SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON’s ex-partner Nancy Dell’Olio broke down in tears on live TV after recalling her last conversation with him.
The former England manager tragically died aged 76 earlier this week after suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer.
Nancy, 63, dated Eriksson for ten years before they split in 2007.
She appeared on Good Morning Britain and could not hold back the tears as she revealed her final conversation with the Swede.
She said on GMB: “I just said he was trying to put in the effort to say that he was fine on the phone because most of the time he was not answering or at treatment.
“I never thought that he was about to die.
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“I always believed there would be some sort of miracle.
“I’m sorry.”
GMB presenter Richard Madeley apologised to Nancy as she lost her words and ended the interview.
Nancy admitted that she remained in contact with Eriksson during his illness.
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She insisted that he would always sound “relaxed” and “laughing” as he would try to calm her worries.
She said: “It was hard, but he sounded so relaxed and we were laughing and he would just say ‘I feel okay’.
SVEN’S AMAZING CAREER
1977 – Having played football professionally in Sweden, Sven-Goran Eriksson kicked off his managerial career with Swedish side Degerfors.
2000 – He guided Lazio to the Serie A title to become one of the hottest coaches in the world.
2001 – Following the resignation of Kevin Keegan, he was appointed England’s next permanent manager in February 2001. He oversaw 66 games with the Three Lions, winning 39 and losing just 12.
2002 – Eriksson led England to the 2002 World Cup with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham in his squad. The Three Lions were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
2004 – The legendary manager also led the Three Lions to Euro 2004, but they were knocked out of the quarter-finals to Portugal.
2006 – Eriksson led England to another World Cup, his final tournament in charge, before resigning.
2007 – The Swede took charge of Manchester City a year after leaving the England job and oversaw 45 games.
2010 – Having coached Mexico, Ivory Coast and Notts County after parting ways with Man City, Erikson took charge of Leicester and saved them from relegation. Following his time with the Foxes he went on to manage China and Philippines.
2024 – In January 2024, Eriksson announced he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Three months later, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of managing Liverpool in a legends match at Anfield, before passing away in August.
“It was quite difficult to even be talking but I tried to be fearless and see how he was.
“I wanted to get together for another dinner.”
After Eriksson’s death, Nancy shared some unseen photos of herself with him during their time together.
During her appearance on the breakfast show, Nancy also admitted that she still loved Eriksson and that he was a “kind person”.
She added: “I find it difficult being here talking about Sven knowing that he is not here with us anymore.
“He was loveable, when you love someone you will love them forever.
“He was a very kind person. He is more reserved and that is why the opposite always got attention.
“We connected he would say when he saw me the first time that he thought I was the one.
“For me, it was not the same as I was married, and it happened months later.”
The Italian beauty was married to Giancarlo Massa when she first met Eriksson but left the relationship to be with the manager.
The couple never tied the knot, but Nancy has lovingly referred to her former lover as her “ex-husband”.
Their romance suffered controversy when it emerged that he had a four-month romance with fellow Swedish celebrity Ulrika Jonsson in 2002.
Two years later, Eriksson strayed again, having an affair with Football Association secretary Faria Alam, which prompted an FA scandal.
In an interview in 2018, Eriksson said the high-profile of his love life took its toll.
Eriksson was previously married to Ann-Christine Pettersson before his relationship with Nancy.
They were married between 1977 and 1994.
Sven said his marriage came to an end due to him having an affair with Graziella Mancinelli.
Eriksson revealed his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January earlier this year.
Doctors initially gave Eriksson – who managed the Three Lions for five years and three tournaments – “about a year” to live.
He received the crushing blow following tests after he woke up feeling dizzy.
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In the months before his death, the 76-year-old saw his life chronicled in a documentary for Amazon Prime Video.
Sven gave a final message to former players, coaches and supporters after speaking openly about his affairs and life in the film.
“Sven was a good coach… better than he seems, says SunSport experts”
SunSport’s Shaun Custis and Martin Lipton discussed Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England legacy following his death aged 76.
Custis: “He was the most polite, civil manager I’ve ever dealt with in my life.”
Lipton: “There are many managers who are prone to paroxysms of aggravation and screaming matches.
“You can’t imagine Sven ever raising his voice, let alone having a row with someone. He was a gentle man and a gentleman throughout his dealings with us certainly. And I think that always came across from the very outset.
“He was clearly a quite calm, unflappable character and he wasn’t going to let anything perturb him no matter what it was. No matter what questions were thrown at him, no matter what stick he got. He had this veneer of utter tranquillity.”
Custis: “There was a lot of mystery to him. You weren’t reading things about him every two minutes online as you would do now but he came in and he got off to a great start with that 3-0 win over Spain.”
Lipton: “He just loved being around football, didn’t he that was the thing.
“He didn’t want to give it up… He actually, genuinely loved being around football players, being a manager and all the trappings of that and just being important. Because he enjoyed being Sven-Goran Eriksson – football manager.”
Lipton: “He brought back a belief in the England team in that period, he gave us a night we’ll never forget and oversaw the real change in the culture of English football in that it became more celebrity in many ways.
“The players became bigger than they’d ever been and he managed to keep that under a degree of wraps… He was a better manager than I thought he was at the time.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
