Nils Liedholm
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ISOH INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF OLYMPIC HISTORIANS Nils Liedholm *1922 in Valdemarsvik †05 November 2007 in Cuccaro Monferrato ne of Sweden’s and Othe world’s all-time greatest football players has passed away, 85 years old. Nils Liedholm is one of the very few football- ers that has both an Ol- ympic Gold medal and a World Cup (Silver) med- al. He was primarily an in- side forward but also out- side left and, towards the end of his playing career, wing-half and libero. He was a tall, lanky, player, his long strides made him look slow on the pitch, but that was deceptive, he was in fact quite fast. He had great tactical skill and was Liedholm with the victorious Swedish football team an unerring passer of the ball. It is said that after joining Milan de did not miss a of the National team, Rudolf Kock, Bronze medallist in pass for more than 2 years. Paris 1924, was a great admirer of Liedholm. He main- He attracted the attention of the Swedish selectors al- tained that the best team ever would be a team of 10 Nils ready when playing for the Division 2 side IK Sleipn- Liedholm and a goalkeeper, but he added “God knows if er in 1946. He got his first game in the yellow jersey in Liedholm would not be the best goalkeeper too”. a B-international against Denmark B 1946 in his home Anyway, the change in the Swedish forward line did town Norrköping, Sweden won 4-2. Towards the end of the trick, Sweden won the Olympic Gold with a score of 1946 he joined local rival IFK Norrköping, the reigning 22-3 in their 4 games. Yugoslavia was defeated in the fi- Swedish League Champion. He made his debut in the nal, 3-1, and Gunnar Gren scored the first Swedish goal first team at IFK Norrköpings’s highly successful end of from a pass by Liedholm. “Garvis” Carlsson - Nils Lied- season tour to England in November 1946, Charlton 3-2, holm formed the Swedish left wing until they both turned Newcastle 3-2, Sheffield United 5-2 and Wolverhampton pro in the summer of 1949. As outside left Liedholm was 1-1. IFK Norrköping won the League 1946-47, but Lied- especially useful at throw-ins, he could throw the ball holm at inside right had too few games to get a medal. more than 30 metres. His throw-ins in the vicinity of the However, he got a Swedish Championship medal the fol- penalty area were more dangerous than corner kicks. lowing season when IFK Norrköping won their 4th suc- Liedholm signed for Milan AC where he teamed up cessive League title. with fellow countrymen Gunnar Nordahl and Gunnar In 1947 Liedholm established himself in the Nation- Gren. In Milan, under the Hungarian coach Lajos Czei- al team at inside left. He was playing alongside centre zler, the Gre-No-Li trio clicked in a way it had never forward Gunnar Nordahl and inside right Gunnar Gren, done in the National team. In their first season GreNo- an inside trio that in Italy 2 years later was dubbed Gre- Li scored 71 goals and Milan finished in 2nd place in the No-Li. League. In 1950-51 Milan won the League with GreNo- In 1948 Sweden’s main goal was the Olympic Games Li scoring 56 goals. In the next 2 seasons their scoring in London. The selectors were not happy with the per- dropped to 42 and 36 respectively. In 1953 the trio was formance of the Gre-No-Li trio, they were deemed to be split up when Gunnar Gren went to Fiorentina. In 1956 too slow, too inefficient and to keep the ball too much to Gunnar Nordahl joined Roma, only Liedholm remained themselves. The mercurial Henry “Garvis” Carlsson was at Milan to the end of his playing career. During his 12 brought in as inside left to bring more speed and punch seasons with Milan, 1949-61, Milan finished out of the to the forward line. But Liedholm was still deemed to be top 3 in the Italian League only once, winning 4 League indispensable, so he was moved to outside left. The Pres- Championships, coming 2nd 4 times and 3rd 3 times, a ident of the Swedish Selection Committee and Manager truly remarkable record. 72 JOUR N AL OF OLYMPIC HISTORY 16(MARCH 2008)NUMBER 1 ISOH INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF OLYMPIC HISTORIANS Prior to the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil there was balling countrymen he remained in Italy after his playing a great controversy in Sweden whether to select the for- days. In Sweden he was an organised teetotaller, never eign pros or not. The Swedish FA decided against the for- touching alcohol, but in Italy he was contaminated by the eign pros. In the short run that was not a bad decision as vinedrinking Italian way of life. He bought a vineyard at Sweden, with only 3 of the Olympic Gold Medallists in Cuccaro Monferrato between Milan and Turin when he the team. finished in 3rd place and was the best Europe- retired as a footballer. His original intention was to live a an team. But it also started an other exodus of players to quiet countryside life. But he loved football too much to the pro camp. Sweden stuck to its policy of not selecting let go of it, it was his life. So, he started a coaching career foreign pros until the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden. with the Milan youths and juniors. His first senior team By then the drain to the pro camp had become too great, was Verona Hellas which was at the bottom of Division 2 Everyone, even the Swedish FA, realised that a team with when he took over in 1966. He saved them from relega- just home-based players would not do if you wanted to tion and the following season, 1967-68, he steered them succeed in the World Cup. So, the foreign pros were wel- to promotion to the !st Division. His greatest success- comed back to the National side and Liedholm was ap- es came with Roma, which he guided to 3 Cup victories pointed Captain,. He and Gunnar Gren, Olympic Gold and a League title in 1983, the first since 1942. After the medallists in 1948, played together again. Thanks to the League Championship the City of Rome bestowed upon foreign pros Sweden finished among the top 4 teams for him the Honorary title of Count of Rome. the 3rd time in the last 4 World Cups, winning the Sil- His many coaching commitments prevented him from ver medals. Liedholm was right half in the initial group spending much time at the vineyard. It was left to his son games and inside left in the quarterfinal, semifinal and fi- Carlo to run the vineyard and to take care of the vine pro- nal. In the final Liedholm, dribbling past 2 Brazilians, duction. Its foremost vine is a brand called Grignolino. opened the scoring by giving Sweden a 1-0 lead. Accord- Many believe, because the name is similar to Grenoli, ing to a tradition that lasted until 1970, the team that took that it has something to do with the famous trio, but that the lead in the World Cup final would lose it. It came is not the case. The similarity is just a happy coincidence. true in 1958, Brazil turned the tables, primarily due to The vineyard has become a tourist attraction for visiting the Garrincha-Vava partnership and a 17-year old youth Swedish tourists. called Pele, winning 5-2. Liedholm was the 2nd last survivor of the 1948 Swed- In Sweden his nickname was “Lidas”, in Italy the me- ish Olympic Gold medal winning team, Only goalkeeper dia, because of his aristocratic demeanour, dubbed him Torsten Lindberg is, at the time of writing, still alive. “Il Barone” and “Il Conte”, the Count of Milan. The lat- ter “title” became all the more appropriate when he mar- Ture Widlund ried a genuine Italian Countess. Unlike most of his foot- Club Years Games Goals Honours Valdemarsviks IF 1938-43 IK Sleipner 1943-46 IFK Norrköping 1946-49 48 22 League Champion 1948 Milan AC 1949-61 359 81 League Champion 1951, -55, -57, -59 Sweden A 1947-58 23 12 Olympic Gold 1948, World Cup Silver 1958 Sweden B 1946 1 - MilanAC, juniors 1963-66 Verona Hellas FC 1966-68 Promotion to Division 1 1968 AC Monza 1968-69 AS Varese 1910 1969-71 AC Fiorentina 1971-73 Roma AS 1973-77.1979- League Champion 1983, 84, 1987-89, Cup Winner 1980, -81, -84 1996-97 Milan AC 1977-79,1984-87 League Champion 1979 JOUR N AL OF OLYMPIC HISTORY 16(MARCH 2008)NUMBER 1 73.