Agne Simonsson

The Sweden men's national football team in 1961 with this players – from the left, standing: Bengt "Fölet" Berndtsson, Torbjörn Jonsson, Åke "Bajdoff" Johansson, Agne Simonsson, Rune Börjesson and Lennart Backman; crouched: Olle "Lappen" Hellström, Orvar Bergmark, Bengt "Zamora" Nyholm, Lennart Wing and Gösta "Knivsta" Sandberg.

Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a forward. Beginning his career with Örgryte IS in 1953, he went on to represent Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in La Liga in the early 1960s before returning to Örgryte in 1963. Simonsson won 51 caps for the Sweden national team, and was a part of the Sweden team that finished second at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was also the recipient of the 1959 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal after a spectacular performance for Sweden in an international game against England at Wembley Stadium.

Club career

Örgryte IS Simonsson played youth football for BK René before signing for Örgryte IS in 1949. He made his senior debut for Örgryte in 1953, when the team played in Division 3.

Real Madrid Widely regarded as the best center forward in the world after a string of impressive performances for the Sweden national team, Simonsson was signed by the La Liga team Real Madrid in 1960. Simonsson is the only Swede ever to have represented Real Madrid men’s team.

Loan to Real Sociedad For the 1961–62 La Liga season, Simonsson was loaned out to Real Sociedad for which he scored 8 goals in 22 league games.

International career

Early career Simonsson made his only appearance for the Sweden U21 team on 22 September 1957 in a friendly game against Finland, scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 win. He made his full international debut for Sweden a month later on 13 October 1957 in a 1956–59 Nordic Football Championship game against Norway, scoring two goals as Sweden won 5–2.

1958 FIFA World Cup Simonsson scored four goals as Sweden reached the final of the 1958 FIFA World Cup on home soil, including a goal in the final as Sweden lost 2–5 to Brazil.

Later career He was awarded the 1959 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal as well as the 1959 Guldbollen after his performance against England on 28 October 1959 when Sweden beat the English 3–2 at Wembley Stadium and Simonsson scored two goals and made one assist. This was only the second time in history that a team beat England at Wembley.

He won his 51st and final cap in a 2–0 win against Finland on 10 August 1967 in the 1964–67 Nordic Football Championship. He scored a total of 27 international goals. As a manager for Örgryte IS, Simonsson led the team to the 1985 Swedish Championship title, winning them their first league title since 1913.

Death Simonsson died on 22 September 2020, at the age of 84.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Player Örgryte IS Division 2 Västra Götaland: 1957–58

Real Madrid La Liga: 1960–61, 1962–63 Intercontinental Cup: 1960

Sweden FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1958 Nordic Football Championship: 1956–1959

Individual Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal: 1959 Guldbollen: 1959 Kristallkulan: 1959 Nordic Football Championship top scorer: 1956–1959 Records Most league goals for Örgryte IS: 206 goals

Manager BK Häcken Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland: 1977 Örgryte IS Swedish Champion: 1985