Sven-Goran Eriksson was filled with emotion as his dream of managing Liverpool became a reality in a victorious match.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, the former England boss, had a dream come true as he managed Liverpool for a day during the LFC Foundation charity match against AFC Ajax Legends at Anfield. The crowd at Anfield sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as Eriksson couldn’t hold back his tears.

Despite the loose application of the term “legends” to some of the players involved, the Liverpool legends, under Eriksson’s guidance, emerged victorious with a 4-2 win over Ajax legends in front of a sold-out stadium.

Eriksson, who revealed his battle with pancreatic cancer and his limited time left to live in January, never had the opportunity to manage Liverpool during his successful coaching career. He had previously sat in the home dugout at Anfield for England victories over Finland, Paraguay, and Uruguay. However, the sentiment and emotions were even greater for Eriksson during this charity match.

“I was crying,” Eriksson admitted, referring to the rendition of Liverpool’s pre-match anthem. “It is a memory for life.”

The 76-year-old expressed his gratitude to one of his former players, Steven Gerrard, who captained the Liverpool legends to a second-half comeback. Ajax had taken a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Derk Boerrigter and Kiki Musampa, but Liverpool responded with goals from Gregory Vignal, Djibril Cisse, Nabil El Zhar, and Fernando Torres in front of the Kop.

“He is the boss out there – of course he still has it!” Eriksson praised Gerrard, who is currently managing Saudi side Al Ettifaq. “It’s fantastic, they come from all over the place, all over Europe, and he is coming from another part of the world to do this, and it’s fantastic.”

Gerrard himself expressed his joy at playing in the annual legends match, knowing that his opportunities to play in front of his home crowd are limited.

“I know I’m only going to play in front of this crowd another couple of times maybe,” Gerrard said. “That’s if I stay off the carbs and stay off the beers! I was just looking round at the end thinking to myself, ‘This is going to happen less and less, so just savor every moment.’ It was brilliant.”