2024-09-11 09:17:27
Before the English national team’s match against Finland, football briefly took a back seat. The hosts mourned the loss of their former coach.
Emotional atmosphere at Wembley Stadium in London: Shortly before kick-off of the Nations League match against Finland, England remembered Sven-Göran Eriksson. The Swede was the first foreign national coach of the “Three Lions” between 2001 and 2006 and took part in the World Cup in Germany with his team, among other things. Eriksson, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023, succumbed to his illness around two weeks ago.
Shortly before the start of the match on Tuesday evening, the deceased’s portrait flashed across the scoreboards at Wembley Stadium. Both the English national team and the Finnish team lined up opposite each other in the centre circle of the arena. The stadium announcer announced: “This evening, Wembley Stadium pays tribute to the former English national coach Sven-Göran Eriksson.”
Afterwards, the entire stadium, including the players and staff members of both teams, applauded the coaching legend for several seconds in the pouring rain. A goosebump-inducing moment in London. The recently deceased former English footballers Kevin Campbell, Tommy Banks and Craig Shakespeare were also remembered. Their faces also appeared on the scoreboard.
A short time later, referee Morten Krogh ended the memorial ceremony with a whistle. England’s players, meanwhile, wore black armbands from the start to honour Sven-Göran Eriksson. The association had already announced this before the match.
Eriksson began his coaching career in 1976. The former defender subsequently coached Benfica, AS Roma, AC Florence, Lazio Rome, Manchester City and Leicester City, among others. In addition to the English selection, Eriksson also coached the national teams of Mexico, the Ivory Coast and the Philippines.
His heart’s desire was also to coach Liverpool FC one day. A few months before his death, Eriksson was able to coach a traditional Reds team at Anfield Road against Ajax Amsterdam as head coach.