Nils Liedholm

Liedholm was born on 8 October 1922 in Valdemarsvik, to parents Erik Fredrik Elias Liedholm (1887–1950), a sawmill manager, and Anna Kajsa Lovisa Bergman (1900–1973). He joined his first club, Valdemarsvik, in 1938. In 1942, he joined Sleipner and in 1946 moved to Norrköping, a bigger Swedish club with whom he won two Swedish league titles. During his time with Norrköping, he also earned 18 caps for the Sweden national team, winning the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics. This eventually gave him the chance to join AC Milan in 1949. He made his Serie A debut on 11 September 1949 in a 3–1 win against Sampdoria. In his first season with Milan, the midfielder played 37 games and scored 18 goals. In 1951, Liedholm won the first of his four scudetto titles. Another three titles followed in 1955, 1957 and 1959. A player with a club that was having the best spell of its life up to that point, Liedholm also won the Latin Cup in 1951 and 1956 and was captain of AC Milan in the 1958 European Cup Final against Real Madrid, losing 3–2 (after extra time). It is said that Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano who felt, despite victory, he knew it was a match Milan could have won. Asking Liedholm to exchange shirts, Liedholm said to him: "Keep it. That won't matter. The only thing that will be remembered from this match down the years is that Real Madrid won". Famous for his passing abilities and tactical awareness, Liedholm was the creator of many of Gunnar Nordahl's goals. According…

Having helped Sweden win the gold medal in the 1948 Olympic tournament, Liedholm was the captain of the Sweden national team at the 1958 World Cup, celebrated in his home country. Aged almost 36, he helped Sweden to reach the World Cup final, where the team lost out to a Brazil side that included Didi and 17-year-old Pelé. Liedholm scored the opening goal of the final, which makes him the oldest player to score in a World Cup Final; however, Brazil came back and won the match 5–2.

Liedholm was an intelligent playmaker who was renowned for his elegant style of play, excellent range of passing, and precise crossing ability throughout his career, as well as his vision and tactical awareness, which enabled him to dictate play patiently or create chances for teammates with the instep, the inside, or the outside of his boot. He also possessed good technique, control, class, and an accurate shot, although he was known to be an unselfish team-player, who played with his head up and rarely undertook individual dribbles, and preferred to build attacks through movement and his slow passing game; moreover, he was an athletic footballer with a strong physique, who was known for his pace, fitness, and work-rate, which enabled him to cover a lot of ground and help out at both ends of the pitch. He also stood out for his leadership qualities throughout his career, despite his reserved character, as well as his correct behaviour, having never once been booked during his time in Italy. A versatile player, he was primarily a midfielder and played in several different positions, including as an attacking midfielder, on the left as a wide midfielder, on the inside as an offensive-minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon, in a holding midfield role as a deep-lying playmaker, as a forward, or even as a sweeper.

After he retired from playing, Liedholm enjoyed some time in the backrooms at Milan, before getting promotion for both Verona and then Varese. This brought him to the attention of Fiorentina and then Milan, where he finally took control of the first team. He guided them to their tenth league title in 1979 before moving on to become the manager of Roma. Leading talents such as Paulo Roberto Falcão and Bruno Conti, he took them to their second league title ever in 1983 using the zonal marking system, which was unusual in Italy at the time. A year later, his Roma side lost on penalties to Liverpool in the European Cup Final. He also won the Coppa Italia three times with Roma, in 1980, 1981 and 1984. As well as saying that the modern game is much more frantic and fast-paced than when he was involved, Liedholm, always a professional, also observed that "they [players] do not do much to avoid fouling players... It is too easy to stop a player by fouling him. Proper training teaches you how to win the ball without committing a foul, which is much more difficult."