Sven-Goran Eriksson mourns Liedholm

 Liedholm died Monday in Italy at the age of 85 and was slated to be buried near Turin on Thursday, reports said.

 "He (Liedholm) was a fantastic football player and a very, very good manager and a good friend of mine," Eriksson, coach of Premier League side Manchester City, was quoted as telling Swedish daily Expressen.

 Eriksson said he became aware of Liedholm's fame and reputation when he was hired as coach for Roma in 1984.

 Eriksson said Liedholm was a mentor for him and would offer his advice when needed. Just mentioning his name could open doors, the report said.

 "Nils Liedholm was in all ways one of Swedish football's true greats," Lars-Ake Lagrell, president of the Swedish Football Association, said in a statement.

 Liedholm was a midfielder and one of the members of the famous trio, "Gre-no-li" consisting of Liedholm, Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl that helped pave the way for Swedish football players as professionals in other European leagues.

 He won gold with Sweden in the 1948 Olympic tournament in London and the following year signed for AC Milan in the Italian Serie A where he earned the nickname "il barone" for his elegant style as a player.

 He was captain of the Swedish side that finished runners-up when Sweden hosted the 1958 World Cup finals.

 Liedholm scored the first goal of the 1958 final where Brazil eventually defeated Sweden 5-2. Pele, then aged 17, was one of the players who scored for Brazil.

 Sigge Parling who played with Liedholm in the 1958 tournament told the Aftonbladet newspaper that he was "exceptional" and "had such a good eye for the game that he managed very well" despite being almost 36.

 Another member of the 1958 squad, winger Kurt Hamrin, rated Gren and Nordahl as better players but said Liedholm had "an incredible touch as a trainer."

   "He was also a very good all-round player. They used to say that a team consisting of 10 Liedholms and one goalkeeper was invincible," Hamrin was quoted as telling Aftonbladet.

 Thomas Nordahl, son of the late Gunnar Nordahl, told Swedish radio that Liedholm or "Uncle Nils as I called him," was one of Sweden's "greatest players" and "one of the best Swedish coaches ever."

   Liedholm won the Italian league, scudetto, as a player with AC Milan 1951, 1955, 1957 and 1959.

 He later became a successful coach and won the Italian league title with Milan in 1979 and Roma in 1983. His coaching career ended 1997 with Roma. As coach he also was with Verona, Varese and Fiorentina.

 Liedholm was born October 8, 1922 in the small coastal town Valdemarsvik, south-eastern Sweden. He started playing for local side IK Sleipner in 1942, before transferring four years later to IFK Norrkoping which he helped win two Swedish league titles.

 Liedholm settled for good in Italy where he set up his own winery. He is survived by his wife Nina and his son Carlo, who runs the winery.

 Eriksson said Liedholm's wine tasted "very good."

DPA