The death of coach Sven-Göran Eriksson has touched the football world. Eriksson will be remembered next month, for example, in the international match between England and Finland.
Anu Karttunen,
Nina Old house
26.8. 18:41•Updated 26.8. 20:37
Several with football work and by Sven-Göran Eriksson76, the celebrities who met shared their thoughts and memories of the coach who passed away on Monday morning.
– Sad to hear about Sven-Göran Eriksson’s passing. I met him several times when he was England manager and was always amazed by his charisma and passion for the game. My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game, the chairman of the FA, the Prince of Wales William wrote on their social media accounts.
CEO of the English Football Association (FA). Mark Bullingham said that Eriksson will be remembered when England face Finland in the Nations League match at Wembley next month.
– This is a very sad day. He gave all England fans such special memories. “No one can forget the 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich under Sven’s guidance,” Bullingham said.
Eriksson was the first non-British head coach of the England national team. Under him, England reached the quarter-finals twice in the World Cup and once in the European Championship.
– Rest in peace Sven-Göran Eriksson. One of the best and a man who will be sadly missed by everyone in the football world, a former England international Michael Owen wrote on X’s account.
The Swedish Football Association took part in the common grief of the football world and thanked the coach for everything he did for football both in Sweden and abroad.
– Svennis has inspired Swedish football managers with his excellent coaching success for decades, and his influence extends far beyond Sweden’s borders, the union wrote.
Eriksson’s children Lina and John wrote an open letter to his father’s websitewhere they wrote that he had told about his illness at the beginning of the year. They thanked several soccer teams that invited Eriksson to their matches over the past year. Eriksson received a hero’s welcome in these matches and was thanked for the work he did.
– I get to hear it while I’m alive and I’m incredibly grateful for it. The heart beats twice and the tears come. I’ve had the best job in the world and I’ve been happy every day for a long time. It’s been wonderful, Eriksson told his children.
Antti Muurinen: Ahead of his time
Former head coach of the Finnish men’s national football team Antti Muurinen faced Sven-Göran Eriksson’s team a couple of times and left the field with a defeat on his neck. Muurinen deeply respected his colleagues.
– He was a big Nordic football coach. He was such a human coach who knew how to deal with people and got results. I have a feeling that his composure, calmness and wisdom were of such a level that he succeeded in so many tasks because of that, Muurinen stated.
– It was sad to read about his last days. It felt awful. I admire and respect him greatly. He is one of the greatest of all time in my opinion.
According to Muurinen, Eriksson was ahead of his time both tactically and training-wise. In Eriksson’s training, things were done that the players did in matches on the field. Not all players did the same things by any means.
– He got into big clubs and had acquired his spurs. He was tactically and intellectually very competent, and his teams played good football.
Sources: AP, Reuters
Update at 20:37: Added Antti Muurinen’s comments and edited the title.