Thom Alvar Ålund (born 17 February 1953) is a Swedish former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager, best known for representing

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

. In 1979, he won four

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 men's national football team The Sweden men's national football team () represents Sweden in men's international Association football, football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Strawb ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Stockholm, Åhlund started his career with

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

as a youngster. He soon moved to

IF Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish association football, football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality ...

, in the Swedish lower divisions, where he made his senior debut in 1971.

Hammarby IF

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 ...

, at age 19, Åhlund joined

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 ...

, Sweden's first tier. He immediately broke into the squad and played 25 league games in his debut season, as Hammarby finished 8th in the table, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1–0 home win against IF Saab on 26 August. Manager

Olle Nyström Olle Nyström (18 July 1928 – 18 July 2002) was a Sweden, Swedish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager, best known for representing Hammarby Fotboll, Hammarby IF and later coaching the club for two y ...

re-positioned Åhlund from a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

to a libero in 1974. Known as an elegant player, he was soon compared with

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

by supporters of the club. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, Hammarby reached the final of

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, 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 ...

, the main domestic cup, but lost 0–1 to

Östers IF Östers Idrottsförening, commonly known as Östers IF or simply Öster, is a Swedish sports club located in Växjö, specializing in Association football, football. For the 2025 Allsvenskan, 2025 season the club is back in the top tier, Allsve ...

. Åhlund was on the verge of becoming a professional abroad, attracting interest from clubs in both Belgium and Germany throughout his career. In 1980, he almost transferred to the competing Swedish club

Mjällby AIF Mjällby Allmänna Idrottsförening, also known simply as Mjällby AIF, Mjällby or (especially locally) MAIF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Hällevik in Sölvesborg Municipality. The club is affiliated to Blekinge Fo ...

together with Sten-Ove Ramberg, a fellow teammate at Hammarby. Both players eventually decided to turn down the offer following outrage from the club's supporters. The highlight of Åhlund's career came in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

when Hammarby finished second in the table, going unbeaten the whole season. In the following playoff to decide the Swedish champion, the club went on to beat

Örgryte Örgryte is one of the 21 ''stadsdelsnämndsområden'' (a kind of district often translated as borough) of Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. It is a largely upper middle class residential area just to the east of the city centre. History The or ...

in the quarter-finals and Elfsborg in the semi-finals. In the finals against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

, Hammarby won 2–1 in the first leg away, but lost 1–3 in the home game at

Söderstadion Söderstadion () was a football and bandy stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened in 1966 and closed in 2013, being replaced by nearby Tele2 Arena. Söderstadion had a capacity of 12,800 depending on usage. A record attendance of 22,000 was ...

to a record crowd, missing out on the gold medal. Åhlund was sidelined due to a groin injury throughout most of the season, but took part in the finals. After the domestic success, Hammarby competed in the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

the following year, ultimately getting knocked out by

FC Haka FC Haka, originally ''Valkeakosken Haka'', commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934 and competes in Finland's premier division, the Veikkausliiga. ...

in the second round (2–3 on aggregate). Åhlund decided to leave Hammarby after the loss on 2 November 1983, which coincidentally also was Kenneth Ohlsson's last game for the club. In total, Åhlund made 228 league appearances for Hammarby and scored 9 goals.

Skövde AIK and retirement

In 1984, Åhlund joined

Skövde AIK Skövde AIK is a Swedish football club from Skövde. It was founded on 21 June 1919. The club plays in the third-tier Ettan Fotboll, Ettan after relegation from Superettan in 2024. Background Skövde AIK was founded on 20 June 1919. The club ...

as a player-coach. He stayed with the club for three seasons, competing in Division 3, before definitely retiring from playing.

International career

After competing with the Swedish U19's and U21's, Åhlund debuted for the Swedish senior national team in 1979 in a friendly 0–2 loss to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In total, he won four caps the same year, competing in one competitive fixture (a 1–1 away draw against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

on 23 October 1979 in the

UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying The qualifying round for UEFA Euro 1980 consisted of 31 teams divided into seven groups; three of five teams and four of four teams. The qualifying round (drawn in Rome on 30 November 1977) was played at various times between May 1978 and Februar ...

campaign).

Managerial career

After his player-coach stint at Skövde AIK, Åhlund spent the later stages of the 1980s and the 1990s coaching Friska Viljor,

Umeå FC Umeå FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Umeå, Sweden. The club, formed in 1987, is currently playing in the third tier of the Swedish league, Ettan. The club is affiliated to the Västerbottens Fotbollförbund. Season to se ...

Syrianska FC Syrianska Football Club, also known as Syrianska FC or simply Syrianska, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Södertälje in Stockholm County. The club was founded by Aramean people, Syriac-Aramean immigrants ...

and

FOC Farsta FOC Farsta is a Swedish sports club located in the Farsta district of Stockholm, Sweden. Background The club was founded on 1 November 1977 through the merger of Farsta AIK and IF Cobran, hence the abbreviation FoC for “Farsta och Cobran.“ T ...

in the domestic lower divisions. In 2002, Åhlund returned to Hammarby IF to work as the assistant coach of

Anders Linderoth Anders Karl Gustaf Linderoth (born 21 March 1950) is a Swedish football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is best remembered for representing Helsingsborgs, Östers IF, Marseille, and Mjällby AIF during a club career that ...

. The club went on to have several fruitful years in the Allsvenskan, being a consistent challenger for the Swedish league title. The duo left the club at the end of 2006. On 31 August 2009, midway through the Allsvenskan season, he was appointed as the interim manager of Hammarby IF after the sacking of Tony Gustavsson. Åhlund was unable to save the club from a relegation to

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

, the second tier, and left the position at the end of the year.

Honours

Player-coach

Skövde AIK * Division 3 Mellersta Götaland:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

(lost in the promotion playoffs),

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

(promoted)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahlund, Thom Swedish men's footballers Hammarby Fotboll players Skövde AIK players 1953 births Living people Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's international footballers Allsvenskan players Men's association football defenders Swedish football managers Syrianska FC managers Skövde AIK managers Footballers from Stockholm 20th-century Swedish sportsmen