Nils Liedholm

Nils Liedholm was one of the greatest names in Swedish and European football of the twentieth century. Born on October 8, 1922 in Valdemarsvik, Sweden, the elegant midfielder with refined technique became a legend at AC Milan, where he played for over a decade and won four Italian Serie A titles. He was part of the legendary 'Gre-No-Li' trio alongside Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl, three Swedes who dominated Italian football in the early 1950s and starred in a golden era of Milan and European football. The trio is considered one of the most talented sets of players from the same country to play for a foreign club in football history. With the Swedish national team, Liedholm won the gold medal at the 1948 London Olympics and was runner-up in the world championship at the 1958 World Cup, held in Sweden itself. In that historic tournament, he opened the scoring in the final against Brazil before Sweden was defeated 5-2 by Pelé's team. After ending his playing career in 1961, Liedholm became a successful coach, winning the Scudetto with Roma in 1983 and coaching clubs such as AC Milan, Fiorentina and Genoa. He passed away on November 5, 2007, leaving an eternal legacy in Italian and Swedish football.