 Liedholm withAC Milan in 1959 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nils Erik Liedholm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1922-10-08)8 October 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Valdemarsvik, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 5 November 2007(2007-11-05) (aged 85) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cuccaro Monferrato, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1938–1942 | Valdemarsvik | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1942–1946 | Sleipner | 60 | (24) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1946–1949 | Norrköping | 48 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1961 | Milan | 359 | (81) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 467 | (127) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1947–1958 | Sweden | 23 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1966 | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1968 | Verona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1969 | Monza | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1971 | Varese | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1973 | Fiorentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1977 | Roma | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1979 | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1984 | Roma | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1987 | AC Milan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1989 | Roma | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Hellas Verona | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Roma | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nils Erik Liedholm (pronounced[ˈnɪlːsˈlîːdhɔlm]; 8 October 1922 – 5 November 2007)[2][3] was a Swedishfootballmidfielder and coach.Il Barone (the Baron), as he is affectionately known in Italy, was renowned for being part of the Swedish "Gre-No-Li" trio of strikers along withGunnar Gren andGunnar Nordahl atAC Milan and theSweden national team, with which he achieved notable success throughout his career.
Liedholm was an intelligent and technically giftedoffensiveplaymaker who was renowned for his range of passing and his elegant style of play; he is regarded as one of Milan's and Sweden's greatest ever players,[4][5] and considered one of the best players of the post-war era.[6] At the end of the 20th century, Liedholm was voted the best Swedish player of the millennium by the readers of Sweden's largest newspaper,Aftonbladet.
As a coach, he was in charge of several teams in Italy, managing for nearly four decades, and was known for using azonal marking system; he is regarded as one of the most successful managers in Italian football history.[7]
Liedholm was born on 8 October 1922 inValdemarsvik, 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 joinedSleipner and in 1946 moved toNorrköping, a bigger Swedish club with whom he won two Swedish league titles. During his time with Norrköping, he also earned 18caps for theSweden national team, winning thegold medal at the1948 Summer Olympics.[8] This eventually gave him the chance to joinAC Milan in 1949.
He made hisSerie A debut on 11 September 1949 in a 3–1 win againstSampdoria. In his first season with Milan, the midfielder played 37 games and scored 18 goals. In 1951, Liedholm won the first of his fourscudetto 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 theLatin Cup in 1951 and 1956 and wascaptain ofAC Milan in the1958 European Cup Final againstReal 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 ofGunnar Nordahl's goals. According to legend, it took two years playing for Milan until Liedholm misplaced his first pass at theSan Siro, the rarity prompting a five-minute ovation from the home crowd.[9][10]
Liedholm was also one of the first players to realise the importance of fitness to a good performance. Consequently, he put in many more hours of training than other players, saying himself that he did the 100 metres, 3000 metres,javelin,shot put andhigh jump twice a week.[9] His club career would continue until he was almost 40.
Having helped Sweden win the gold medal in the1948 Olympic tournament, Liedholm was the captain of theSweden national team at the1958 World Cup, celebrated in his home country. Aged almost 36, he helped Sweden to reach theWorld Cup final, where the team lost out to aBrazil side that includedDidi and 17-year-oldPelé. 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 precisecrossing 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 individualdribbles, 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 and well-rounded player, although he was primarily a midfielder, he was capable of playing in several different positions, including as an attacking midfielder, on the left as awide midfielder, on the inside as an offensive-mindedcentral midfielder, known as themezzala role in Italian football jargon, in aholding midfield role as adeep-lying playmaker, as aforward, or even as asweeper.[9][4][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
After he retired from playing, Liedholm enjoyed some time in the backrooms at Milan, before getting promotion for bothVerona and thenVarese. This brought him to the attention ofFiorentina 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 ofRoma. Leading talents such asPaulo Roberto Falcão andBruno 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 toLiverpool in theEuropean CupFinal. He also won theCoppa 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."[9]
As a manager, Liedholm was known for implementing a defensive system based onzonal marking in Italy, and for his ability to instruct his players on his footballing philosophy based on patient ball possession and fluid positioning, which was inspired by DutchTotal Football; as such he was one of the first managers in Italy to move away from a more counter-attacking and man-marking playing style, and he encouraged his players to make use of the entire pitch. To disorient and break down his opponents' defensive shape, he made use of a series of horizontal passes, a tactic which became known as the "spider's web." He preferred teams made up of players with good technical skills, as his interpretation of the game was not based on prevention or breaking down the opposition, but on finding a system which best highlighted the individual skills of his players; he was also known for his ability to create a united team atmosphere among his players, as well as his adeptness at developing young talent. Moreover, he made use of innovative coaching techniques, which involved winning back the ball without resorting to committing fouls. During his time at Roma, he used a fluid formation which resembled a 1–3–3–3, which made use of an offensive sweeper who was expected to advance into midfield and to start attacking plays, and which did not use a genuinecentre-forward.[13][15][16][19][20][21][22][23] Former Parma managerNevio Scala, who played under Liedholm, was inspired by Liedholm's calm approach as a coach.[24]
He also was abandy player in Valdemarsvik and the district team ofÖstergötland when he was young. In 2003, he was appointed honorary chairman of theItalian Bandy Federation.[25][26]
Liedholm was married to Maria Lucia "Nina" Gabotto di San Giovanni, acountess who could trace her ancestry back to the 900s. After leaving the game of football (but still living in Italy), he ran avineyard together with his son Carlo (born 1958). Liedholm died on 5 November 2007 in his home inCuccaro Monferrato,Province of Alessandria, aged 85.[2]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe[a] | Other[b] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AC Milan | 1949–50 | Serie A | 37 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 37 | 18 |
| 1950–51 | Serie A | 31 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 33 | 13 | |
| 1951–52 | Serie A | 38 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 38 | 9 | |
| 1952–53 | Serie A | 30 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 32 | 7 | |
| 1953–54 | Serie A | 31 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | 10 | |
| 1954–55 | Serie A | 28 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 29 | 7 | |
| 1955–56 | Serie A | 31 | 1 | - | - | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
| 1956–57 | Serie A | 26 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 28 | 5 | |
| 1957–58 | Serie A | 24 | 7 | - | - | 8 | 2 | - | - | 32 | 9 | |
| 1958–59 | Serie A | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 32 | 2 | |
| 1959–60 | Serie A | 28 | 3 | - | - | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 5 | |
| 1960–61 | Serie A | 25 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | 28 | 3 | |
| Total | 359 | 81 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 394 | 89 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 1947 | 7 | 5 |
| 1948 | 9 | 4 | |
| 1949 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1950 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1951 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1952 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1953 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1954 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1955 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1956 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1957 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 5 | 2 | |
| Total | 23 | 12 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 June 1947 | Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark |  Denmark | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship | [28] |
| 2 | 24 August 1947 | Ryavallen,Örebro, Sweden |  Finland | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship | [29] |
| 3 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 14 September 1947 | Råsunda Stadium,Solna, Sweden |  Poland | 5–2 | 5–4 | Friendly | [30] |
| 5 | 5 October 1947 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Norway | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1937–47 Nordic Football Championship | [31] |
| 6 | 11 July 1948 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Austria | 1–1 | 3–2 | Friendly | [32] |
| 7 | 5 August 1948 | Selhurst Park, London, England |  South Korea | 1–0 | 12–0 | 1948 Summer Olympics | [33] |
| 8 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 9 | 10 October 1948 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Denmark | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1948–51 Nordic Football Championship | [34] |
| 10 | 2 June 1949 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Republic of Ireland | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1950 FIFA World Cup qualifier | [35] |
| 11 | 8 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Mexico | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | [36] |
| 12 | 29 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Brazil | 1–0 | 2–5 | 1958 FIFA World Cup | [37] |
Norrköping
AC Milan[4]
Sweden
Individual
Varese
AC Milan[4]
Roma
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Sweden squads | |||||||||||||
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