David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer notables who attended Sven-Goran Eriksson’s funeral on Friday in Eriksson’s small hometown of Torsby, Sweden.
The ceremony took place inside the 600-seat Fryksande church, where Eriksson’s wooden coffin was adorned with white flowers and surrounded by tall candles and other floral wreaths.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” said the priest, Ingela Älvskog, during the service.
Beckham, who arrived on a private jet the day before, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral began.
Eriksson, who was England’s first foreign-born coach from 2001 to 2006, made Beckham his captain during his tenure. He also won titles at clubs in Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.
Eriksson passed away on August 26 at the age of 76, just eight months after he announced he had pancreatic cancer and had at most a year to live.
About 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church, built in 1898, were reserved for family, friends, and players from Eriksson’s career. The rest were open to the public, as Eriksson had wished. A large screen outside the church allowed hundreds more to watch the service, which was also broadcast live on Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was brought into the church on Friday morning amid fog in Torsby, a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson, and floral wreaths included ones from FIFA and Lazio, the Italian club Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony started with somber piano and organ music but shifted to a lighter mood when Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performed Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind.” She later sang “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who then sang the Italian song “Volare” as Eriksson’s family gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
David Beckham had previously visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say farewell. Among those attending were Eriksson’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio, and guests from England, Italy, and Spain were also expected, according to Eriksson’s agent.
After the service, the casket was carried by eight men to the hearse. The attendees followed the coffin in a procession to a nearby museum, where speeches and tributes to Eriksson, affectionately known as “Svennis,” were planned on an outdoor stage.
A brass band played as the procession moved through Torsby, including “You Never Walk Alone,” a song from the musical “Carousel” that has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported from a young age.
Roy Hodgson, who had managed both England and Liverpool and had faced Eriksson in the Swedish league during the 1970s and ‘80s, described the funeral as a “dignified tribute to Sven-Goran.” He noted that it reflected Eriksson’s life lived with dignity, courage, and the fulfillment of childhood dreams.
In her eulogy, Eriksson’s daughter Lina mentioned that her father “didn’t want a sad funeral. He wanted to gather people to celebrate his life. Filled with happiness and joy.”
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson began his career in the 1960s, posted on its website, “You also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
