so I was out back doing the last of the tomatoes when my brother in law texted me, of all people, he's the one who got me into watching the World Cup back in 2002, he had it on in his garage and I didn't even know who England's manager was, just this calm guy in a suit not losing his mind on the touchline while everyone else was. that Beckham free kick against Greece, I didn't understand half of what I was watching back then but I remember thinking this sport makes more sense with a guy like that running it. anyway I looked it up after, pancreatic cancer, 76, and I just sat there on the porch for a minute with dirt still on my hands. edit: realized I'm thinking of the wrong year, it was the Germany game that really got me, 5-1, my brother in law nearly fell off his lawn chair. rest easy Sven
Their story
Sven-Göran Eriksson, known in Sweden simply as "Svennis", was a Swedish football manager whose career took him from the small clubs of Värmland to the dugouts of Benfica, Roma, Lazio and the England national team. Born on 5 February 1948 in Sunne and raised in Torsby, he was the son…
Sven-Göran Eriksson, known in Sweden simply as "Svennis", was a Swedish football manager whose career took him from the small clubs of Värmland to the dugouts of Benfica, Roma, Lazio and the England national team. Born on 5 February 1948 in Sunne and raised in Torsby, he was the son of Sven, a bus conductor, and Ulla, who worked in a textile store. His nickname came from his younger brother Lars-Erik's attempt to say his name.
As a player he was a right-back, making his debut for Torsby IF at 16 before moving on to SK Sifhälla while studying economics in Säffle, and then to KB Karlskoga, where he also worked as a physical education teacher. At Karlskoga he fell under the influence of player-manager Tord Grip, a devotee of the English-style 4-4-2, zonal marking and pressing that Bob Houghton and Roy Hodgson had brought to Sweden. Eriksson retired in 1975, aged 27, later describing himself as "a distinctly average defender, but someone who rarely made mistakes".
He began coaching as Grip's assistant at Degerfors IF and became manager there in 1977, winning promotion in 1978. In 1979 he took over IFK Göteborg, where the players barely knew who he was. He won the Svenska Cupen in his first season and in 1982 delivered a treble: the Allsvenskan title, the Svenska Cupen and the UEFA Cup, beating Hamburger SV 4-0 on aggregate to become the first Swedish club to win a European trophy.
That success took him to Benfica, where he won the Portuguese league and cup in 1982-83, reached the UEFA Cup final and retained the title in 1983-84. In Italy he won the Coppa Italia with Roma in 1986, managed Fiorentina, then returned to Benfica, leading them to the 1990 European Cup final and the 1990-91 league title. At Sampdoria he won another Coppa Italia in 1994.
His finest club years came at Lazio from 1997. With Tord Grip again at his side, he won two Coppa Italias, two Supercoppa Italianas, the last ever UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999, the 1999 UEFA Super Cup against treble winners Manchester United and, in 2000, the Serie A title, only the second Scudetto in Lazio's history. He was named Serie A Coach of the Year for 1999-2000.
In January 2001 he became England's first foreign manager. His team won 5-1 in Munich against Germany in September 2001 and reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, losing to Brazil and then twice to Portugal on penalties. His private life, including relationships with Nancy Dell'Olio, Ulrika Jonsson and Faria Alam, and a 2006 tabloid sting by the "Fake Sheikh" Mazher Mahmood, made him a fixture of the front pages, and the FA announced in January 2006 that he would leave after the World Cup.
He went on to manage Manchester City in 2007-08, winning both derbies against Manchester United, then Mexico, the Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup and Leicester City. He also worked as director of football at Notts County, technical director at BEC Tero Sasana and Al Nasr in Dubai, and head coach of Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzhen in China, before leading the Philippines at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, their first appearance at the tournament. Across his career he coached in ten countries and won 18 trophies with clubs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy.
Eriksson was married to Ann-Christine Pettersson from 1977 until their divorce in 1994, and they had two children, Johan and Lina. In later years he lived at the Björkefors estate outside Sunne with his partner Yaniseth del Carmen Bravo Mendoza, whom he met while working in Mexico.
In January 2024 he revealed that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and had "at best about a year to live". What followed was a farewell tour of the game: he managed the Liverpool Legends at Anfield, fulfilling a lifelong wish as a Liverpool supporter, and was honoured by Benfica, IFK Göteborg, Sampdoria, Lazio, Degerfors and Torsby. The Prime Video documentary Sven was released on 23 August 2024. He died at home at Björkefors on the morning of 26 August 2024, aged 76. His funeral was held on 13 September 2024 at Fryksände church in Torsby, attended by David Beckham and Tord Grip among many others. He asked to be remembered as "a positive guy trying to do everything he could do".
Biography adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven-G%C3%B6ran_Eriksson; CNN 2024-08-26; Oporto Sports Management 2024-08-23.
In their own words
“I was looked upon as a distinctly average defender, but someone who rarely made mistakes.”
Eriksson summing up his playing career
“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do.”
From the 2024 Prime Video documentary Sven, as reported by CNN
“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.”
Farewell message in the documentary Sven, 2024
“Sven, thank you for always being the person you have always been, passionate, caring, calm and a true gentleman.”
David Beckham's tribute after Eriksson's death, August 2024
“Dad has never really been the person to shy away from a challenge. He's always managed to see the positives and everything.”
His son Johan Eriksson, speaking about the documentary Sven
“This film is a beautiful thing to have once Dad passes away as a memory, you know, for us as a family, but also for the world to see.”
His daughter Lina Eriksson on the documentary Sven
that Germany game was unreal, 2001, still get chills