Ronnie Hellström

Hammarby IF

On 11 May 1966, aged 17, Hellström made his debut for Hammarby IF's senior team in a 3–1 away win against Avesta AIK in Division 2 Svealand, his only appearance throughout the season. In 1967, he became the club's starting goalkeeper, competing in Allsvenskan, Sweden's first tier. Although the team suffered a relegation, Hellström was voted as the best goalkeeper in the league by Sweden's dominating sports magazine Idrottsbladet. Being considered as a yo-yo club, Hammarby played another two seasons in the second division. In 1969, the club won a promotion through eliminating Sandåkerns SK by 2–1 in the first play-off round, in which Hellström saved a penalty, and Helsingborgs IF by 2–0 in the final round. Returning to Allsvenskan in 1970, the club was placed last in the table after eight rounds in July, but went practically unbeaten through the rest of the campaign, eventually finishing fifth. In 1971, Hellström only conceded 26 goals in 22 fixtures, as the team finished tenth in the table. At the end of the year, he won Guldbollen, the prize as Sweden's best footballer, still being the only Hammarby player to ever have done so. In both 1972 and 1973, Hammarby finished mid-table in Allsvenskan, being unable to produce any sort of challenge for the Swedish champion title, but Hellström continuously stood out as the best goalkeeper in the league. In total, Hellström made 171 league appearances for Hammarby in eight seasons. In 2004, Hellström was voted as…

Hellström made his debut for Sweden in 1968 and immediately established himself as the first choice for his country. He played all three first-round matches at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in which Sweden narrowly missed qualifying for the quarterfinals. It is at the 1974 FIFA World Cup that he burst on the world stage with exceptional performances against Cruyff's Netherlands (0-0) and Beckenbauer's West Germany (2-4), contributing to Sweden's unexpected fifth place. Hellström also excelled in the 1978 FIFA World Cup but could not prevent Sweden's narrow first-round elimination. There were no other major tournaments in his career, as Sweden did not qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup or any Euro during this period. In total, he won 77 caps. While in Argentina during the 1978 World Cup, Hellström took part in the demonstrations of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo in front of Casa Rosada together with teammates Roy Andersson and Roland Andersson.

After his retirement, Hellström worked as a goalkeeping coach for Hammarby IF and Malmö FF. In 1988, Hellström made a brief comeback, playing one match in Allsvenskan for GIF Sundsvall, due to injuries at the club, aged 39 years, 7 months and 18 days. In 2017 a biography of Hellström was released, named Ronnie – Bäst i Världen (Ronnie – Best in the world), and in 2019 a German version was also released, named, Ronnie – der Fliegende Wikinger (Ronnie – the flying Viking). In 2021, Hellström was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He died on 6 February 2022, 15 days before his 73rd birthday. Hammarby announced his death in a club statement, which said: "Ronnie Forever. Hammarby Fotboll is in grief. We have been reached by the news that Ronnie Hellström passed away early this morning, surrounded by his family, after a period of illness. Our thoughts are with his loved ones."

Hellström was born in Malmö to father Rolf, who also played football as a goalkeeper, and mother Ingegerd. During a brief period, Hellström trialed with local giants Malmö FF after getting invited by former national team player and then youth coach, Karl-Erik Palmér, but did not join the club on permanent basis. In 1962, when Hellström was 13 years old, his family moved to Stockholm after his father's job got relocated to the capital. On his own initiative, Hellström sought to continue playing football at Hammarby IF since he had read about the club's youth academy in a magazine.