The Beautiful Game - by Sven-Goran Eriksson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Life is a beautiful game - but how should you play it?

"To be a manager, you have to perform always. You cannot live in history. It's now and tomorrow that counts."

For Sven-Göran Eriksson, one of the world's most revered and respected football managers, the game has come to an end.
He leaves us with his parting reflections, looking back on what he has achieved, experienced and learned over a lifetime in service to the beautiful game. It is a journey that has taken him from a small club in his native Sweden, across every continent, to competing on the world's stage.
Before his death, he was able to impart the lessons he's learned along the way - about life, leadership and love - and to speak candidly about his extraordinary successes, as well as overcoming his failures.
On the field, he led some of the finest sportsmen on earth to great victories and heartbreaking defeats, and in the process left his indelible mark on the game. This is a story of lives touched and connections made in the dogged pursuit of excellence. But for Sven the true journey he wanted to share is the one he made on the inside - the man that he became.

Because A Beautiful Game is far more than the tale of a successful football manager. It is the story of the biggest game of all - what makes a good life. A story that endures, long after the final whistle.

Review Quotes

No book could match the emotional heft of A Beautiful Game. An especially salutary read, reminding us that the Swede stood out not only as a great footballing mind, but a true bon viveur and a thoroughly decent chap--Daily Telegraph

A joyous and defiant portrait--Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

About the Author

Sven-Göran Eriksson was born and grew up in Sweden. Though a talented footballer, it was in football management that he found rapid success and was headhunted by a string of world-famous European clubs - Gothenburg, Benfica, Roma, Lazio - winning many national and international trophies. In 2001, he became England's first foreign manager, reversing years of decline and turning the squad into true World Cup contenders. This was followed by stints managing Manchester City, Mexico, Ivory Coast, Leicester City and in China. In January 2024, it was announced that he had terminal cancer. He died in August 2024 at the age of 76.

Bengt Berg, born in 1946 in Torsby, is an author, poet, and childhood friend of Sven-Göran Eriksson. He has published over 50 books and received numerous prestigious awards for his writing. Between 2021 and 2024, Bengt and Sven-Göran discussed football and the great adventures and mysteries of life over 250 cups of coffee.