Beckham’s jet touches down forward of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s funeral
- The former footballer was the Swedish coach’s captain between 2001 and 2006
David Beckham has touched down in Karlstad airport, Sweden, with wife Victoria ahead of former England manager Sven-Goran’s star studded funeral tomorrow.
The former footballer, 49, who has travelled to Sven’s hometown of Torsby, was the Swedish coach’s captain between 2001 and 2006, during the height of their Three Lions success.
Eriksson passed away on August 26 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
The former England manager revealed in January that he had ‘best case a year’ to live following his diagnosis, and he was surrounded by his family as he passed away a little over two weeks ago.
David paid tribute to his former coach in an Instagram post following the news of his death, sharing a video of the pair walking side by side.
The private jet of English former football player David Beckham lands at the Karlstad airport, in Karlstad, Sweden on September 12, 2024, one day prior to late Swedish soccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s funeral service
David Beckham and Sven Goran Eriksson pictured during the England training session at Slaley Hall Hotel on August 16, 2004 at Slaley in Newcastle, England
Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who coached England from 2001 to 2006, died on August 26, 2024 at the age of 76 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, his agent said
Captioning the post, David wrote: ‘We laughed, we cried & we knew we were saying goodbye…Sven thank you for always being the person you have always been, passionate, caring, calm & a true gentleman.
‘I will be forever grateful for you making me your captain but I will forever hold these last memories of this day with you and your family…Thank you Sven’, David added.
David’s touchdown in Sweden comes as Eriksson’s final written words were shared today in the lead up to his funeral.
With permission from his family, Eriksson’s final column was published by The Telegraph, in which he wrote about doing his best to enjoy life to its fullest.
Eriksson wrote: ‘Life is to be celebrated. I always had that attitude. How do I best illustrate that? Well, you may have heard the story one of my old players, Didier Hamann, tells about me when I was sacked by Manchester City in 2008.’
Eriksson went onto tell the story about Hamann, which involved the former midfielder being unaware of his boss’ sacking, and asking what the duo, alongside Eriksson’s former assistant Tord Grip, were celebrating when champagne was brought to the meeting.
‘Celebrate life,’ Eriksson continued. ‘That has always been my mindset – whatever is thrown at you.’
David and Victoria Beckham will attend the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday
Eriksson, who died at the age of 76, will be buried in Torsby where he grew up on Friday but the ceremony is set to be very different from a traditional funeral in the area.
Eriksson became the first foreign boss of the England national team in 2001, taking charge of 67 matches until 2006. He directed the talented squad to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and at the 2004 European Championships.
‘Svennis’, as he was known in Sweden, led a ‘golden generation’ of players including David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
Eriksson’s tenure was remembered almost as much for what happened off the field as on it after romances with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio, Swedish TV host Ulrika Jonsson and former FA secretary Faria Alam during his time as England coach.
He also managed Swedish, Portuguese and Italian clubs, winning major trophies in the 1980s and 90s before taking on the England job.
After leaving England in 2006, he returned to the World Cup with Ivory Coast in 2010 and also had spells in charge of Manchester City and Leicester during a lengthy career.
