Sven-Goran Erikisson sculpture plans have been postponed in Sweden until 2025 – until his favourite days in the year – Valentine’s Day
Plans to unveil Sven-Goran Erikisson’s memorial sculpture in Sweden next week have been postponed due to sickness. Instead the ceremony for the bronze statue of the football manager will take place in 2025 on one of his favourite days in the year – Valentine’s Day.
Family and friends were due to gather in Sven’s home town in Torsby next week to pay tribute to the soccer boss who died in August from cancer aged 76. They were due to unveil a lifesize sculpture of Sven which had been made by Swedish artist Hanna Beling. She had spent months working on the piece. However the event has now been cancelled until next year. It appears that some of those who had wanted to attend the ceremony have fallen ill and they would not have been able to go. Hanna said: “The unveiling has been changed to February 14 next year. There has been sickness in Torsby.”
Sven was a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. He not only used to shower his partners – who included Nancy Dell Olio and Ulrika Jonsson – with flowers. But he also used to give out red roses to the players in the teams he was managing on the day. Only a handful of people have seen Hanna’s statue.
It shows former England boss Sven – as he looked in his 40s – sitting on a manager’s bench with his hand raised in the air as though he is waving to a player. The 80 kilo sculpture is hollow but will have a special element inside to heat the body so it is warm to the touch.
Hanna travelled from Stockholm to Torsby in June to meet Sven and take his measurements for the artwork. He was able to see photos of how it would look before he passed away. Hanna said: “I measured his head, hands, legs, shoulders and also his nose and his lips. Then I looked at documentaries of when he was in Italy with Lazio.
“The reason for this is because I made the sculpture of him when he was 45-50 years old. That was a very happy period in his life. The middle age. It was a good age and he thought so too. He was excited about the sculpture but humble about the project. Only a few have seen it. Sven’s children and I agreed not to show it until it is finished and then we unveil it in Torsby.”
Once it is unveiled Hanna would love to get approval from officials in Torsby to take it on a Euro tour so Sven’s fans can see it up close. She added: “I want to show the sculpture to England and Italy too. I would love to see it there because he was very much loved there too. Fans will be able to sit next to Svennis and the statue will be warm so they can put their hand on his shoulder.
“It was a combined idea that he should be waving. It gives the sculpture some motion. I think it looks very much like him. I did my best.”
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