Nils Erik Liedholm was born in Valdemarsvik in south-east Sweden on October 8, 1922.
His first club at youth level was local Valdemarsvik. He started playing football relatively late as his father wanted him to continue working as an accountant.
In 1942 he joined Sleipner in Norrköping. At the time they were a big club in Sweden having won the Allsvenskan league title in 1938 and were runners up in the 1941 Swedish Cup. Liedholm stayed four years (including the war years) and played 60 league games with 24 goals.
In 1946 he joined IFK Norrköping who were taking over as the main local club. He stayed three seasons with "Snoka" playing 48 league games with 22 goals. He won two league titles in 1947 and 1948.
In 1949 he went to Italy and joined A.C Milan. On leaving he told his dad: "Don't worry I'll be back in a year or two at the most". He stayed eleven successful seasons winning the Scudetto 4 times (1951, '55, '57 and '59). He played a total of 394 games with 89 goals. He was captain between 1956 and 1961. His attacking partnership with fellow Swedes Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl became legendary, the wonderful Gre- No-Li.
At 38 he retired but another successful chapter as a manager was about to begin.
At international level Liedholm won 23 caps for Sweden and scored 12 goals. He would have played more but between 1949 and June 1958 players abroad were not eligible. He won a runner up medal at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, losing 1-4 to Pelė's Brazil. Liedholm scored Sweden's goal in the final thus becoming the oldest player ever to score in a World Cup final, a record still today. He also won Olympic Gold at the 1948 London Olympics.
As mentioned, on retiring Liedholm went into coaching. He started collaborating with Milan and then became manager from 1964 to 1966 (2nd and 7th).
He then coached Verona for two seasons winning promotion to Serie A in his second year.
In 1968-69 he spent a year at Monza in Serie B finishing 11th.
In 1971 he joined Fiorentina and stayed two seasons. The Viola finished 5th and 4th.
In 1973 he moved to Roma, from the 7th fixture onwards, and stayed four seasons in the capital. The Giallorossi finished 8th (and Lazio won Scudetto), 3rd, 10th and 7th.
In 1977 he returned to Milan for two seasons. In the first season the Rossoneri finished 4th but then won the Scudetto in 1979 (Milan's first star).
Liedholm then went back to Roma for another five seasons. The Lupi finished 6th, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, and 2nd. Apart from the Scudetto they also won the Coppa Italia three times. In 1984 they reached the European Cup final but lost to Liverpool on penalties in Rome after a 1-1 draw. So, a successful period with some great players such as Paulo Roberto Falcao, Bruno Conti, Agostino Di Bartolomei, Roberto Pruzzo to name a few.
In 1984 he returned to Milan for almost another three seasons. The Diavolo finished 5th, 7th and 5th but in the third season he was replaced by Fabio Capello after 25 games. The Silvio Berlusconi era had begun.
In 1987 he returned to Roma for a third stint but this time as technical director with Angelo Sormani officially manager. The Giallorossi finished 3rd. The following season he stayed on, he was replaced by Luciano Lupi (with Luciano Spinosi as manager) from fixture 19 to 22 but then was called back (with Sormani) and Roma finished 8th.
He then took a break and looked after his wine business with his son Carlo. He owned an agricultural company (Tenuta "Villa Boemia") in Cuccaro Monferrato near Alessandria in Piedmont where the main production was wine. His wife too was from Piedmont.
In 1992 he returned to football briefly. In mid-March in the 1991-92 season he was called by struggling Verona during the season to take over from Eugenio Fascetti (after 0-2 defeat by Lazio). Liedholm then became technical director for the last four games with Mario Corso as manager. Verona however were relegated in 16th place.
He then had another break before his last involvement in football. In 1997 he was called by Roma to take over for the last eight games of the season. The Giallorossi were having a negative season under Argentine Carlos Bianchi. Roma then won 1, drew 2 (including Lazio 1-1), lost 5 and Roma finished 12th.
At 75 he called it a day and concentrated on his wine and punditry. A great career both as player and manager.
As a player he was a midfield playmaker. He was classy and intelligent with great tactical acumen. He was an altruistic player and a leader on the field. He played 502 games (359 in A) and scored 135 goals (89 in A). He won 4 league titles in Italy and 2 in Sweden. In 1999 he was voted the most important player in Swedish history.
As a manager he was known as "Il Barone" for his educated and calm manner. He was respected and liked by all (even Lazio fans). In Italy he was one of the first to play the "zona" in defence as opposed to man-to-man marking. He won two league titles (Milan and Roma), 3 Italian Cups (Roma) and a Serie B (Varese).
A Swede who became Italian and had great success as a player, manager and wine producer.
Liedholm died in Cuccaro Monferrato on November 5, 2007.
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