Hans "Hasse" Persson (20 January 1929 – 29 July 2001), often called HP, was a Swedish football

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who in his time was immensely popular in the football club

Landskrona BoIS Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap ( en, Landskrona Ball and Sports Society, locally referred to as BoIS) is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, Scania, which currently plays in Superettan, the second league tier of fo ...

Biography

Hasse "HP" Persson started his football career in his hometown Klippan before the age of 20, and in 1949 he took the step to

Helsingborgs IF Helsingborgs IF (full name Helsingborgs Idrottsförening), commonly referred to as HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, following promotion in the 2021 Superet ...

and

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

. There, he soon blossomed into his role as left inner and got his debut in the Swedish national team. His first game for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was in September 1952 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in an international match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and he made a hat trick in an 8-1 triumph. The next international against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

that same autumn he made the decisive 2-1 goal, and he also scored in his international game number three, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In this match, however, he injured his neck and had to leave the game in half time. The injury came to be fatal, and as a result of it he had to say no to test games with Italian side

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

. Hasse Persson was something of a bohemian. Many are the stories of a willful and exuberant gentleman who often went his own ways. After a turbulent time, he left Helsingborgs IF. In 1955, HP wrote a contract with Helsingborgs IF arch rivals,

. In Landskrona, he soon became a big star in the city and it is said that he alone brought big crowds to

Landskrona IP Landskrona IP (short for "''Landskrona Idrottsplats''" or "Landskrona Sports Ground" and locally known as "I.P.") is a football stadium which serves as the home of the Landskrona BoIS football club. The stadium holds approximately 10,000 spectato ...

. There are many citizens in

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

who believes that the club never had a better player than Persson. Many of those who experienced the 1950s and 1960s have their special Hasse Persson-memories. This is almost always about goals from impossible distances, rocket shots, phenomenal assists or various other technical showpieces. Even during the years in Landskrona professional clubs were interested in contracting him, for example Italian side

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Football in Italy, Italian association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a ...

. During Hasse Persson time in BoIS the club played qualification games to Allsvenskan no less than three times: in 1958, 1959 and 1962. Landskrona BoIS failed, however, to take the step up in all occasions. In the qualifying game in 1959 against

Degerfors IF Degerfors IF is a Swedish football club located in Degerfors. The club, formed 13 January 1907, is currently playing in the highest tier in Swedish football, Allsvenskan. Background Degerfors IF first played in the Allsvenskan in 1939 maki ...

a new attendance record for Landskrona IP with 18 535 spectators was created, a record that still stands today. Hasse Persson winded down in his home club Klippan in 1966. He continued to be a welcome guest at Landskrona IP even after his career ended. He died in 2001.

References

*Möller, Lars (2 February 2007). "En legend redan när han levde". hd.se. Helsingborgs Dagblad. *Majlard, Jan (3 April 2004). ""HP" gav krydda åt Landskronas mål". svd.se. Svenska Dagbladet. {{DEFAULTSORT:Persson, Hasse 1929 births 2001 deaths Swedish footballers Footballers from Skåne County Landskrona BoIS players Helsingborgs IF players People from Klippan Municipality Association football forwards