Liverpool. Eriksson coached a team of Reds legends to a 4-2 victory over Ajax at Anfield.
The former England manager, who revealed he has terminal pancreatic cancer earlier this year, recently said that not managing Liverpool was one of the regrets of his lengthy coaching career. Organisers of Liverpool’s annual legends match invited him to manage the Merseysiders against Ajax.
Eriksson was given a standing ovation by Liverpool fans before the match, with the 76-year-old clearly emotional as he was introduced to the Anfield crowd. Fans then sung the club's anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, before kick-off.
The poignant song prompted strong emotions from Eriksson. He said afterwards that he was reduced to tears.
Speaking to LFCTV, the Swede said: “Everybody was a winner today. It was beautiful, absolutely incredible. Everything from You’ll Never Walk Alone and the rest of the match. It was a good win. We were only 2-0… we were all the time the better team. It was a fair result. But this [gestures to the crowd] was fantastic.”
Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted he was left in tears during a rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone (Image: LFCTV)
Asked how he felt listening to You’ll Never Walk Alone, Eriksson responded: “Crying! Yes, tears.”
Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard, who played for England under Eriksson, said: “Sven being here today was very special. As soon as I knew he was going to be the gaffer today, I could wait to come and play for him one more time.”
Gerrard was part of the Liverpool team that overcame a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 4-2. Goals by Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar and Fernando Torres helped to turn the game around and give Eriksson a 100 per-cent winning record as Liverpool manager.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed earlier this year that he has terminal pancreatic cancer (Image: Getty)
The former Liverpool captain said of Liverpool’s Anfield home: “It’s always been fantastic. When this crowd get going, especially at night games, it’s a powerful crowd. Obviously, they’re building up the capacity as we go along now. It’s 59,000 people who were here today.
“They helped us turn the game around, 2-0 down at half-time. We felt it was against the run of play. We had to get the next goal and I thought the lads were terrific in the second half.
“It’s all for a good cause. We’ve got to remember why we’re here - we’re here for a good cause. There’s going to be a lot of money raised today for some fantastic causes.”
