David Beckham and Wayne Rooney lead tributes to legendary former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson after tragic death
TRIBUTES have flooded in for England football legend Sven-Goran Eriksson who has died at aged 76.
Eriksson spent five years as Three Lions’ boss – taking England’s ‘Golden Generation’ to the quarter-finals in two World Cups and a European Championship.
The Swedish manager revealed in January he had “at best a year” to live after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
His family have subsequently confirmed the sad news of his passing in a heartbreaking statement today.
It read: “After a long illness, SGE died during the morning at home surrounded by family.”
A host of former England stars immediately paid tribute to their former boss’ memory, while others keep flooding in.
David Beckham shared a heartbreaking video of the pair to Instagram and 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 and in your last words to me ‘It will be ok.'”
Michael Owen wrote on X: “Rest In Peace. One of the very best and a man who will be sadly missed by everyone in the world of football.”
While Trevor Sinclair posted on X: “Gutted & eternally grateful. RIP Sven.”
Gary Neville took to Instagram to express his gratitude shortly after his death was announced.
The former England full-back wrote: “Rest in Peace Sven.”
Former Three Lions goalkeeper David James told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Sven was such a wonderful man. I am shocked because as much as we knew that the illness was terminal, you’re never quite prepared for the eventuality.”
Ex-England captain Wayne Rooney thanked Eriksson on X by writing: “Rest in peace, Sven. A special man.
“Thanks for the memories and all your help and advice. Thoughts and prayers with all his family and friends.”
The Swede handed Rooney his first of 120 England caps and brought him along to Euro 2004 – where the United striker, then 18, burst onto the scene.
Meanwhile FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: “This is a very sad day. He gave all England fans such special memories.
“No one can ever forget the 5-1 victory in Munich against Germany under Sven’s guidance.
“Sven will be rightly recognised and forever remembered for his significant work with the England team, and for his wider contribution to the game.
“On behalf of my colleagues at The FA, past and present, our thoughts are with his friends and family today. He will be much missed, and we will pay tribute to him when we play Finland at Wembley next month.”
Eriksson managed superstars such as Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Owen.
He left the England role after the 2006 World Cup and would later manage a host of clubs at domestic and international level.
During his time with England Eriksson managed 67 matches, he won 40 and lost 10 – of his 67 games 40 were competitive.
Due to his health issues, he was sadly forced to step down as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad in February 2023.
Eriksson’s former club Manchester City, who he managed for the 2007/08 season after Stuart Pearce, were the first club to offer their sincere condolences.
The champs wrote on X: “We would like to express our sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Sven-Goran Eriksson. Rest in peace, Sven .”
SunSport’s Shaun Custis and Martin Lipton discussed Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England legacy following his death aged 76.
Custis: “He was the most polite, civil manager I’ve ever dealt with in my life.”
Lipton: “There are many managers who are prone to paroxysms of aggravation and screaming matches.
“You can’t imagine Sven ever raising his voice, let alone having a row with someone. He was a gentle man and a gentleman throughout his dealings with us certainly. And I think that always came across from the very outset.
“He was clearly a quite calm, unflappable character and he wasn’t going to let anything perturb him no matter what it was. No matter what questions were thrown at him, no matter what stick he got. He had this veneer of utter tranquillity.”
Custis: “There was a lot of mystery to him. You weren’t reading things about him every two minutes online as you would do now but he came in and he got off to a great start with that 3-0 win over Spain.”
Lipton: “He just loved being around football, didn’t he that was the thing.
“He didn’t want to give it up… He actually, genuinely loved being around football players, being a manager and all the trappings of that and just being important. Because he enjoyed being Sven-Goran Eriksson – football manager.”
Lipton: “He brought back a belief in the England team in that period, he gave us a night we’ll never forget and oversaw the real change in the culture of English football in that it became more celebrity in many ways.
“The players became bigger than they’d ever been and he managed to keep that under a degree of wraps… He was a better manager than I thought he was at the time.”
Liverpool, who Eriksson supported throughout his life, posted on X: “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Sven’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.”
And his former side Leicester, who he led between 2010/11, also instantly reached out to express their “deep sadness”.
Meanwhile the Prince William was among the first to offer his heartfelt condolences on X.
The Prince of Wales, who is President of the Football Association, wrote on X: “Sad to hear about the passing of Sven-Goran Eriksson.
“I met him several times as England manager and was always struck by his charisma and passion for the game.
“My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game. W.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Deeply saddened to hear that Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away.
“He will be remembered for his tremendous contribution to English football which brought joy to so many over the years. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, who won Serie A under Eriksson in 2000, shared a brilliant picture celebrating in the changing room with his old boss.
The Argentina legend captioned his post: “Thank you so much mister. Rest in peace.”
Eriksson’s heartbreaking goodbye message
Eriksson, speaking before his death in Amazon Prime’s documentary about his life, ‘Sven’ said: “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.
Eriksson’s children Lina and Johan issued a statement shortly after their father’s death was announced.
It read: “Our father fell asleep peacefully in his home at Bjorkefors outside Sunne this morning.
“He has for a long time fought bravely with his illness, but now it came to an end.
“Our thoughts go out to Sven-Goran’s father Sven; girlfriend Yaniseth and her son Alcides; to his brother Lasse and wife Jumnong, as well as to all good friends and acquaintances in Sweden and around the world.”