The funeral of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died aged 76 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, will take place on Friday. Final respects have been paid to him.
In his final newspaper column, published posthumously with the blessing of his family, Sven-Goran Eriksson reminded the nation that “life should always, always be celebrated”.
The former England manager Eriksson died in August aged 76. He had previously announced in January that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and said at the time that he was likely to have less than a year to live.
The Swede’s funeral will take place on Friday at his family home in Torsby, which he had publicly described as a “wonderful place” to spend his final days.
Ms Erickson said goodbye to the nation in an Amazon Prime documentary, saying: “We must learn to accept him as he is.”
“The public response has been fantastic,” Ms Erickson wrote in the Telegraph. “She has given me energy and positivity.” I’ve cried a lot over the past few months. Mostly tears of joy.
“I want people to remember me as a decent coach who tried to do my best. I hope you enjoyed having me as your manager. My message to everyone is: don’t give up. Never give up.
“Never give up – that’s my message for life,” Eriksson added, saying his life was a “dream.” “And never forget this – life is always, always there to be celebrated.”
The comment about celebrating life alludes to a story about Haman that the former Germany midfielder wrote about in his book. “The Diddy Man” recounts: “One morning, I was sitting on a sun lounger by the pool when I saw Sven walking towards me with a silver tray with a bottle of champagne and two glasses on it,” he wrote.
“It was only 10am… Sven came over and put the champagne on the table next to me and put one glass in front of me and the other next to the lounger. “I looked up and said, ‘Boss, what are we celebrating?’
He turned to me, smiled serenely, and, with the air of a Buddhist philosopher, said, ‘Life, Emperor.'” Christopher Jansson, a Tolsby funeral director who is organising Mr Erickson’s funeral, expects the crowds to be as large as those at Mr Erickson’s funeral outside the church. The service is expected to be the largest ever held, but it is being held within Erickson’s own wishes.
“A beautiful place, [it] makes you calm, makes me calm,” he said in the aforementioned documentary, befor gesturing towards a lake. “Below the mountain [is] where my father grew up. If you look straight on, that’s Torsby, where I grew up,” he continued. “I always thought great place, to sleep. The ashes could be thrown into the water here. It feels like home.”