David Beckham was among the mourners at Fryksande church in the Swedish town of Torsby for the funeral of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday morning.
Captain of the team during the Swede’s spell in charge in between 2001 and 2006, Beckham is expected to be joined by other members of the squad from that period including those who helped England to the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Eriksson’s coffin arrived at Fryksande church at around 7am local time, long before the arrival of any of the 600 guests who are expected to be present. A single bell tolled as his body was carried into the church.
Members of Sweden’s royal family are also expected to be in attendance, with roads surrounding the church in the small town where Eriksson grew up cordoned off and with a sizeable police presence in the area.
Amongst those to arrive early were Eriksson’s son and elderly father as well as a childhood friend of the former Lazio and Benfica coach, Bengt Berg.
“I’m very happy and very sad at the same time,” said Berg, an author who worked on a book with Eriksson in the final months of his life.
“But it’s fantastic to see him returning to his first point. It’s a very curious feeling.
“He’s one of us and we share his glory. But when he returned here, he was just one of the hot dog eaters.”
