David Beckham shares heartbreaking video and message as tributes pour in for tragic ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson
DAVID BECKHAM has shared a heartbreaking tribute video after the tragic death of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The Swede passed away today at the age of 76, eight months after revealing he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Tributes have flooded in from all over the world for Eriksson, who managed England’s ‘Golden Generation’ between 2001 and 2006.
And Beckham, who was the former manager’s captain during his time at the helm, paid his respects with a touching video.
A caption read: “We laughed, we cried & we knew we were saying goodbye…
“Sven thank you for always being the person you have always been, passionate, caring, calm & a true gentleman…
“I will be forever grateful for you making me your captain but I will forever hold these last memories of this day with you and your family…
“Thank you Sven and in your last words to me, ‘It will be ok’.”
The heartbreaking video captured the moment Becks visited his old boss earlier this year at his farm in Sweden.
The pair enjoyed a traditional meal and six special bottles of wine together.
Eriksson said of the visit: “He came with six litres of wine from dates that were important to me.
“He had wine from 1948 – the year I was born, very nice of him. He is genuine, he could have been a big diva, but he is quite the opposite.
SVEN'S AMAZING CAREER
1977 – Having played football professionally in Sweden, Sven-Goran Eriksson kicked off his managerial career with Swedish side Degerfors.
2000 – He guided Lazio to the Serie A title to become one of the hottest coaches in the world.
2001 – Following the resignation of Kevin Keegan, he was appointed England’s next permanent manager in February 2001. He oversaw 66 games with the Three Lions, winning 39 and losing just 12.
2002 – Eriksson led England to the 2002 World Cup with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham in his squad. The Three Lions were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
2004 – The legendary manager also led the Three Lions to Euro 2004, but they were knocked out of the quarter-finals to Portugal.
2006 – Eriksson led England to another World Cup, his final tournament in charge, before resigning.
2007 – The Swede took charge of Manchester City a year after leaving the England job and oversaw 45 games.
2010 – Having coached Mexico, Ivory Coast and Notts County after parting ways with Man City, Erikson took charge of Leicester and saved them from relegation. Following his time with the Foxes he went on to manage China and Philippines.
2024 – In January 2024, Eriksson announced he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Three months later, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of managing Liverpool in a legends match at Anfield, before passing away in August.
“He ate herring and potatoes and elk meat.
“The previous day he had sent a chef who fixed the food, and then he came and was here for a day. We sat chatting, a lot about football.”
Beckham wasn’t the only ex-England star to pay tribute to Eriksson.
Michael Owen wrote on X: “Rest In Peace. One of the very best and a man who will be sadly missed by everyone in the world of football.”
Gary Neville said: “Rest in peace Sven.”
Wayne Rooney declared: “Rest in peace, Sven. A special man.
“Thanks for the memories and all your help and advice. Thoughts and prayers with all his family and friends.”
David James told 5Live: “Sven was such a wonderful man. I am shocked because as much as we knew that the illness was terminal, you’re never quite prepared for the eventuality.”
Trevor Sinclair posted: “Gutted & eternally grateful. RIP Sven.”
Peter Crouch added: “Really sad news. What a great person he was Sven gave me my England debut when plenty doubted it. I will forever be grateful to him. He will be missed.”
And players including Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand posted pictures in tribute to Eriksson.
The FA will honour Eriksson ahead of England’s upcoming game against Finland, with CEO Mark Bullingham saying: “This is a very sad day. He gave all England fans such special memories.
“No one can ever forget the 5-1 victory in Munich against Germany under Sven’s guidance.
“Sven will be rightly recognised and forever remembered for his significant work with the England team, and for his wider contribution to the game.
“On behalf of my colleagues at The FA, past and present, our thoughts are with his friends and family today. He will be much missed, and we will pay tribute to him when we play Finland at Wembley next month.”
Prince William, the President of the FA, added: “Sad to hear about the passing of Sven-Goran Eriksson.
“I met him several times as England manager and was always struck by his charisma and passion for the game.
“My thoughts are with his family and friends. A true gentleman of the game. W.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted: “Deeply saddened to hear that Sven-Goran Eriksson has passed away.
“He will be remembered for his tremendous contribution to English football which brought joy to so many over the years. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Eriksson’s charismatic life and cancer diagnosis will be shown in an upcoming documentary on Amazon Prime Video.
One clip shows him saying: “I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well.
“You have to learn to accept it for what it is. Hopefully at the end people will say, yeah, he was a good man, but everyone will not say that.
I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry, smile.
“Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it.”
A statement from Eriksson’s family announced his sad passing this morning.
Children Lina and Johan said: “Our father fell asleep peacefully in his home at Bjorkefors outside Sunne this morning.
“He has for a long time fought bravely with his illness, but now it came to an end.
SunSport’s Shaun Custis and Martin Lipton discussed Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England legacy following his death aged 76.
Custis: “He was the most polite, civil manager I’ve ever dealt with in my life.”
Lipton: “There are many managers who are prone to paroxysms of aggravation and screaming matches.
“You can’t imagine Sven ever raising his voice, let alone having a row with someone. He was a gentle man and a gentleman throughout his dealings with us certainly. And I think that always came across from the very outset.
“He was clearly a quite calm, unflappable character and he wasn’t going to let anything perturb him no matter what it was. No matter what questions were thrown at him, no matter what stick he got. He had this veneer of utter tranquillity.”
Custis: “There was a lot of mystery to him. You weren’t reading things about him every two minutes online as you would do now but he came in and he got off to a great start with that 3-0 win over Spain.”
Lipton: “He just loved being around football, didn’t he that was the thing.
“He didn’t want to give it up… He actually, genuinely loved being around football players, being a manager and all the trappings of that and just being important. Because he enjoyed being Sven-Goran Eriksson – football manager.”
Lipton: “He brought back a belief in the England team in that period, he gave us a night we’ll never forget and oversaw the real change in the culture of English football in that it became more celebrity in many ways.
“The players became bigger than they’d ever been and he managed to keep that under a degree of wraps… He was a better manager than I thought he was at the time.”
“Our thoughts go out to Sven-Goran’s father Sven; girlfriend Yaniseth and her son Alcides; to his brother Lasse and wife Jumnong, as well as to all good friends and acquaintances in Sweden and around the world.
“Dad told us at the beginning of this year about his serious illness and received an amazing response from friends and football fans around Europe. He was invited to several football teams in England, Italy, Portugal and Sweden.
“They shared their love for football and for dad. It was unforgettable for both him and us. He expressed his appreciation and joy and stated that such beautiful words are usually only uttered when someone has died.”
The children added: “We have shared his gratitude and got to experience the wonderful meetings between him, football and all his friends. We thank everyone for these positive memories and your support during his illness.
“We hope that you will remember Svennis as the good and positive person he always was both in public and at home with us.”
SVEN'S ENGLAND RECORD - 2001-2006
Matches 67
Wins 40
Draws 17
Losses 10
Win percentage 59.7
World Cup 2002
Lost 2-1 to Brazil in quarter-final
Euros 2004
Lost on penalties to Portugal in quarter-final
World Cup 2006
Lost on penalties to Portugal in quarter-final
Eriksson was the first foreign manager of England’s national team following his appointment in 2001.
Eriksson managed 67 matches, winning 40 and losing 10.
Eriksson left the England role after the 2006 World Cup and would later manage a host of clubs at domestic and international level.
His club career saw him win six league titles in three different countries, including a domestic Treble with Lazio in 2000.