PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Together they accomplished great things with IFK Gothenburg.
Now Torbjörn Nilsson pays the biggest tribute to Sven-Göran Eriksson.
And presents a clear demand that probably all Swedes will sign.
One of Swedish football’s greatest moments in history is of course IFK Göteborg’s triumphant victory in the Uefa Cup in 1982. When a group of amateurs shocked the entire football world and snuffed out all the other professional teams for the championship title in Europe.
Eriksson & Nilsson
Two big reasons for the sensational feat are the coaching icon Sven-Göran Eriksson and the shooter king Torbjörn Nilsson. They both had a very special bond between them and they wrote Swedish sports history together.
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Eriksson took over as head coach at IFK Göteborg in 1979 and took on a Nilsson with seriously damaged self-confidence and brain ghosts who showed it on the football field. Thanks to a sports psychologist, the coaching icon helped his star striker and turned him into one of Europe’s very best goalscorers in the 80s.
Now paying tribute to Svennis
Recently in the SVT program “Fotbollens historia” “Svennis” paid tribute to his favorite player to the skies and now Torbjörn Nilsson returns the nice gesture. The football legend speaks warmly of his old coach, who is currently dying of incurable cancer.
– “Svennis” always knew what he wanted. I got into a relationship with him, but I still had respect for him. You felt that he was the leader, says Nilsson to Expressen.
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The whole of football Sweden and in several parts of Europe have praised Svenni’s fine coaching career in recent months, and now Nilsson comes with a demand that probably most people sign up to.
– Svennis should have a statue outside Ullevi. He deserves every tribute and then some, he says to the evening newspaper.
To this day, they both have a good relationship and it was a dear return visit when Eriksson and Nilsson met again in connection with the SVT program Fotbollens historia.
– We have never lost touch. Among other things, I greeted him when he was a coach for Lazio in Italy. In the meantime in England, we were supposed to meet, but he had such a busy schedule that we only got an hour or so together, says Torbjörn Nilsson in the interview.
Do you think Sven-Göran Eriksson deserves a statue? Share the article and have your say!
READ MORE: Sven-Göran Eriksson’s beautiful words about favorite player Torbjörn Nilsson touch all our hearts: “For me, he was…”
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