Much of the attention after Svennis' passing is focused on his time in England. In 2001, he became the first foreign national team coach, and thus also one of the country's most talked-about people.
Superstars like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, and John Terry have all praised the Torsby native.
But the question is whether his status in Italy is not even higher.
I would say so, says Italian football journalist Tancredi Palmeri.
In 1984, a 36-year-old Eriksson arrived at Roma and Serie A. And after 16 years as a coach for some of the country's most respected players of all time, he is a legend in Italy.
Legendary defender Alessandro Nesta could not hold back tears when talking about "Mister" in SVT's documentary about Svennis.
As a young man, I was quite hotheaded. He taught me to treat others well, because when he treated me well, I gave my best, said a tearful Nesta.
"Always the underdog"
But it was not a success from the start. Svennis had a completely different reputation after his first years in Italy than when he left the country 16 years later.
There was an undeserved reputation that Svennis was a big loser because he had lost the title late in the season with both Roma and Lazio, and even the Champions League final with Benfica, says Palmeri and continues:
But the thing was that he was never the favorite to win. He was always the underdog. It's strange that you can say something like that when you're constantly competing for titles with smaller clubs.
Svennis coached Roma, Sampdoria, Fiorentina, and Lazio. With the first two, Eriksson had to "settle" for cup titles. But in Lazio, everything changed.
"No one has even come close"
The 1999/00 season, he won the league with the Rome club.
Everything changed then. He played incredible football, he had built a fantastic team. Everything he had achieved in Italy... He became enormous, says Palmeri.
And there were always other great coaches, so he was far from alone. But Svennis was the one who was really always the face of beautiful football.
When asked if Svennis is the greatest coach in the club's history, Palmeri answers quickly:
Absolute. He is the greatest. What he did with Lazio has never happened before. No one has even come close.
