Hasse Backe was one of many football celebrities who bid farewell to Sven-Göran Eriksson in Fryksände church.
He describes the ceremony as bright and fine, which made the friend remember one of his many meetings with Eriksson.
Most of all, it was a sentence that the TV expert and coach colleague thought about during the ceremony.
It was a bit like he said himself: "Remember me with a smile", that's what I thought a lot about.
"He said it well"
Is that how you remember "Svennis"?
Yes, I do actually. The more I let it sink in, the more it's with a smile. I thought he said it very well.
Backe met Eriksson two, three months ago.
It was always fun to sit down and chat a bit. There have been many memories over the years. He was always positive, straight away. There was never any negative talk even though we knew he was quite ill then. Then it went very fast.
Glenn Strömberg, who had "Svennis" as coach in IFK Göteborg and Benfica, feels that he has the coach legend to thank for a lot.
He's the person outside my family who has meant the most to me and my life. He has shaped where I live, what I've done. Football helped, but it was he who took me to the different places, says the former centre-back and thought the funeral was "calm, peaceful and dignified".
I think it was exactly what he wanted.
"Excellent"
Roy Hodgson:
The ceremony was excellent, it was well-organized and dignified. "Sven" was a very good friend and this couldn't have been done better. It was a very fine farewell, says the former top coach who, among other things, has been in Halmstad, Oddevold, Örebro and Malmö FF.
I think it represented him perfectly and everyone who was here got a chance to reflect on all the good things he did for the world and his friends.
