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Sven-Goran Eriksson died before book called A Beautiful Game he co-wrote was published

The childhood pal of Sven-Goran Eriksson who helped him write his life story today tells of his anguish that he didn’t live to see it in print.

Author Bengt Berg, 77, said he and the former England boss had planned to launch A Beautiful Game together next month. But the Swede lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Monday, aged 76.

Now Bengt, who recorded about 200 hours of interviews with Sven at his home over the last two years, says: “It will feel empty, but I know he will be there. Sometimes there are bright shadows. He will always be one.

“I will always remember him doing tricks with a deflated football on dew-sprinkled grass. It’s strange how a pale boy from the forests of northern Värmland conquered the football world.”

Sven, England’s first foreign manager, revealed he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in January – and said he had at “best case a year” to live. He said his final farewell to fans in an Amazon Prime documentary last week where he told them “not to be sorry” as he’d “had a good life”

 

Sven and Bengt met when they were kids© INTERNET URL

 

 

Author Bengt Berg, 77, said he and the former England boss had planned to launch A Beautiful Game together© Reach Publishing Services Limited

In his five years in charge of the Three Lions, Sven took them to the quarter-finals of two consecutive World Cups in 2002 and 2004, and one Euros. The dapper Swede also hit headlines off the pitch over the women in his life including TV star Ulrika Jonsson, glamorous Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Ollio and FA secretary Faria Alam.

Speaking about his old friend’s death, Bengt – a former politician, as well as a poet, said: “Right now it feels so unreal.” 

He told how Sven had “avoided talking about” his illness, but said he had managed to “incorporate it into his positive thinking, which is something I didn’t really understand”. Bengt added: “We had a book that had to be finished by a certain time while there was also a real deadline.

The book was finished and he had time to see the text. It feels nice… he seemed very satisfied.” 

Reference: The Mirror: Story by Mark Jefferies & Patrick Hill