Sven Goran-Eriksson’s heartbreaking goodbye message as he passes away
Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has tragically passed away following a battle with cancer at the age of 76.
Eriksson revealed in January that he had pancreatic cancer and was approaching the end of his life, with a ‘best case’ scenario seeing him only have a year left to live.
And, seven months later, a statement released on behalf of his family confirmed the devastating news on Monday morning.
It read: ‘Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away. After a long illness, SGE died during the morning at home surrounded by family.’
The tragic news comes after a recently released documentary that reflected and celebrated Eriksson’s life saw the Swede share a poignant goodbye message.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has tragically passed away at the age of 76 following a battle with cancer
Eriksson led England from 2001 to 2006, but failed to take the ‘Golden Generation’ – including David Beckham (pictured with Eriksson above) – to glory
Eriksson (pictured with partner Yaniseth Alcides) revealed in January he had pancreatic cancer and was approaching the end of his life, with a ‘best case’ scenario seeing him have a year left
The documentary saw Eriksson reflect on his time as England boss and his cancer diagnosis
Speaking at the end of a new Amazon Prime show about his life, called ‘Sven’, Eriksson gave a final message to former players, coaches and supporters after speaking openly about several topics in his life throughout the film.
His goodbye message was set over the landscape of the Swedish countryside near his home in Sunne, Sweden, with Eriksson saying: ‘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,’ he added.
‘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 panned back to Eriksson in his home, with the former England manager concluding his message with ‘bye.’
The Swede enjoyed a hugely successful managerial career, coaching teams like Manchester City and Leicester City. He also led England and was famously the first ever foreign coach to be in charge of the team.
Key images from Eriksson’s career were shown during his final message, along with a clip of him managing a squad of ‘Liverpool legends’ – including former players Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel – earlier this year.
The match fulfilled Eriksson’s lifelong dream to manage Liverpool at Anfield, while also reflecting his enduring popularity among fans in England.
During the film, Eriksson reflected that his life has been ‘like a fairy tale’. ‘It was not a normal life,’ he said. ‘I had a good life, maybe too good, you have to pay for it.’
Speaking on a visit to Fryken lake, near his home in Sunne, Sweden, Eriksson admitted it could be his final resting place.
‘I always thought it’s a great place to sleep,’ he said. ‘The ashes could be thrown into the water here. It feels like home.’
The 76-year-old is most famous for his time in charge of England, but despite coaching what was dubbed a ‘Golden Generation’, he was unable to lead the Three Lions to glory.
The Amazon Prime documentary included key figures from his life including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Roberto Mancini and Kasper Schmeichel.
Eriksson also talked openly about his affairs in the film, admitting he was ‘stupid’ to have cheated on Nancy Dell’Ollio with Ulrika Jonsson and Faria Alam.
But the Swede insisted when talking about his affairs that ‘sex is one of the good things in life for all of us’.
His most famous liaison with Jonsson left her saying after their affair that sleeping with Eriksson was as ‘boring as building an Ikea bookcase’.
Eriksson was most famous for his time with England, but also coached the likes of Man City and Leicester
Eriksson also talked openly about his affairs in the film, saying he was ‘stupid’ to have cheated on Nancy Dell’Ollio (pictured with Eriksson in 2002) with Ulrika Jonsson and Faria Alam
The Amazon Prime documentary titled ‘Sven’ was released on August 23
Wayne Rooney with then-manager Eriksson during a training session at the 2006 World Cup
Jonsson said that Eriksson slipped a blank cheque from Britain’s most exclusive bank into her pocket during their affair ‘devoid of passion’.
The television presenter and model, now 56, has kept the Coutts cheque as a memento of their short relationship, joking: ‘It might have been nice to fill it out at some point for all the hassle he brought me’.
Speaking earlier this month, Jonsson said of their 16-week dalliance: ‘This was no great passionate affair. It was devoid of passion. He had all this power and money, yet he was the weakest man I have ever met’.
‘I don’t think he had a romantic bone in his body’, she added, revealing that when not having sex they only really talked about football.
They had met at a party held by Tony Blair‘s spin doctor Alastair Campbell in 2002 when he former weather girl, then 34, asked for his autograph. Eriksson, then 54, replied in Swedish and asked for her phone number.
He then bombarded her with phone calls while on holiday with Dell’Ollio, telling Jonsson how ‘beautiful’ she was. When he came home they met up and had sex.
Next they flew to Eriksson’s home in Portugal for a secret holiday between England games, sitting at the front of the plane together ‘giggling all the way’.
After a night together in the luxurious villa west of Lisbon, they returned home.
‘The following morning we left for the airport together and, in the car, he put a blank cheque from Coutts in my pocket when I wasn’t looking,’ she said in The Sun.
Their four-month affair ended when it broke in the press – but Jonsson claims that Eriksson left her ‘high and dry’.
His ‘feisty’ Italian girlfriend Dell’Ollio slapped him but stayed with him on the advice of her lawyer, the new Amazon Prime film reveals.
Eriksson returned to his long-term partner, the Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio, who says she enjoyed being the ‘first lady of English football’
Ulrika Jonsson, left in 1997 and right this year, spoke out after Eriksson discussed their four-month affair on a new documentary – and had some choice words for him and his ex Nancy
Eriksson ahead of England’s 2006 World Cup quarter-final clash against Portugal in Germany
Pictured: The blank Coutts cheque handed to Ulrika Jonsson by Sven-Goran Eriksson
Faria Alam, who was Sven’s secretary when they had an affair, says she was in love with him
Speaking about Dell’Ollio, Jonsson said: ‘She should be grateful for me raising her profile. When it hit the headlines Nancy was suddenly famous. And she used that to her advantage. She’d have never been on Strictly Come Dancing if it wasn’t for me.
‘He says he was afraid (of leaving her). I’ve never in my life fought over a man. I know Nancy was clinging to Sven, but she really needn’t have worried. He never promised me he would leave her, because I never asked him to’.
The former football coach, 76, told the documentary ‘Sven’ that he was ‘stupid’ to have cheated on partner Dell’Ollio with Jonsson and his FA secretary Alam.
But the former England football manager insisted sex should be celebrated and added: ‘I didn’t do anything criminal.’
Writing in The Sun, Jonsson said: ‘He says in his documentary that he didn’t commit a crime, and he’s right about that. But he did do wrong’.
But she went on: ‘As far as I could tell, he cared only about three things: His two children, who he adored. And football’.
She added: ‘I’m sure he has regrets over some of his actions, but what good are regrets when the clock is ticking? I bear him no ill will’.
Eriksson’s ex-girlfriend Dell’Ollio said she loved Eriksson – and said he ‘power’ and status made him irresistible to women. She left her husband for him.
She said: ‘The first impression that I had about Sven, people in power always have extra, extra sex appeal. I felt in love. It wasn’t something that I was looking for. I was married and I left my husband to start my journey with Sven.
‘We were Sven and Nancy since the first date. I was the first lady of English football and there was never going to be another one after me.’
She went on: ‘The stupidity of Sven. After Sven’s first scandal, I wanted to leave him.
‘I couldn’t want to admit to myself that there was a possibility that I made a mistake. That I left everything for him. My lawyers said give him another chance but think what you can get from this.’
Nancy Dell’Olio and Sven-Goran Eriksson at the Variety Club 30th Sporting Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in June 2003
Nancy Dell’Olio has told the documentary how she almost left Sven over his ‘stupid’ affair with Ulrika Jonsson – but her lawyer advised her not to
Eriksson suggested his ashes could be scattered at a lake at Fryken in Sweden
Sven-Goran Eriksson remained with his girlfriend Yaniseth Bravo in Sweden until his passing
Dell’Ollio and Alam are among those to feature in the film, which focuses on his rise and fall as England manager as well as the reality of Sven’s terminal cancer diagnosis.
Alam had an affair with Eriksson and FA chief executive Mark Palios and she was forced to resign from her FA job but gave a series of kiss and tell interviews.
Speaking to the documentary she said: ‘The Noughties were just that, they were naughty. You could do so many things. I’ll be honest, I was a beautiful girl and I attracted a lot of attention.
‘He said, “Tell your story, go and tell them everything. Make some money, why not?”.’
Reports at the time suggested she may have made £300,000 from deals with newspapers.
Describing their relationship she said: ‘He didn’t have the mindset of a super-rich man. He talked to me about poetry, he talked to me about art.
‘He was saying how he did yoga and things like that. And I just fell in love with him, I guess. And that lit the fuse for all this to explode’.
But she was angry at being painted as a ‘gold digger’ when the story broke, adding: ‘I’m the person that’s the bad person, and I was the scapegoat for them to be relieved of any responsibility’.
Eriksson admitted in the film he appreciated his family more now, which included partner Yaniseth Alcides, a former dancer he met in Mexico and who he has been with for 16 years.
Alcides, who was caring for Eriksson, said: ‘I have hope that we will be together for many more years. I will not lose that hope.’
Eriksson added: ‘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 and trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry. Smile’.
- SVEN is on Prime Video in the UK, Ireland and Nordics on August 23.
