Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football. They have to their name eleven appearances in the World Cup, five in the European Championships and have played in three Olympic Games football tournaments. Their Golden Period came during the late 40’s to the late 50’s, when they fielded extremely strong teams in the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1958 World Cup, which they hosted. Swedens opening game in London was against Austria, who had qualified for the tournament without the use of any of their professional players. Surprising, considering the country had a wealth of stars at their disposal. In front of a large crowd at White Hart Lane, the Swedes managed to topple Austria 3-0.

 

Many had come to see Swedens formidable front line trio of Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordhal and Nils Liedholm, colloquially known as Gre-No-Li. These three stars also played together at AC Milan during the 1949/50 season, when the club scored 71 goals in 31 matches, and they helped Milan to the Scudetto the following season. Nordhal ended 5 of 6 Serie A seasons between 1949 and 1955 as top scorer and remains to this day the third highest scorer in the history of the league. Sweden put the force of their power on full display in the next Olympic tournament match, destroying a hapless Korea 12-0 in one of the largest wins in Swedish football history. The semi-final was a tense affair with Sweden meeting their bitter Nordic rivals Denmark. In a hard fought game, Sweden won 3-2.

 

The gold medal match took place at Wembley Stadium where 60,000 people watched Gren and Gunnar Nordahl score the goals that sealed the Gold medal for Sweden, making them the only non Soviet bloc country to win Gold until France achieved it in 1984. The teams 1950 World Cup campaign in Brazil didn’t go as well as they would have liked, mostly because the Swedish F.A. banned the team from using any professional players, forcing them to field a team of amateurs. Still, they managed to beat the talented Italians 3-2 in Sao Paulo, and scraped a 2-2 draw against Paraguay, which was enough to see them through to the next round, after India withdrew from the group, legend has it because FIFA would not allow them to play barefoot. Whatever the truth, it worked out in Swedens favour, and they faced hosts Brazil in next round. At the Maracana Stadium in front a massive 130,000 strong crowd, still a record attendance for the Swedish team, they were crushed by Brazil 7-1. It’s been reported that the Brazilian fans felt somewhat sorry for the team, and waved them goodbye with their scarves. 

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Sweden would have to wait another 8 years for a crack at the World Cup, and put on a much better performance on their home turf as hosts of the 1958 edition. Swedish fans had hope with their F.A’s decision to overturn the rule against allowing pro players, and the Swedes brushed Mexico aside 3-0. They faced Hungary next, who had placed second in the previous World Cup in Switzerland and were the reigning Olympic champions. Kurt Hamrin scored both goals in a 2-1 victory. The team drew 0-0 against Wales in the final group match, but had done enough to get through to the quarter finals where they took on and defeated the USSR 2-0. A crowd of 50,000 attended the semi final against West Germany, who went ahead until Elrich Juskowiak was sent off on the hour mark. In the last half hour, Sweden mounted a comeback to win the match 3-1.

 

Brazil won their semi final to set up a rematch between the two nations  for the final. In the 4th minute, Sweden took the lead through Liedholm, sending the crowd ecstatic. But it didn’t last long as Vava equallised 5 minutes later, scoring a similar goal to give Brazil a 2-1 lead. Goals from Pele and Zagallo sealed Swedens fate, but they had achieved their best result in any World Cup.  This final was notable for setting a number of interesting records: the most goals scored in a World Cup final (7), the greatest final winning margin, the youngest and oldest scorers in a final (Pele and Liedholm respectively) and the lowest attendance in a final (51,000).

Acheivements: Olympic Games – Gold medal x1 Bronze medal x1
                              FIFA World Cup – Runners up x 1 Third place x1
                             Nordic Football Championship – Champions x3

Star player: Nils Liedholm, DOB 8 October 1922, Valdermarsvik, Sweden, nickname: Il Barone (The Baron)

Captain of the Swedish team that reached the World Cup final in 1958, Liedholm was also one third of the legendary trio of Swedes who formed a partnership at AC Milan in the early 50’s. He was tall, elegant and renowned for his exceptional passing accuracy. In his youth, he was an all-round gifted sportsman who would run and ski long distances, and was also skilled at ice-hockey. He was conscripted into the military and promised a fellow recruit he would join IK Sleipner and did so in 1943, where he developed a reputation as one of the most gifted players in Sweden. Eventually, Liedholm was selected for the Swedish Olympic squad in 1948, where his perfomances helped Sweden to the gold medal. Clubs from across Europe starting offering professional deals to players from that team, and Liedholm followed his team mate Nordahl to AC Milan, later joined by Gunnar Gren to form Gre-No-Li. Legend has it that two years went by before Liedholm misplaced a single pass while playing for Milan.  He retired in 1961 and went to become manager of AC Milan, giving Paolo Maldini his start. Liedholm retired to run a vineyard which his son operates today.