David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager's small hometown of Torsby. (More Sports News)
Eriksson's wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began in𓂃side the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ing𝕴ela Alvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson's 95-🧔year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the churc♉h before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England's first foreign-born coach when he ledꦗ the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at ♛club level in Italy, Portugal and 🙈Sweden, died on August 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent.
The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson's wish, with a big screen🐻 set up outside the church🎃 where dozens more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilomet🐎ers (193 miles)🦩 west of Stockholm.
Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team ♒that Er🔜iksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ mu🌞sic, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John's song “Candle In The Wind" and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending theඣ funeral included the Swedish coach's longtime partner Nancy Dell'Olio. Eriksson's agent had said that guests froওm England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After Friday's church ceremony, a musical procession was set ✃accompany the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” would be given.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the tim🌼e, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
