Sven-Göran Eriksson was best known as the coach of the English national team – but his affairs sometimes threatened to overshadow his work and regularly made headlines in the tabloid press.
When he moved to England in 2001, he had been dating Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio for three years.
But in early 2002 he began an affair with Swedish model and television presenter Ulrika Jonsson.
Dell’Olio had denied the rumors at the time and said that “a lot of nonsense had been written.”
The two women got into a public argument before Eriksson made his confession public.
In his 2013 memoir, he wrote that he and Jonsson “spent the night together” after seeing each other at an event in Manchester.
“Ulrika said she was going to write a book about her life. ‘Don’t worry, Sven,’ she said. ‘You won’t be in it.’ After that, Ulrika and I met whenever we could. Not every day, but now and then. It became more and more serious. Nancy had no idea. She travelled to Italy a lot during this time,” Eriksson wrote.
The affair lasted four months.
Dell’Olio briefly broke up with Eriksson, but eventually took him back.
Two years later, he was involved in another scandal – this time with the secretary of the football association, Faria Alam.
Dell’Olio and Eriksson separated permanently in August 2007.
The football manager said he was not prepared for the public scrutiny of his relationships.
“I thought I was prepared for England, but I wasn’t prepared for the things outside of football, my personal life,” he said.
He added: “I don’t think it has damaged my football results. But it has damaged my image outside of football, yes. My private life was not very private in England.”
Another of his lovers was allegedly millionaire Marisa Cauchi, who claimed she had a relationship with the manager for four years.
She claimed their relationship ended after she found out he was seeing five other women.
