Ralf Sigvard Edström (born 7 October 1952) is a Swedish former professional
footballer who played as a
forward. Widely regarded as Sweden's best player in the 1970s, he started off his career with
Degerfors IF in the late 1960s and went on to represent
Ã…tvidabergs FF,
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
,
IFK Göteborg,
Standard Liege, and
AS Monaco before retiring at
Örgryte IS in 1985. A full international between 1972 and 1980, he won 40
caps for the
Sweden national team and scored 15 goals. He represented his country at the
1974 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 Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
s and was awarded
Guldbollen as Sweden's best player in 1972 and 1974.
Club career
Starting his career in
Degerfors IF, a club known to produce many young talents, Edström moved to
Ã…tvidabergs FF and became national champion in 1972.
He moved to
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
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). He injured his knee while at
AS Monaco which prevented him from playing any games for
Örgryte IS and ultimately led to his retirement from professional football in 1985.
International career
Edström made 40 appearances for the
Sweden 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 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, 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 ...
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 Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...
in Argentina, Edström was arrested for speaking to a person in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the RÃo de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
; 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
International
:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Edström goal''.
Honours
Ã…tvidabergs FF
* Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system.
Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...
: 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, ...
, 1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
* Svenska Cupen: 1970–71
PSV Eindhoven
* Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
: 1974–75, 1975–76
* KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
: 1973–74, 1975–76
IFK Göteborg
* Svenska Cupen: 1978–79
Standard Liege
* Belgian Cup
The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...
: 1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
AS Monaco
* French Division 1: 1981–82
Individual
* Allsvenskan top scorer: 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, ...
* Guldbollen: 1972, 1974
* ''World Soccer'' World XI: 1975
*''Sport Ideal European XI'': 1975
*Swedish Football Hall of Fame: 2003
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edstrom, Ralf
1952 births
Living people
Swedish men's footballers
Ã…tvidabergs FF players
Degerfors IF players
IFK Göteborg players
PSV Eindhoven players
AS Monaco FC players
Örgryte IS players
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco
Standard Liège players
Sweden men's international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
1978 FIFA World Cup players
Swedish expatriate men's 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 Pro League players
Swedish association football commentators
Men's association football forwards
People from Degerfors Municipality
Footballers from Örebro County
20th-century Swedish sportsmen