Torbjörn Nilsson

Infobox Football biography
playername= Torbjörn Nilsson


fullname = Torbjörn Anders Nilsson
nickname = "Totte", "Gud" (God)
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1954|7|9|mf=y
cityofbirth = Västerås
countryofbirth = Sweden
position = Striker
youthyears = 0000–1970
youthclubs = Jonsereds IF
years = 1971–1974
1975–1976
1976–1977
1977–1982
1982–1984
1984–1986
1988–1990
clubs = Jonsereds IF
IFK Göteborg
PSV Eindhoven
IFK Göteborg
1. FC Kaiserslautern
IFK Göteborg
Jonsereds IF
caps(goals) = 00? (0?)
049 (34)
011 (2)
114 (62)
065 (22)
049 (31)
00? (0?)
nationalyears = 1976–1985
nationalteam = Sweden
nationalcaps(goals) = 045 (012)
manageryears = 1988–1990
1991–1993
1994–1995
1997–1999
2001
2002–2004
2008–
managerclubs = Jonsereds IF
Örgryte IS
IK Oddevold
Västra Frölunda IF
BK Häcken
Sweden U-21
Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC

Torbjörn Nilsson (born July 9 1954) is a Swedish former football striker and coach. He is considered to be one of the best Swedish footballers of all time, having won the Swedish championship twice and the UEFA Cup once with IFK Göteborg, where he spent most of his career. He also had a less successful spell in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven and a better one in Germany with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Nilsson has had various levels of success as a manager.

Playing career

Torbjörn Nilsson was born in Västerås on July 9 1954, and raised in Hallstahammar. He and his family (father Göte, mother Daisy, the brothers Rolf and Bosse and sister Rose-Marie) moved to Partille, outside Gothenburg, before he started school, and he began his footballing career in Jonsereds IF at the age of seven or eight."Bexbo, Lasse."] Nilsson joined IFK Göteborg for the 1975 season, and helped the club climb back to the top tier of Swedish football, Allsvenskan, by winning Division 2 in 1976."Jönsson, Ingemar, pp. 100–101."] He tried his luck abroad with PSV Eindhoven, but returned to IFK after only one season. He then helped the team to a treble in 1982, the Swedish championship (IFK won both Allsvenskan and the title-deciding play-off), Svenska Cupen, and the UEFA Cup. He was awarded Guldbollen, the Swedish footballer of the year award, for his heroics.

Nilsson moved to Kaiserslautern in Germany, where he played two seasons, and was about to move to Benfica when his former Göteborg manager Sven-Göran Eriksson left that club. Instead, Torbjörn Nilsson moved home to Gothenburg and his former club. When he ended his playing career after three seasons due to knee problems,"Was macht eigentlich... Torbjörn Nilsson?"] Nilsson had led the club to another Swedish Championship, and nearly a European Cup final in 1986. IFK was eliminated by FC Barcelona after having won the home leg 3-0. They lost the away match by the same score. Nilsson still regrets not taking a penalty in the ensuing penalty shootoout, which forced two young and inexperienced players—Roland Nilsson and Per Emund Mordt—to the spot. Both missed their penalties.

Despite Torbjörn Nilsson's so-so stays abroad, and his short career in the Swedish national team—for whom he played only 28 matches and scored nine goals—he is considered to be one of the greatest Swedish footballers of all time."Guldbollen 1982."] "Bolin, Göran."] He declined to play for the national team for four years in the early 1980s when he was at his prime, the most important reason for not this was a conflict between him and the coach Lars 'Laban' Arnesson, who mixtured a lot with different formations, which did not suit the playing style that Nilsson liked. He instead concentrated on his club team, but made a comeback in the national team in 1984, scoring a goal in the 3–1 win against Portugal in the 1986 World Cup qualification. Nilsson was elected to the Swedish football Hall of Fame in 2003.

Coaching career

After ending his professional playing career, Torbjörn Nilsson acted as playing manager for his youth club Jonsereds IF, before becoming manager of Örgryte IS, then in Division 1, in 1991. The club was relegated to Division 2, but managed to advance two divisions into Allsvenskan the next year, thanks to the Swedish league system at the time. The luck did not last, however, and Örgryte was relegated from the highest league in 1993. Nilsson moved to IK Oddevold from Uddevalla, and brought the club to Allsvenskan for the first time in its history in 1995. He left his job after the season and did not take a new one for a year.

He then took the job as manager of Västra Frölunda IF in 1997, and for the third time coached a team to a promotion to Allsvenskan. He stayed as manager for Västra Frölunda for two seasons and led the club to a fifth and seventh place, the two best seasonal results the club has enjoyed. He took another one year break before starting his fourth spell as manager for a Gothenburg club, BK Häcken, in 2001. He only stayed for one year, not being able to keep the club in the highest league. Instead he became the manager of the Sweden under-21 team, leading the team through a successful qualification to the 2004 UEFA U-21 Championship, where the team narrowly lost the semi-final and third place matches after penalty shootoouts and extra time, respectively. He did not coach any team between 2004 and 2008, but then resumed his managerial career in Gothenburg's best women's team, Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC.

Achievements

*Swedish Champion: 1982, 1984
*Winner of Svenska Cupen: 1979, 1982
*Winner of the UEFA Cup: 1981–82
*Semi-finalist in the European Cup: 1985–86
*Top scorer in Allsvenskan: 1981
*Winner of Guldbollen: 1982

Career table

References

*cite book |last=Alsiö |first=Martin (ed.) |coauthors=Frantz, Alf (ed.), Lindahl, Jimmy (ed.) & Persson, Gunnar (ed.) |title=100 år: Svenska fotbollförbundets jubileumsbok 1904-2004, del 2: statistiken |publisher=Stroemberg Media Group |date=2004 |location=Vällingby |id=ISBN 91-86184-59-8
*cite news |last=Bexbo |first=Lasse |title=Alla tiders ängel |date=2004-10-04 |work=Blåvitt: en hel GT-bilaga om 100-åringen! |publisher=Göteborgs-Tidningen
*cite news |first=Göran |last=Bolin |title=Experterna: håll dörren öppen för Zlatan |url=http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=647&a=612675 |date=2006-02-01 |publisher=Dagens Nyheter |accessdate=2007-02-02
*cite news |title=Guldbollen 1982: Torbjörn Nilsson, IFK Göteborg/Kaiserslautern |url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/sport/guldbollen/1982.html |publisher=Aftonbladet |accessdate=2007-02-02
*cite book |last=Jönsson |first=Ingemar (ed.) |coauthors=Josephson, Åke (ed.) |title=IFK Göteborg 1904-2004: en hundraårig blåvit historia genom elva epoker |publisher=IFK Göteborg |date=2004 |location=Göteborg |id=ISBN 91-631-4659-2
*cite web |title=Was macht eigentlich... Torbjörn Nilsson? |url=http://www.schweden-tielemann.de/tornilsson.pdf |date=2004 |publisher=Betze-Magazin |accessdate=2007-02-02

Notes