Ralf Sigvard Edström (born 7 October 1952) is a Swedish former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
forward. Widely regarded as Sweden's best player in the 1970s, he started off his career with
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 making ...
in the late 1960s and went on to represent
Åtvidabergs FF
Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and ...
,
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
,
IFK Göteborg
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is t ...
,
Standard Liege, and
AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...
before retiring at
Örgryte IS
Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...
in 1985. A full international between 1972 and 1980, he won 40
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for the
Sweden national team and scored 15 goals. He represented his country at the
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
and
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 � ...
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
s and was awarded
Guldbollen
Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish football award given by ''Aftonbladet'' and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year.
History
The award was created by Bengt Liljedahl and between 1946 to 1965 it was ...
as Sweden's best player in 1972 and 1974.
Club career
Starting his career in
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 making ...
, a club known to produce many young talents, Edström moved to
Åtvidabergs FF
Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and ...
and became national champion in 1972.
He moved to
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
in 1973 and was part of the team that became national champion in
1974/75 and
1975/76.
On club level, he became not only Swedish Champion, but also Dutch (twice) and French Champion. He also won the Swedish, Dutch and Belgian Cups and was voted Swedish player of the year twice (1972 and 1974, winning
Guldbollen
Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish football award given by ''Aftonbladet'' and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year.
History
The award was created by Bengt Liljedahl and between 1946 to 1965 it was ...
). He injured his knee while at
AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...
which prevented him from playing any games for
Örgryte IS
Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...
and ultimately led to his retirement from professional football in 1985.
International career
Edström made 40 appearances for the
Swedish national team and scored 15 times.
He is most noted for his performance in the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
where he had a big part in Sweden finishing fifth, and he made six appearances and scored four goals during this tournament.
[FIFA profile](_blank)
/ref>
While representing Sweden at the 1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by ...
in Argentina, Edström was arrested for speaking to a person in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...
; however, the Argentine military released him upon recognising its error (that he was not one of its citizens but a professional footballer who was in the country for the tournament it was hosting).
Personal life
He has been an expert radio commentator since the 1980s.
Career statistics
Club
Source
International
:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Edström goal''.
Honours
Åtvidabergs FF
* 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 ...
: 1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
* Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams comp ...
: 1970–71
PSV Eindhoven
* Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
: 1974–75, 1975–76
* KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
: 1973–74, 1975–76
IFK Göteborg
* Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams comp ...
: 1978–79
Standard Liege
* Belgian Cup
The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...
: Belgian Cup 1980-81, 1981
AS Monaco
* French Division 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...
: 1981–82
Individual
* Allsvenskan top scorer
The following is a list of top scorers in Allsvenskan, the highest Swedish division of football. is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
Association football player non-biographical articles ...
: 1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
* Guldbollen
Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish football award given by ''Aftonbladet'' and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year.
History
The award was created by Bengt Liljedahl and between 1946 to 1965 it was ...
: 1972, 1974
* ''World Soccer'' World XI: 1975
*Swedish Football Hall of Fame: 2003
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edstrom, Ralf
1952 births
Living people
Swedish footballers
Åtvidabergs FF players
Degerfors IF players
IFK Göteborg players
PSV Eindhoven players
AS Monaco FC players
Örgryte IS players
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Monaco
Standard Liège players
Sweden international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
1978 FIFA World Cup players
Swedish expatriate footballers
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Allsvenskan players
Ligue 1 players
Eredivisie players
Belgian First Division A players
Swedish association football commentators
Association football forwards
People from Degerfors Municipality
Sportspeople from Örebro County