+ When
Friday, September 13, at 10 am.
+ Where
Sven-Göran Eriksson will be buried in Fryksände Church in his hometown of Torsby. The church – built in Neo-Gothic style – was inaugurated in 1898 and has room for 600 visitors.
According to "Svennis" agent Bo Gustavsson, the church is expected to be full, and for those who do not get a seat, a large screen will be set up outside.
+ The ceremony
Sven-Göran Eriksson's wish was that the ceremony would be a folkloric and joyful occasion. Afterward, the procession will proceed from the church to a local heritage center.
The music will be performed by Torsby Brass and will draw inspiration from New Orleans – a further tribute to the late football coach.
When "Svennis" was in Sampdoria, the president there passed away, and his funeral was something he took note of. It was joyful, New Orleans jazz was played, and there were many people along the streets. He wanted something similar, said Bo Gustavsson earlier in September.
The day will conclude with speeches at the local heritage center. One of the speakers is author and childhood friend Bengt Berg.
I will try to draw out sentences about him as a person. Something that must be included is that he often said that it's beautiful. Like a positive fanfare, and he was a bon vivant who took things to the extreme, says Bengt Berg.
+ The guests
A large number of the guests at the funeral are expected to be "ordinary people" from Värmland. Something "Svennis" was particular about wanting.
At the same time, one or two well-known faces are expected to appear – even if the official guest list has not been made public for security reasons.
There is speculation that David Beckham will attend. The English superstar – who visited "Svennis" in Värmland last summer – was captain of the English national team led by Eriksson.
"I will be eternally grateful for making me your captain, but I will always hold these last memories from that day with you and your family. Thanks, Sven, your last words to me were: it will be okay", Beckham wrote on Instagram in connection with Sven-Göran Eriksson's death on August 26.
+ Security
No concrete threat exists against the event, according to the police. At the same time, preparations are being made for all eventualities, and extra resources have been called in from other parts of the county.
In parallel with the funeral, the Torsby market will start – which means even more people in the area.
It can be anywhere from 500-600 up to a few thousand. It's unique that we're involved in a funeral in this way. But a funeral is also a public gathering, and we have experience of planning that, says Morgan Olsson, police operations manager in Torsby to TT.
We know that well-known people will be attending, and we naturally have to take that into account.
Central Torsby will be partially closed off.
Born: February 5, 1948, in Sunne.
Died: August 26, 2024.
Occupation: Football coach.
Clubs as a player: Torsby, Sifhälla, Karlskoga.
Clubs as a coach: Degerfors (1977–1978), IFK Göteborg (1979–1982), Benfica, Portugal (1982–1984), Roma, Italy (1984–1987), Fiorentina, Italy (1987–1989), Benfica (1989–1992), Sampdoria, Italy (1992–1997), Lazio (1997–2001), Manchester City, England (2007–2008), Notts County, England (sports director 2009–2010), Leicester, England (2010–2011), Tero Sasana, Thailand (sports director 2012), al-Nasr, United Arab Emirates (technical advisor 2013), Guangzhou, China (2013–2014), Shanghai (2014–2016), Shenzhen, China (2016–2017), IF Karlstad (sports advisor 2022-2023).
Countries as national team coach: England (2001–2006), Mexico (2008–2009), Ivory Coast (2010), Philippines (2019).
Main achievements: Swedish champion, cup winner, and UEFA Cup winner with IFK Göteborg, league and cup winner with Benfica, cup winner with Roma, Sampdoria, and Lazio. Italian champion and winner of the Cup Winners' Cup with Lazio. Reached the quarterfinals with England in the World Championship 2002, European Championship 2004, and World Championship 2006.
Well-known players he worked with (selection): Glenn Hysén, Glenn Strömberg, Torbjörn Nilsson, Jonas Thern, Stefan Schwarz, Mats Magnusson, Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron, Simone Inzaghi, Christian Vieri, Alessandro Nesta, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen.
Coaches he worked with (selection): Tord Grip, Gunder Bengtsson, Benny Lennartsson, Hasse Backe
Other: Was a candidate for the Swedish national team coach in 2009. Received TT's leadership award in 1982, received the Swedish Football Association and TV4 Football Channel's honorary award in 2019, named Swedish of the Year in the World in 2001.
