Conny Torstensson

Åtvidabergs FF

Torstensson commenced his career with Åtvidabergs FF in southern Sweden, then a club renowned for its successful youth development. From 1967 onward he featured regularly in the senior team with which he ascended to the first division after the first season. In the following years he was part of the team that defined the golden era of the club, winning the only titles in its history. 1970 and 1971 Åtvidabergs FF won the cup and was twice runner up in the championship, which the club won in 1972 and 1973. In 1973 the club also reached the cup final once more. In the first round of the 1973–74 European Champions Cup campaign, Åtvidabergs FF encountered Bayern Munich, one of the favourites of the competition with stars like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller. In Munich, Åtvidaberg lost 1–3. With the aid of two goals by Torstensson, the Swedes achieved the same result in the return leg, albeit losing in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. However, Torstensson impressed the coach and management of Bayern and was speedily transferred for a then impressive sum of 580,000 Marks.

Bayern Munich

Until 1977 he played in 81 Bundesliga matches for Bayern scoring 11 goals. He impressed most in European Cup matches, where he scored a number of important goals, and won the competition three times consecutively between 1974 and 1976, featuring in the finals of 1974 and 1975. Altogether, he scored 10 goals in 21 European cup matches. A further highlight was the…

Torstensson himself debuted 1972 in the Sweden national team. 1974 he participated with Sweden in the World Cup in Germany, reaching the second phase of the tournament, where he scored the winner against Yugoslavia. Four years later he also participated in the World Cup in Argentina. Sweden exited there winless after round one.

International

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Torstensson goal.

After his playing years he initially had a position in the packaging industry. Over the years he held various functions at Åtvidabergs FF. In 1986, he coached the club in the second division. Later he was manager with the speedway team – speedway is counted amongst the major sports in Sweden – of Västervik, which in those years became runner-up in the national championship. In 2015, he lived with his wife Annette, a teacher and local politician with the Centerpartiet at a lake in Borghult, a rural location ca. 25 km north-west of Västervik. The couple has been married since 1971 and has two daughters.