Kenyan international Eugene Asike has paid glowing tribute to “true and humble gentleman” Sven-Goran Eriksson, the one man he believes shaped his career abroad, and who will always remain in his heart.Eriksson, the former England manager who died of pancreatic cancer on Monday 26 August aged 76, was in Asike’s words, the “one who ticked the box” when his name was presented to his former club IF Karlstad in 2022.On God.The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next.Excited about this new challenge.Let’s get to work.@karlstadfotboll 🖤💙 pic.twitter.com/8OuxFkX6EK— Eugene Asike (@eugeneasike) April 23, 2022 Then, Eriksson was serving as Karlstad’s Sporting Advisor, which was the last major role he worked in, before stepping down in February 2023 due to health reasons.“This is such a great loss for football,” Asike, who only found out of Eriksson’s death through a Whatsapp group he still shares with his former Karlstad teammates, told Mozzart Sport. “I hold him dear because he was the man who gave the green light for me to be signed [at Karlstad], and was also the man who welcomed me when I got there.”Former England boss Eriksson passes away at the age of 76Asike, 30, will never forget his first real experience with Eriksson, where he got to know him more than the coaching figure he previously was.“Sven was the guy I sat next to on the terraces while watching the team for the first time,” Asike said. “That was days before I made my debut at the club and I just couldn’t believe it.“Imagine sitting next to a guy you’ve seen coach some of the best players in world football, just talking. That’s what we did for ninety minutes, and even went into a coffee shop during halftime.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8298045##That moment introduced Asike to the man he grew around for his one-and-a-half seasons stay at Karlstad.“There was a peace and calmness he carried with himself,” Asike, now a free agent said. “He was such a humble gentleman who put everyone in front of himself, making sure that everything was okay.Legendary.#svengoraneriksson pic.twitter.com/Nz8Ce2Jv8J— Eugene Asike (@eugeneasike) July 25, 2022 “We’d meet several times during training and he would stop me, ask how I was doing, and it was something I think looking back, helped me settle so well in Sweden.“He had learnt so much about me from the first time we talked since it was not only about football, but our lives, and cultures.”Asike says that the greatest lesson he took away from Eriksson, was from the words he always told him when they met – “It’s about time.”“That’s what he’d always tell me,” Asike said. “And for me, I clearly got the message, which was ‘it was my time to take my game to the next level’, which I did.”
