Sven-Goran Eriksson funeral: Ex-England manager's coffin carried into church as David Beckham joins mourners
By Sami Quadri,
2024-09-13
The funeral of former England football manager Sven-Gõran Eriksson is taking place on Friday morning with David Beckham among the stars paying their respects.
The Swede, who died last month aged 76 , is being laid to rest in his hometown. His coffin was seen being carried into Fryksände Church on Friday morning.
Eriksson's former partner Nancy Dell'Olio , 63, will also join hundreds of mourners for the 10am service.
Nancy Dell'Olio arrives (Yui Mok/PA Wire)
The funeral procession will feature a brass band playing Eriksson's favourite jazz tunes as his coffin is carried to the Kollsberg Museum.
Eriksson’s coffin arrived at Fryksande church at around 7am local time, long before the arrival of any of the 600 guests who are expected to be present. A single bell tolled as his body was carried into the church.
Members of Sweden’s royal family are 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 and his father as well as a childhood friend of the former Lazio and Benfica coach, Bengt Berg.
His final words, published posthumously, urged: "Don't give up. Life is always, always to be celebrated."
With just 200 seats inside the church, a big screen will broadcast the service for the overflow crowd in this town of 4,000.
Local pastor Ingela Älvskog, 64, a friend of Eriksson's since 2014, will lead the ceremony in what's set to be Torsby's largest ever funeral.
Eriksson, who led England at three major tournaments, died on August 26 after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's children Johan (left) and Lina (second left) before his funeral at Fryksande Church in Torsby (Yui Mok/PA Wire)
Prior to his death, Eriksson had publicly spoken of his wish to be buried at the spot, returning to it for an Amazon Prime documentary and sharing his emotional connection to the area.
"A beautiful place, it makes you calm, makes me calm," he said.
"If you look straight on, that's Torsby, where I grew up. I always thought great place, to sleep. The ashes could be thrown into the water here. It feels like home."
Under Eriksson's direction, England reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006, and the last-eight of Euro 2004.
He was England manager for five years, having previously guided Lazio to the Serie A title. He also managed Roma, Fiorentina and Sampdoria in Italy.
A person takes a picture of the screen outside Fryksande Church in Torsby (Yui Mok/PA Wire)
After stepping down from the England job, he held managerial posts with Manchester City , Leicester and the Mexico national team.
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