Last week former England football manager Sven Goran Eriksson revealed he had pancreatic cancer, and had more or less a year to live. This news struck me and saddened me, as being a teenage football fan in the early 00's, I loved Sven.
Particularly, I loved his positive thinking philosophy. I distinctly recall stumbling upon a BBC documentary about him and his "positive thinking" approach one Sunday night at the age of 15. For me, at that impressionable age, it became a transformative moment – suddenly, adopting a positive mindset seemed uncomplicated. The notion of waking up with a positive outlook and embracing a happier approach to life seemed accessible.
It might sound simple and indeed strange to many, especially people from outside of the UK, but this advice, this philosophy for a working class, English teenager in 2002 was hugely influential, as we never really were encouraged to be optimistic like this.
So, from seeing that documentary and the way he managed the England team, won Sven a special place in my admiration - he is the manager that gave us that 5-1 win over Germany in Munich, and took England to three quarter finals, it could and perhaps should’ve been more with more luck!
Seeing Sven's announcement last week was sad to see, but I take heart from his approach once again, he seems as positive as one could be in his situation, and is cherishing his final days - he even had this great way of summing it up , which sort of minimises but yet captures what it’s all about when he said “life sometimes gives you messages like this”. It is heartening seeing his public approach, he talks of living day-to-day, going out for coffee with his friends, and even may manage a Liverpool Legends XI in March.
As someone with a chronic condition, Sven’s philosophy of positive thinking is invaluable to my mindset (complimentary to the wider approach - taking a DMT & supplements, exercising, and eating healthy), and once again even in his heartbreaking personal situation he’s providing great inspiration again in how he is confronting it.
Thank you, Sven,