Sven-Goran Eriksson left a film crew in tears after he was left alone in a room to record a final goodbye for an Amazon Prime documentary on his life, the director has revealed.

The former England and Manchester City football manager, who has died aged 76 after a battle with cancer, enjoyed a successful coaching career spanning eight different countries.

Earlier this month, the director of his documentary – titled Sven – revealed he recorded his final ‘goodbye’ in a room alone without a cameraman – and his message left those working on the project in tears. Viewers are likely to be emotional watching the scene, where he speaks to the world for the last time on screen.

READ MORE: ‘Don’t be sorry, smile’: Ex-England and City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson’s heartbreaking final message

He says: “I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it for what it is. Hopefully at the end people will say, yeah, he was a good man, but everyone will not say that. I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”

At the start of the year Eriksson said he had “at best a year” to live as he was being treated for terminal cancer. The heartbreaking scene for Sven was filmed in January after he realised he did not have long left to live, reports the Mirror.

Director Claudia Corbisiero said: “That final message was a very emotional thing to do with someone. We left the room and made sure that it was something that he did by himself. We had talked about it, ‘was there anything you want to say to your family or to anyone in particular, that which you would like us to record in the most sensitive way possible?’.

Sven, pictured in 2005 -Credit:PA
Sven, pictured in 2005 -Credit:PA
“And from those conversations that were had in a sensitive way, I think that it became an option. It was a completely remote set up. So we set up the camera, the sound guy was listening from outside the room. We were all obviously completely in tears.

“He was always open, but I think it just took time to get him to be really open about his illness and the way he felt about it. He’s very like a soldier. He continues on and he lets things roll off and then he keeps going.

“And Sven also really wanted to make sure that this wasn’t only a sad story. And that was something that he was really keen on, is ‘I don’t want this to be a boo hoo. I’m dying’ thing. He wanted people to also lean into the fun of his life.”

Skilled director Claudia, who is one of the key factors behind the way the extraordinary new film looks and feels, began work on the project in Spring 2023. It had already begun preliminary filming before Eriksson’s diagnosis and then after a short break he wanted to resume and it took on a different look and feel.

Claudia told the Mirror the doc also coincided with the Swede getting very close to his son Johan and daughter Lina again after years on the road. Tender new footage captures them spending quality time together.

His death aged 76 was announced today -Credit:PA
His death aged 76 was announced today -Credit:PA
Claudia added: “He devoted a lot of his life to football, living and working in different countries. And his kids certainly respected that. But I think this has been a very special period of time for them to come together and also to, you know, just realise what they do have and that bond that they have between them.”

The film also pulls no punches and mentions Eriksson’s affairs as well as him losing millions of pounds making bad financial decisions. Eriksson, who asked for no changes or control on the project, was able to view a near-final version of the film with his family recently and Claudia said: “A few weeks ago, they were able to watch it. And I know that both his kids are happy and he’s sadly, he’s not doing so well at the moment. “It was very nerve wracking – you’re telling someone’s definitive story.

“But I’m very happy that they are happy. And I think it’s a testament to them that, you know, they know people aren’t perfect. People make mistakes. And I think it takes a special kind of person to be able to confront their own life and the things that go right, and maybe the things they didn’t get right. It’s been special.

“Hopefully people come away from it feeling like they know Sven better, but also that they have more compassion for him and also more awareness of what he did do with his life and how amazing what he achieved was.”