1. Lennart Skoglund began his career in his home country with Hammarby IF, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Inter Milan, with whom he won two Serie A titles over nine years.
50 Facts About Lennart Skoglund
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One of the most renowned Swedish players, Skoglund was particularly known for his dribbling ability.
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Lennart Skoglund was born on Christmas Eve 1929 at Allmanna BB in the affluent Ostermalm district of Stockholm, but grew up in a working-class home in the Sodermalm district.
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Lennart Skoglund lived together with his parents, Josef and Linnea, and two brothers, Georg and Karl-Evert, in a small apartment.
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Lennart Skoglund graduated elementary school from Katarina sodra, not far from his childhood home.
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Lennart Skoglund played handball in the Swedish top tier for IK Gota.
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Since the club got dissolved soon after his arrival, Lennart Skoglund enjoyed a short stint at another local club called Sport-Ham, before joining Hammarby IF in 1944.
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On 5 June 1946, Lennart Skoglund made his senior debut for Hammarby, who by then competed in the Swedish third tier, in a friendly against the Finnish club Sudet.
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Some sources claim Lennart Skoglund got dubbed as "Nacka" since he had been playing football in the Stockholm-outskirt Nacka during the winters.
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Lennart Skoglund played his last game for Hammarby on 19 October 1949, against Vasteras SK in Division 3 Ostra.
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Across four seasons with Hammarby, Lennart Skoglund would appear 57 times in the lower leagues.
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Lennart Skoglund managed to win a domestic title during his brief stint at AIK.
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On 30 July 1950, Lennart Skoglund made his first appearance in Allsvenskan for AIK in a match against Malmo FF.
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Lennart Skoglund scored a brace in the game and impressed enough national team manager Putte Kock to get called up to the 1950 FIFA World Cup which took place between 24 June 1950 and 16 July 1950 in Brazil.
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Lennart Skoglund enjoyed a fruitful partnership with strikers Benito Lorenzi and Faas Wilkes during Inter Milan's league winning seasons.
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Lennart Skoglund enjoyed a revival at Inter Milan during his later years at the club.
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The reason cited was Inter Milan sensing the potential benefits of Lennart Skoglund's increased box-office appeal.
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Lennart Skoglund hesitantly left the club in the summer of 1959, at age 29.
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Warmly received by the fans, Lennart Skoglund played as a regular for the next three seasons while putting on decent performances.
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Lennart Skoglund found himself bored and frustrated in the city and quickly sought a move elsewhere.
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Lennart Skoglund however failed to impress the Torino-based club officials during his trial and soon returned to Palermo, only appearing six times over the course of the season.
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Lennart Skoglund made his competitive comeback in a match against Karlstad BK at Johanneshovs IP on 8 May 1964.
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Back at his favourite club and native Sodermalm, Lennart Skoglund revived his footballing career as Hammarby won promotion to Allsvenskan the same year.
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Lennart Skoglund marked an end to his second stint at Hammarby after the 1967 season, scoring 7 goals in 56 appearances in total.
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Lennart Skoglund's efforts earned him a new nickname: "The swaying corn-cob", as a reference to his blond hair and running style.
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Lennart Skoglund waited until 1958 to be called up to the national team in the 1958 World Cup on home soil, in accordance with the Swedish Football Association's policy to ban professional players from representing the side.
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Lennart Skoglund went so far as to drive us into the woods for our running.
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Lennart Skoglund was voted as the best left winger in the whole tournament.
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Lennart Skoglund possessed a powerful shot with fine scoring efficiency.
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Lennart Skoglund was known as a set-piece specialist throughout his career.
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Lennart Skoglund was though sometimes considered as a selfish player, or a "soloist".
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Just before his return to Sweden and Hammarby in 1963, Lennart Skoglund was involved in a serious car accident.
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The unsuspecting Lennart Skoglund reportedly got scammed from the major part of his funds by friends and acquaintances.
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Together with his wife Nuccia, Lennart Skoglund opened a restaurant in Milano.
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Lennart Skoglund pursued a career in music, mainly because he was in dire need of money.
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For two months during the late 1960s, Lennart Skoglund worked as a carpet salesman.
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Lennart Skoglund reportedly began to keep a bottle of whisky in his locker at Inter Milan to ensure he could drink during the day.
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Francesco Morini, his teammate at Sampdoria, discovered that Lennart Skoglund kept a small bottle of whisky by the corner flag.
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When Lennart Skoglund took a corner he would, according to Morini, kneel down as though tying his shoelace and have a drink.
40.
In January 1952, Lennart Skoglund got into an argument with a taxi driver who later took him to court in Milan, complaining that he had vandalised his cab.
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Back in Sweden, after his retirement from football, Lennart Skoglund lost his driver's license due to drunk driving when en route to promote his music recordings.
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Lennart Skoglund got hesitant to be seen in public and mostly stayed inside his small apartment at Katarina Bangata in Sodermalm.
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At age 42, Lennart Skoglund went into early retirement, forced to live on social welfare.
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Lennart Skoglund battled to save him but when she discovered he was drinking in secret, he was left alone again.
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Lennart Skoglund had no real friends, not even during his successful years.
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On 8 July 1975, Lennart Skoglund was found dead on his kitchen floor, aged 45.
47.
In 1958, Lennart Skoglund was given the honorary award Stora Grabbars Marke, the "Big Boys Badge", which is given to participants of all sports for the fulfillment of some criteria.
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Lennart Skoglund got inducted as a member of the Swedish football Hall of Fame in 2006.
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In 2017, Lennart Skoglund was named as the single best player to have originated from Stockholm during the last century, in a vote held by the county's football association and Sveriges Radio.
50.
Lennart Skoglund was a player who possessed extraordinary qualities of his time; he was the one who did not follow the tactics but instead offered the unexpected.