Lennart Skoglund

Breakthrough at Hammarby

On 5 June 1946, Lennart Skoglund made his senior debut for Hammarby, who by then competed in the Swedish third tier, in a friendly against the Finnish club Sudet. Aged 16, he made 11 competitive appearances during the season as the club finished at the foot of Division 2 Östra. In a friendly against then domestic giants Degerfors IF during the spring of 1947, Skoglund received much praise from constantly outshining his opponent Olle Åhlund – a Swedish international – on the left flank. At this time in his life, Skoglund also received the famous nickname "Nacka" due to the presence of another player with the same name at Hammarby. The origin of his moniker is however disputed. Some sources claim Skoglund got dubbed as "Nacka" since he had been playing football in the Stockholm-outskirt Nacka during the winters. Others say it derives from the fact that his older brother Georg "Jojje" Skoglund represented the club Nacka FF, while some consider it as a homage to his father's profession as a gardener in said area. Skoglund played his last game for Hammarby on 19 October 1949, against Västerås SK in Division 3 Östra. Across four seasons with Hammarby, Skoglund would appear 57 times in the lower leagues.

Short stint at AIK

In October 1949, he was controversially sold to rivals AIK due to the sad financial situation at Hammarby. The fee, it is said, was 1,000 Swedish kronor (around 70 pounds sterling) plus a rug, a coat for his mother and…

Lennart Skoglund made his international debut for Sweden on 8 May 1950, in a 4–1 friendly win against the Netherlands. A month later, he was part of the Swedish squad in the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Swedish Football Association had insisted that the squad entirely would consist of amateur players. Those who had gone abroad and turned professional – most notably Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm at A.C. Milan – were therefore unavailable for a call up. On 25 June 1950, Sweden faced Italy in the first game of the tournament. Skoglund played the whole game as Sweden surprisingly won 3–2 with one Italian newspaper labelling him as Sweden's "best asset". Skoglund's efforts also earned him a new nickname: "The swaying corn-cob", as a reference to his blond hair and running style. However, Skoglund did not appear again after a 7–1 defeat to hosts Brazil in the final group stage. After a controversy with the national team coach Putte Kock regarding issues related to behaviour, Skoglund got deemed surplus to requirements along with Stellan Nilsson ahead of the team's two remaining matches against Uruguay and Spain. Sweden would eventually secure a third place at the tournament and win their first World Cup medal throughout history. Skoglund waited until 1958 to be called up to the national team in the 1958 World Cup on home soil, in accordance with the Swedish Football Association's policy to ban professional players from representing the side. Ahead of said…

Lennart Skoglund's ball-control, left foot and distribution made him a big favourite with the fans. During his transformation from a young inside-left to a left winger, Skoglund managed to balance his individual dribbling skills with a perception of the game. He also possessed a shot with scoring efficiency. Skoglund was known as a set-piece specialist throughout his career. He was though sometimes considered as a selfish player, or a "soloist". Among his weaknesses were also a limited physical durability, inconsistency and lack of stamina. During his early years, Skoglund's style of play was compared to the likes of Sven Rydell and Henry "Garvis" Carlsson, at the time both celebrated star players in the Sweden national team.

Lennart Skoglund was born on December 24, 1929 at Allmänna BB in the affluent Östermalm district of Stockholm, but grew up in a working-class home in the Södermalm district. He lived together with his parents, Josef and Linnéa, and two brothers, Georg and Karl-Evert, in a small apartment. Lennart Skoglund graduated elementary school from Katarina södra, not far from his childhood home. At a young he showed talent in sports and exercised bandy, ice hockey and handball. He also played handball in the Swedish top tier for IK Göta. His footballing career would however start in 1943 at the local club BK Stjärnan. Since the club got dissolved soon after his arrival, Skoglund enjoyed a short stint at another local club called Sport-Ham, before joining Hammarby IF in 1944. At age 14, he regularly featured in the eldest youth team, where a Hammarby official described him as a "trickster with the fastest feet we've ever seen on Södermalm".