[Source: Reuters]

Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who became the first foreigner to lead the England national team, died on Monday at the age of 76.

Eriksson, a charismatic coach who guided Swedish, Portuguese and Italian clubs to major trophies in the 1980s and 1990s before taking on the England job in 2001, announced in January that he was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.

Eriksson’s long-time agent Bo Gustavsson said Eriksson had lost his battle with cancer early on Monday, surrounded by his family.

His two children, Lina and Johan Eriksson, thanked all those people who had supported their father.

Eriksson led England to the 2002 and 2006 World Cup quarter-finals, and to the 2004 European Championship, managing a golden generation of players, including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.