STOCKHOLM: Swedish football manager SvenGoran 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.

`We knew it was going to end bad, it all went really fast in the last few weeks,` Gustavsson told Reuters.

`I have been fascinated by him for a long time, he has always been so positive and has had time for others and never thought of himself, and he was that until the very end,` the agent added.

His two children, Lina and Johan Eriksson, thanked all those who had supported their father who they said had been deeply moved by the warm words he had received.

`I get to hear it while I`m alive and I`m incredibly grateful for that. The heart beats twice and the tears come,` Eriksson was quoted as having said in his children`s statement. `I have had the best job in the world and I was happy every day for long periods. It`s been fantastic.

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

Eriksson first gained international recognition by guiding Swedish club IFK Gothenburg to the UEFA Cup title in 1982, and went on to a successful career at Benfica and AS Roma,Fiorentina, Lazio and Sampdoria.

Italy`s football federation said matches in the country`s top two divisions would be preceded by a minute`s silence in Eriksson`s honour.-Reuters