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Sven -Goran Eriksson’s family have been hit with yet another blow just six months after the footballing legend tragically died after fighting pancreatic cancer
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s family have been dealt yet another blow following his death.
The unveiling of a bronze statue in memory of the legendary football manager has suddenly been cancelled at the eleventh hour. Family and friends as well as the media were due to gather in Sven’s home town of Torsby in Sweden on Valentine’s Day for the big ceremony. But all plans have now been dropped and no new date has been fixed.
It means more heartache for the family of the soccer boss who passed away from pancreatic cancer aged 76 last August. Since then, his partner Yaniseth Alcides and his two children from a previous marriage (Lina and Johan) have not only had to cope with their loss but they have also had to deal with a series of upsets.
They have discovered that he was more than £8million in debt when he died. And they are now auctioning off some of his treasured trophies, medals, diaries, clothes and sporting memorabilia to raise funds.
His beloved £1.85million luxury 13-room mansion house which includes a pool and an outhouse by the lake has been put up for sale. But so far there has been no buyer. And now a specially-commissioned statue which was due to be installed in his home town in his honour remains locked away in a warehouse.
Last night project manager André Liljemark confirmed that the ceremony had been put on hold yet again. He told The Mirror : “Due to installation-related technical details, we are forced to postpone the unveiling of the Svennis’ memorial monument. We will not announce a new date until all details are fully confirmed.”
The lifesize bronze sculpture of Sven was made by Swedish artist Hanna Beling who spent months working on the piece. It will show former England boss Sven as he looked in his 40s, sitting on a manager’s bench with his hand raised in the air so it looks like he is waving to a player.
The 80 kilo sculpture is hollow but will have an element inside to heat the body so it will be warm to the touch. Hanna travelled from Stockholm to Torsby last summer to meet Svennis – who also managed Lazio, Roma, Benfica, Mexico City as well as Manchester City and Leicester City – and took measurements for the artwork. He even provided one of his suits and a pair of shoes for the model.
She revealed that he was able to see pictures of how the sculpture would look before he passed away. Only a handful of people have seen Hanna’s statue and the family wanted to keep it under wraps until the grand unveiling.
Hanna revealed: “The sculpture shows 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. Fans will be able to sit next to Svennis and the statue will be warm so they can put their hand on his shoulder. I think it looks very much like him. I did my best.”
The statue unveiling appears to be jinxed. It was due to be installed last December but this was cancelled when key people due to attend the event fell sick. A new date of February 14 was set as Valentine’s Day was one of Sven’s favourite days and in addition to showering his partners with flowers, he would also present his players with red roses. Now this date has suddenly been axed.
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