Mourners have arrived in the Swedish town of Torsby for the funeral of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
David Beckham, who led the Three Lions under Eriksson at three major international tournaments, was in attendance alongside one of Sven’s successors, Roy Hodgson, and was seen sharing an emotional embrace with the Swede’s former partner Nancy Dell’Olio.
Eriksson’s coffin arrived at Fryksande church at around 7am local time, long before any of the 600 guests who were expected to be present. A single bell tolled as his body was carried into the church.
Members of Sweden’s royal family were also expected to be in attendance, with roads surrounding the church in the small town where Eriksson grew up cordoned off by police.
Among those to arrive early were Eriksson’s children as well as a childhood friend of the former Lazio and Benfica coach, Bengt Berg.
‘I’m very happy and very sad at the same time,’ he said. ‘But it’s fantastic to see him returning to his first point. It’s a very curious feeling.
‘He’s one of us and we share his glory. But when he returned here, he was just one of the hot dog eaters.’
Eriksson described accepting the England job as ‘one of the happiest days’ of his life and admitted he would have retired if he had clinched World Cup success in a column written before his death.
The charismatic Swede tipped England for future tournament success in a final column for the Daily Telegraph earlier this summer, which his family permitted to be published ahead of his funeral.
‘Writing a piece about death of course makes you reflective. Everything went too quickly! Where did life go? But one thought always comes to the front of my mind: it has been a dream. One of the best jobs you can have in the world is to be a football manager,’ Eriksson wrote.
‘Being appointed as the England manager was a huge honour, perhaps the highlight of my career. When I was asked if I wanted the job, I didn’t believe it. It was one of the happiest days of my life. The job is impossible to refuse. There were many highs.
‘If I had ever lifted a World Cup with England, I would have collected the trophy and then retired. It would have been perfect. Sooner or later England will win a big trophy and I think it could happen very quickly. There is such huge quality in that team.’
Eriksson announced in January his cancer diagnosis and revealed he had at best a year to live, which sparked an outpouring of adulation and resulted in visits to several former clubs in addition to Liverpool, who allowed the lifelong Reds fan to manage their Legends team at Anfield in March.
After he described the experience as beautiful and reflected fondly on ‘fireball’ Wayne Rooney, Eriksson wrote: ‘The response from the public has been wonderful. It gave me energy and positivity. I have cried a lot over the past few months. They have been happy tears, mostly.
‘I would like people to remember me as a decent coach who tried to do his best. My message to everyone would be: don’t give up. Never give up. Do not give up, is my message for life. And please don’t forget this: life is always, always to be celebrated.’
More to follow…
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