The funeral of Sven-Göran Eriksson, the first foreign manager of the England national team, took place on Friday in the small Swedish town of Torsby, where he grew up before embarking on a brilliant career at the top of European football.
A soft-spoken but determined coach, Eriksson coached teams in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, winning major trophies in the 1980s and 1990s before taking over as England manager in 2001, coaching stars such as David Beckham, who was among those attending the service.
Eriksson announced in January that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and spent much of the following months establishing contact with many of the places and people central to his career before he passed away last month.
He fulfilled his dream of becoming Liverpool manager after leading the club to a charity legends match against Ajax at Anfield in March.
David Beckham was among those who paid their respects to Sven-Göran Eriksson at the former manager's funeral in Torsby, Sweden. ADAM IHSE/TT/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
The funeral took place in Torsby, a rural town of less than 5,000 inhabitants near the border with Norway, and was attended by several hundred people in the church.
According to his agent, around 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church, which dates back to 1898, were reserved for his family, friends and players from his football career. The remaining seats were open to the public at Eriksson's request.
Others watched the service on a large outdoor screen and the Swedish media covered the funeral extensively.
The wooden coffin was rolled into the church by pallbearers on Friday morning. A photo of Eriksson stood on a small table next to the coffin. Among the floral wreaths were wreaths from FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach's long-time partner, Nancy Dell'Olio.
Prime ministers, clubs and former players expressed their tributes following the news of his death, while national teams such as England and Sweden played with black armbands during the September international break.
Eriksson, known in Sweden simply as “Svennis”, led England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2004 European Championships, coaching a golden generation of players that included Beckham as well as stars such as Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
He began building his international reputation when he led Swedish club IFK Göteborg to the UEFA Cup in 1982 and went on to win cups as coach of Portuguese club Benfica and Italian clubs Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Sampdoria.
Failing to end England's trophy drought, he quit his job as national team coach in 2006 and later went on to coach Manchester City and Leicester City, as well as clubs in Mexico and the Ivory Coast and China and the Philippines.
Information from Associated Press contributed to this report
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