A minute of silence will be observed at the fourth round games of the I and II football leagues in honour of Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died on Monday at the age of 76.
“The Portuguese League wholeheartedly declares a minute of silence in the matches of the fourth round (…), as a tribute to the 76-year-old Swedish coach, who played twice for Benfica,” says the professional football body.
In the same statement, the Club League noted that Eriksson’s death “makes football poorer”, remembering that the Swedish coach was an international authority and that he always stood out for his “pioneering contribution to the good of the royal sport”.
Sven-Goran Eriksson died at home on Monday at the age of 76 from pancreatic cancer, the former coach’s family said at the time.
He made his name as a coach in Gothenburg, winning the UEFA Cup in 1982, which led him to Benfica, whom he led for two periods: from 1982 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1992, winning three championships with the Reds (1982/83, 1983/84 and 1990/91), the Super Cup (1989/90) and the Portuguese Cup (1982/83).
He has also coached Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Lazio, Manchester City, Notts County, Leicester, Shanghai SIPG and Guangzhou, as well as teams from England, Mexico, the Ivory Coast and the Philippines.
Earlier this year, the coach announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and that doctors believed he had less than a year to live.