EXCLUSIVE: Sven Snr will visit a statue of his son Sven-Göran Eriksson, the former England football manager, every day ahead of the anniversary of his death on Tuesday
In the tiny Swedish town of Torsby sits a bronze statue of a giant of England football. One frequent visitor to the bench where the figure of Sven-Göran Eriksson rests is his beloved 96-year-old father, Sven Snr.
In life, Sven-Göran chatted to his dad every day on the phone. Now Sven Snr, using a walker, paces a few hundred metres to a place nicknamed Svennis Torg to sit with the statue and reminisce.
Tuesday will be especially hard for Sven Snr as it is the first anniversary of the former England boss’s death from pancreatic cancer, aged 76. In the past 12 months, Sven’s family have been trying to cope with the huge gap he has left behind, none more so than his dad.
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The frail former bus conductor, who suffered the nightmare of burying his own son, said: “It’s been almost a year and I feel it every day. I’ll never forget him”. I even dream about him at night. It’s very difficult for me but there is nothing I can do about it. “
Sven, who took England to two World Cups and a Euros, considered his dad a mentor and hugely influential. He said he instilled the values of hard work, integrity and respect in him.
His father says:” What do I miss most? Everything. We used to talk every day on the phone. “
Torsby, where Sven grew up and lived his final years, chose to honour” their son “by enlisting Swedish sculptor Hanna Beling to create a statue of him.
She travelled from Stockholm in the final months of his life to discuss her plans and take measurements of his nose and his ears.
Sven loved the idea of a memorial and even donated a suit and shoes which could be cast in the model. Now, just like he was during football matches, he is sitting on a bench with his hand in the air as if he is signalling to a player.
Sven’s mother Ulla died in 2011 and his partner Yaniseth Alcides has returned to her native Panama. But Sven Snr is not alone, as his grown-up grandchildren Lina and Johan still visit.
And his son’s friend from childhood, Bengt Berg, a poet and writer, checks in on him. Naturally, their chats often end with stories about Sven. Bengt worked with him on his best-selling biography, En Underbar Resa, which was published shortly after his death.
It has now been translated into English, called A Beautiful Game. The book did avoid the controversies that followed Sven. Most notably, his love of women and his high-profile romance with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio, and flings with TV star Ulrika Jonsson and FA secretary Faria Alam.
Today, when asked about how he felt seeing his son’s love life splattered all over the media, Sven Snr just laughs. He says:” Yes, he liked women but he was a grown man, so I didn’t stick my nose into his business. “
Bengt jokes:” Svennis not only loved football but also women. However, he wasn’t actually particularly interested in women’s football. “
Both had trouble pinning down their happiest memory of Sven, who managed teams all over the world. Sven Snr says: “Ulla and I visited him in Portugal, Italy and England. There are many memories, including from childhood.”
Bengt says:” One of my fondest memories was a steamboat trip on the Lake Fryken – the lake he would live by in the last years of his life. We got together with some childhood friends and it was an indescribably beautiful Scandinavian summer evening. “
Since Sven’s funeral, attended by the likes of former England captain David Beckham and ex-England manager Roy Hodgson, the Erikssons have had to cope with some unwelcome surprises. They found he died £8million in debt and the 13-room family mansion was put up for sale for £1.8m – but the price had to be lowered because there was no interest.
His partner and two children tried to raise funds by auctioning some of Sven’s treasured possessions, such as trophies and even suits.
But despite the dramas, they are still grieving over the fact that pancreatic cancer robbed them of a partner and a father. His dad says:” He wanted to do so much and then the damn disease came and put an end to it all. “
Bengt says:” Until the illness took hold, Svennis still wanted to view each new day as an opportunity and he had the ability to see the beauty in life. “
On Tuesday, many who knew and loved him will light a candle in his memory in church or their homes. Bengt says:” Just over a year ago we were celebrating midsummer at Svennis ‘ house.
He adds: “It feels both a long time ago but also like it was yesterday”.
