The endearing Swede left an enduring mark on the beautiful game, and everybody who had the privilege to work alongside him
In his autobiography titled 'The Didi Man', former Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann recalled a conversation he had with Sven-Goran Eriksson during the club's pre-season tour of Thailand in 2008, which saw the Swede approach him with a bottle of champagne and two glasses at ten o'clock in the morning.
"I looked up and said, 'Boss, what are we celebrating?'" Hamann wrote. "He turned to me and smiled that gentle smile of his and took on the air of a Buddhist philosopher as he said, ‘Life, Kaiser.’ Then after pausing for dramatic effect, 'We are celebrating… life.'"
That disarming charm was what made Eriksson unique. Success never came easy for the Swede, despite amassing a respectable haul of 14 major trophies across his 42-year career in football management, but he savoured every moment until it was over.
The Prince of Wales spoke for fans around the world when describing Eriksson as a "true gentleman of the game" after the 76-year-old's family announced his death on Monday. There are not many coaches who have managed to achieve more than Eriksson, but that's not why he was so popular. He was a kind, humble man who intuitively understood people, and his determination to squeeze as much joy from life as possible will be his lasting legacy.
From 'shy man' to UEFA Cup winner
By his own admission, Eriksson was a distinctly "average" defender, and he never played at the top level. He joined second-division side KB Karlskoga FF in 1972, but also started working as a PE teacher in the Swedish town of Orebro, and developed a passion for the nurture and development of talented youngsters.
Eriksson landed his first coaching role Degerfors IF in 1977, inspired by the pragmatic blueprint established by Bob Houghton and Roy Hodgson at the start of the century in Swedish football. Degerfors achieved promotion to the second tier while sticking to Eriksson's 4-4-2 formation, which led to his big break at IFK Gothenburg.
Gothenburg have always been one of the top clubs in Sweden, alongside AIK and Malmo, and the initial appointment of a unknown 30-year-old in 1979 raised more than a few eyebrows. “Here was this really shy man, who had been the manager of a little team called Degerfors, and now he was suddenly in charge of the biggest club in the country,” remarked defender Glenn Hysen. “We had never heard of him and it took us a while to respect him.”
But Eriksson did gradually earn the respect of the entire squad, delivering one league title, two Swedish Cups and the UEFA Cup in the space of three years. Against all odds, Gothenburg thrashed Hamburg over two legs to land their first European trophy, alerting top clubs across the continent to Eriksson's talents.
AdvertisementGettySwapping between Portugal & Italy
Eriksson joined Portuguese giants Benfica in 1982, and spent two years at the club, guiding them to successive league crowns, but fell agonisingly short of adding another UEFA Cup to his collection after a final defeat to Anderlecht. He then decided to take on a new challenge in Italy with Roma, after rejecting Barcelona, and turned the Giallorossi into Coppa Italia winners.
A forgettable spell at Fiorentina followed before Eriksson returned to Benfica in 1989. The unassuming Swede led the Eagles to the European Cup final in his first season back in Lisbon, which they lost 1-0 to one of the greatest AC Milan sides in history, but Eriksson was able to deliver another Primeira Division title before cutting ties with the club for good in 1992.
Eriksson's trophy-winning habit continued at Sampdoria, who stormed to the 1994 Coppa Italia after embracing his zonal marking defensive set-up. He managed to get the best out of superstars like Attilio Lombardo, Ruud Gullit and Roberto Mancini, enhancing his reputation as an elite manager in the process.
Sampdoria gave the green light for Eriksson to move to England in December 1996, but he ultimately went back on his promise to join Blackburn Rovers at the end of that season, with Hodgson inheriting the Ewood Park hot seat instead. Family ties kept Eriksson in Italy, and he signed a contract with Roma's arch-rivals Lazio in the summer of 1997.
Getty'Fans wanted to kill me'
Lazio had gone 20 years without any tangible success before Eriksson's arrival. To change that dynamic he had to be ruthless, and invited the wrath of ultras by pushing for the sale of talismanic club captain Guiseppe Signori.
"The fans went absolutely crazy. They hated me; I think they wanted to kill me," Eriksson said to the . "We sold him towards the end of a week in which we lost at home to Udinese on the Sunday. I couldn’t enter the training ground for the next training session because it was blocked by supporters."
Six months later, Lazio lifted the Coppa Italia. The following season, Eriksson oversaw a remarkable run to glory in the European Cup Winners' Cup, and in 1999-2000, Lazio won the Italian double. "No one said anything about Signori after that," added Eriksson.
Then England came calling. An agreement was struck for Eriksson to replace Kevin Keegan at the helm in October 2000 and he stepped down as Lazio boss three months later, becoming England's first-ever foreign head coach.
GettyHistoric start to World Cup heartbreak
Eriksson quickly silenced the skeptics who reacted with anger to his appointment, including the , who produced the memorable headline: "We've sold our birthright down the fjord to a nation of seven million skiers and hammer throwers who spend half their lives in darkness."
Despite the doubters, Eriksson debuted with five wins out of five, a feat no other England boss had previously managed, and expectations skyrocketed after a remarkable 5-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Germany in September 2001. It was only the second time Germany had ever been beaten at home in qualifying, with Michael Owen grabbing most of the headlines after netting a superb hat-trick.
Despite that, England only secured an automatic qualifying spot for the 2002 World Cup after David Beckham's incredible stoppage-time free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford, and Eriksson's team would prove to be equally enigmatic at the tournament in South Korea and Japan.
The Three Lions beat Argentina in the group stage, with Beckham scoring a penalty to exorcise the demons of his famous red card against La Albiceleste in France four years earlier, and made light work of Denmark in the round of 16, only to come unstuck against eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals. Ronaldinho's looping free-kick deceived David Seaman to give the Selecao a 2-1 win and break England hearts; a feeling Eriksson would get used to over the next four years.