Martin Dahlin

Martin Dahlin

Personal information
Full name	Martin Nathaniel Dahlin
Date of birth	16 April 1968 (1968-04-16) (age 43)
Place of birth	Uddevalla, Sweden
Height	1.84 m (6 ft  1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Lund
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987–1991	Malmö	87	(45)
1991–1996	Borussia Mönchengladbach	106	(50)
1996	Roma	3	(0)
1996–1997	Borussia Mönchengladbach	19	(10)
1997–1998	Blackburn Rovers	27	(4)
1998–1999	Hamburger SV	8	(0)
Total		250	(109)
National team
1991–1997	Sweden	60	(29)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Martin Nathaniel Dahlin (born 16 April 1968 in Uddevalla) is a former Swedish football player.

Early life

He is the son of an Afro-Venezuelan father, who was a musician, and a Swedish mother who both decided to name him after Martin Luther King.^[1] He was born in Uddevalla, but lived as a child in Lund.^[1]

Career

In 1988, he became the second black player to represent Sweden.^[2] He was part of the Swedish national team which finished third in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament. He also participated in the team which reached the semifinals of UEFA Euro 1992.

In 1993 he was selected as best Swedish player of the year, winning Guldbollen.^[2]

He played for Malmö FF, Borussia Mönchengladbach, AS Roma, Hamburger SV and Blackburn Rovers. The most successful time of his career he spent with Borussia Mönchengladbach with whom he won the German Cup in 1995 along with Stefan Effenberg.

Dahlin transferred from AS Roma to Blackburn Rovers in mid-1997 and made 21 appearances in the 1997–98 season, scoring four goals.

In the 1998–99 season, he only played five games when an injury in a training game ruled him out for the rest of the season and contributed to his retirement from the game after a short spell at Hamburger SV in 1999.

Blackburn Rovers later sued their insurance company who had refused to pay out over the injury claiming that normal wear and tear could have been a contributing factor. Although the initial verdict was given in favour of the club, in 2005 the Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and sent it back to the lower court. On 12 April 2006, the High Court ruled in favour of the insurance company, decreeing that the player probably had a pre-existing condition.^[3] This decision left Blackburn about £4 million out-of-pocket.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	1 May 1991	Råsunda, Solna	Austria	4–0	6–0	Friendly
2.				5–0
3.	15 June 1991	Idrottsparken, Norrköping	Denmark	1–0	4–0	Scania 100
4.				2–0
5.	4 September 1991	Råsunda, Solna	Yugoslavia	1–0	4–3	Friendly
6.				3–2
7.	7 May 1992	Råsunda, Solna	Poland	4–0	5–0	Friendly
8.	26 August 1992	Ullevaal, Oslo	Norway	1–1	2–2	Friendly
9.	7 October 1992	Råsunda, Solna	Bulgaria	1–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	11 November 1992	Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv	Israel	0–1	1–3	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	28 April 1993	Parc des Princes, Paris	France	0–1	2–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.	11 August 1993	Ryavallen, Borås	Switzerland	1–0	1–2	Friendly
13.	22 August 1993	Råsunda, Solna	France	1–1	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.	8 September 1993	Vasil Levski, Sofia	Bulgaria	1–1	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
15.	13 October 1993	Råsunda, Solna	Finland	1–1	3–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.				2–1
17.	19 June 1994	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Cameroon	2–2	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup
18.	24 June 1994	Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac	Russia	2–1	3–1	1994 FIFA World Cup
19.				3–1
20.	3 July 1994	Cotton Bowl, Dallas	Saudi Arabia	0–1	1–3	1994 FIFA World Cup Round of 16
21.	12 October 1994	Wankdorf Stadion, Bern	Switzerland	1–2	4–2	1996 UEFA Euro qualification
22.	16 November 1994	Råsunda, Solna	Hungary	2–0	2–0	1996 UEFA Euro qualification
23.	24 April 1996	Windsor Park, Belfast	Northern Ireland	0–1	1–2	Friendly
24.	9 May 1996	Olympia, Helsingborg	Slovakia	2–1	1–0	Friendly
25.	16 May 1996	Olympic Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	0–1	0–2	Friendly
26.	1 June 1996	Råsunda, Solna	Belarus	2–0	5–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
27.	1 September 1996	Daugava Stadium, Riga	Latvia	0–1	1–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
28.	8 June 1997	Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn	Estonia	0–1	2–3	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
29.	6 August 1997	Malmö Stadion, Malmö	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Retirement

Dahlin now lives in Sweden. He lends his name to a clothing line.^[4] He speaks three languages – Swedish, English and German.^[2]

Dahlin became a sports agent working for former teammate Roger Ljung's sport agency Roger Ljung Promotion AB.^[5] He has since formed his own agency called MD Management.^[6] He represents Ola Toivonen,^[7] Guillermo Molins,^[8] Jonas Olsson,^[9] and Behrang Safari.^[10]

Honours

• 1994 FIFA World Cup 3rd place
• DFB-Pokal winner: 1994–95
• DFB-Pokal finalist: 1991–92

Career statistics

^[11]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sweden			League		Svenska Cupen		League Cup		Europe		Total
1988	Malmö	Allsvenskan	21	17
1989			17	4
1990			19	7
1991|1991			22	11
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1991–92	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Bundesliga	12	2	2	0					14	2
1992–93			20	10	3	1					23	11
1993–94			27	12	5	2					32	14
1994–95			24	11	5	2					29	13
1995–96			23	15	1	0			5	3	29	18
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
1996–97	Roma	Serie A	3	0
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1996–97	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Bundesliga	19	10
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1997–98	Blackburn Rovers	Premier League	27	4	1	0	2	2			30	6
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Premiere Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1998–99	Hamburger SV	Bundesliga	8	0
Total	Sweden		79	39
	Germany		133	60
	Italy		3	0
	England		27	4
Career total			234	103

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Christopher Clarey (10 July 1994). "Dahlin Is Swedish Player First, Pioneer a Distant Second". NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/10/sports/world-cup-94-dahlin-is-swedish-player-first-pioneer-a-distant-second.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 8 July 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Dwight Chapin (8 July 1994). "Skill, not race, separates Dahlin". st. Petersburg Times. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19940708&id=1tANAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nHYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6437,2596102. Retrieved 8 July 2009. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Rovers fail in Dahlin damages bid". BBC Sport. 12 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/4904286.stm. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
4. ^ "dahlin". dahlin.nu. http://www.dahlin.nu. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
5. ^ "Dahlins nya jobb - agent" (in Swedish). aftonbladet.se. 18 April 2001. http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotbollsbladet/sverige/allsvenskan/article17900.ab. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
6. ^ "Martin Dahlin EXCLUSIVE: Zlatan Ibrahimovic One Of Sweden’s Greatest Ever Players". goal.com. 17 April 2009. http://www.goal.com/en/news/596/exclusive/2009/04/17/1172697/martin-dahlin-exclusive-zlatan-ibrahimovic-one-of-swedens. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
7. ^ "Liverpool target £5m PSV Eindhoven forward Ola Toivonen". Daily Mail (London). 16 August 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1303351/Liverpool-target-5m-PSV-Eindhoven-forward-Ola-Toivonen.html. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
8. ^ Smith, Rune (27 December 2009). "Tyska Köln vill ha Guillermo Molins" (in Swedish). expressen.se. http://fotboll.expressen.se/Allsvenskan/1.1826078/tyska-koln-vill-ha-guillermo-molins. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
9. ^ Torgerson, Richard (5 June 2009). "Olsson flattered by Villa link". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5365621,00.html. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
10. ^ Malmström, Håkan (15 June 2008). "Behrang Safari går till schweiziska Basel" (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan. http://sydsvenskan.se/sport/fotboll/mff/article336292/Behrang-Safari-gar-till-schweiziska-Basel.html. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
11. ^ "Martin DAHLIN". level-k.com. http://www.level-k.com/player/M_Dahlin.htm. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 

Persondata
Name	Dahlin, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 April 1968
Place of birth	Uddevalla, Sweden
Date of death
Place of death