26th Sven

 Sven Goran-Eriksson: Former England boss dies aged 76 | Football News | Sky Sports

On Friday, the 1st day of its release, I managed to catch the new documentary on Amazon about Sven. No, not the character from Frozen althought I am sure he has a great back story but rather Sven Goran Erikson. 

Earlier in the year he had announced that he had advanced pancreatic cancer and had been given less than a year to live.This reflective film looked back at his life, his loves (and there were many!!!), his successes and his failures. 

From the highs of his early managerial career with Gothenberg and then in Portugal and Italy before being handed the task of man managing England's golden generation through the less glamourous appointments of various second, third and fourth rate national teams (and even Notts County), he was respected throughout the game. 

Respected so much that he was granted an unfilled wish to manage Liverpool earlier this year when he was finally appointed 'their manager' for a Liverpool Legends vs Ajax charity match, an appointment no one begrudged him

Almost as famous for the stunning women he attracted to his side, occasionally being caught offside as a result, Sven was perhaps best viewed as a flawed gentleman. As the film followed him over the last few months of his life, he remained positive despite his prognosis, reflecting back on the life he had lived, the teams he had managed, the people he had known and the memories he treasured. 

The final frames of the film end with Sven looking directly into the camera and saying...

 "I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when it is finished - 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 has been fantastic. Take care of yourself and your life and live it. Bye."

Sven Goran Erikson died peacefully today, aged 76, at his home in Sweden surrounded by his family. In doing so he leaves the world not just his footballing legacy but also teaches us all how to live as he came face to face with death.

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