Farewell to Sven.

Within an hour of settling into my hotel across the lake that lapped the jetty of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s house, the rain swept across, the sun emerged and then a rainbow. In his dying days, Eriksson spoke of the power of nature and how he wanted his ashes scattered in this beautiful, remote part of Sweden because it “feels like home”. Watching that rainbow stretching across the lake towards Eriksson’s old home it felt like nature was acknowledging him back, even taking him back.

Guests like Roy Hodgson and David Beckham gathering for Eriksson’s funeral in Torsby later today were greeted with a welcome message from his children, Lina and Johan, including the words their father spoke in the recent film about him. “I had a good life,” Eriksson reflected. “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, take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”

Eriksson enjoyed his life and he has handled with typical elegance and stoicism his leaving of it. A group of us, including Hodgson and Dein, Lina and Johan, met last night and talked about this wonderful man. Nancy Dell’Olio arrived in style and joined in the reflections.

What a life! Two fine children. So many friendships. So many experiences. Sven loved and was loved. And so many successes in club football. England was ultimately a disappointment and FA executives past (Dein, David Davies and Adam Crozier) and present (Mark Burrows) are here to pay their respects. But as the party reflected, England still had some glorious moments under Eriksson, the 5-1 in Munich, the emphatic defeat of Denmark in 2002 and the taking apart of Croatia at Euro 2004, a tournament England might have won had Wayne Rooney not succumbed to injury in the quarter-final.