Early European successpublished at 14:27 British Summer Time
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer
Image source, Getty ImagesEriksson first came to wide prominence when he led IFK Gothenburg to a Uefa Cup triumph in 1982, beating Hamburg 4-0 on aggregate over two legs to give the Swedish club their first European success.
It attracted the attention of Benfica, where he won two titles but could not repeat his Uefa Cup success, losing the 1983 final to Anderlecht.
He had spells at Roma, with whom he won the Coppa Italia, and Fiorentina before returning to the Eagles in Lisbon, leading them to the 1990 European Cup final only to lose 1-0 to Arrigo Sacchi’s legendary AC Milan side.
There was a bizarre episode in Eriksson’s career in December 1996 when he agreed to become manager of Blackburn Rovers for the start of the 1997-98 season. He reneged on this agreement three months later, leaving fellow future England boss Roy Hodgson to take charge at Ewood Park, while Eriksson was appointed as Lazio coach.
It was at Lazio, after winning another Coppa Italia with Sampdoria in 1994, that Eriksson won the hearts and minds of the FA as the search for Keegan’s successor started.
Eriksson’s Lazio won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999 with a 2-1 victory over Mallorca at Villa Park, having lost to Inter Milan in the previous season’s Uefa Cup final.
Lazio claimed the Coppa Italia twice then won Serie A in 1999-2000 under Eriksson, making him the top target for England.