Sven Goran Eriksson shared a poignant goodbye message in a new documentary YouTube / Amazon Prime Video Sport The show will chronicle Eriksson’s extraordinary life Alamy Sven has spent most of his time back in his homeland Sweden Amazon Prime He was the first foreign manager to coach England PA
The 76-year-old has seen his life chronicled in a documentary for Amazon Prime Video which will be released today.
The director of Sven’s documentary revealed that the former footballer left those working on the project in tears as he recorded his final goodbye in a room alone without a cameraman.
Claudia Corbisiero, director, said; “He was always open, but I think it just took time to get him to be really open about his illness and the way he felt about it.
“Sven also really wanted to make sure that this wasn’t only a sad story.
“And that was something that he was really keen on, is ‘I don’t want this to be a boo hoo. I’m dying’ thing.'”
Sven was too ill to fly to London earlier this week to promote the documentary. His daughter Lina said on stage in London he is now “deteriorating quite quickly”.
The ex-England manager gave a final message to former players, coaches and supporters after speaking openly about his affairs and life in the film.
In a touching clip at the end of the documentary, Sven told viewers: “I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well.
“You have to learn to accept it for what it is. Hopefully, at the end people will say, yeah, he was a good man, but everyone will not say that.
“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry, smile.
“Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it.”
The film then pans back to Sven in his home, with the former England manager concluding his message with “bye”.
In another moving scene, son Johan and daughter Lina shared the moment they were told about Eriksson’s health condition.
Johan said: “I had 10 missed calls from my sister, ‘Dad’s in the emergency room’.
“He’s not in a good way. You can kind of tell when the doctor’s in tears that… not good. Worst possible news.”
Lina continued: “We found out that he had had five strokes and then you go into a state of fear. A panic mode.”
Eriksson noted: “One day, I woke up and I felt dizzy. Yeah, it’s cancer I have and that’s it. The medicine, we don’t know what’s going to happen.
“I’m sort of scared. It takes time, a little bit of time before you can accept it. I’m still here.”
In the documentary, streaming today, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney also pay tribute to their former boss.
Becks says: “I loved him from day one. He made me captain. The confidence he had in me was so important.
“The way he protected the players, the way he treated the players, it was a breath of fresh air.”
Since falling ill, Sven has spent almost all his time at his Swedish home in Sunne, and has reconnected with his family.
Speaking on a visit to Fryken lake, near Sunne, Sven admitted it could be his final resting place.
Pointing at the lake, he said: “I always thought it’s a great place to sleep.
“The ashes could be thrown into the water here. It feels like home.”
Eriksson took charge of 67 England matches between January 2001 and July 2006, winning 40 games.
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