Anfield was packed, the Liverpool squad boasted 985 caps and seven Champions League winners. The match was not the most competitive occasion the stadium will host this season but it was one of the most memorable on an emotional and perfect day for Sven-Göran Eriksson.
The Swede watched on as Liverpool came back from two goals down to win a cerebral thriller 4-2. Eriksson listened to the Kop serenade the boyhood fan with You’ll Never Walk Alone, making an old man very happy. He might have wanted a crack at the Premier League with Liverpool but 90 minutes on a cold March day was more than enough for the former England manager who has less than a year to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
There was a standing ovation and cheering for Eriksson when he walked out ahead of the two teams before being greeted by captain, Steven Gerrard. As well as living out his own dream, the Swede was doing it on behalf of the fans inside the stadium. Eriksson took centre stage in the group photo of the two squads as Liverpool’s anthem was belted out around Anfield. Tears were in many an eye, mixed with goosebumps for Eriksson.
“That will be a huge memory in life – absolutely beautiful,” Eriksson said. “I cried, it was beautiful. To sit on the bench for Liverpool was the dream all my life and now it has happened. It was a beautiful day in every sense.”
It is not the first time Eriksson has taken charge of the home team at Anfield, leading England to victory over Finland in 2001, defeating Paraguay a year later in a friendly and Uruguay in 2006. He finishes with a perfect record in the home dugout.
It was an eclectic squad available to Eriksson et al from Agger to El-Zhar. Eriksson was part of a managerial team consisting of John Barnes, John Aldridge and Ian Rush, whose own dugout careers cannot compare with his, even though their peer would have loved to have scored a goal at Anfield like his colleagues. There was a message of support from Gerrard and international colleagues in the week, epitomised by an emotional Owen Hargreaves crying as he explained what Eriksson meant to him. It was not the final tears of the week.
The game offered a chance for a different set of fans to attend because ticket prices were cheaper, making a visit to Anfield more palatable. Those on the pitch might have lost a yard or two, or even all of their pace but the sense of fun and enjoyment overrides the physical limitations of a veterans match. The technique available for show, even if legs could not match speed of thought.
The match was a glorious pantomime of boos when decisions went against Liverpool, groans when their shots were saved and Eriksson jumped out of his seat whenever his side went close to scoring. Derk Boerrigter and Kiki Musampa gave Ajax a two-goal first-half lead. Eriksson’s canny (planned) subs made the difference as Grégory Vignal, Djibril Cissé and Nabil El-Zhar produced a fitting turnaround to keep Eriksson enthralled before Fernando Torres celebrated like he’d scored the winner in a Champions League semi-final as he lived out his dream.
There was a lap of honour at the end, a final chance for everyone to pay their tributes. Eriksson is 76 and despite a successful 40-year managerial career that has earned him titles in Italy and Portugal, managing England and in European club finals, he looked like an excited boy in the buildup to this match and was smiling throughout, except when emotions took their toll, on a day that reminded everyone that football can be a force for good.
Cancer is horrific and has given Eriksson a death sentence but he is making the most of what time he has left and offers a positive message to us all: do what you love, while you can.
“Thank you to Liverpool for giving me this opportunity,” Eriksson said. Thank you, Sven.
