Lennart Skoglund

Club career Breakthrough at Hammarby On 5 June 1946, Lennart Skoglund made his senior debut for Hammarby, who by then competed in the Swedish third tier, in a friendly against the Finnish club Sudet. Aged 16, he made 11 competitive appearances during the season as the club finished at the foot of Division 2 Östra. while some consider it as a homage to his father's profession as a gardener in said area.

Skoglund played his last game for Hammarby on 19 October 1949, against Västerås SK in Division 3 Östra.

Inter Milan

During the fall of 1950, Skoglund got sold to the Italian giants Inter Milan in a deal reportedly worth 12 million lire, or 6,860 pounds. Skoglund also enjoyed a fruitful partnership with strikers Benito Lorenzi and Faas Wilkes during Inter Milan's league winning seasons. Skoglund made his competitive comeback in a match against Karlstad BK at Johanneshovs IP on 8 May 1964. Within minutes of his debut, he scored perhaps the most famous goal of his career, curling home direct from a corner in a 4-1–win.

Skoglund eventually opted to retire from top-flight football. He marked an end to his second stint at Hammarby after the 1967 season, scoring 7 goals in 56 appearances in total. Sweden would eventually secure a third place at the tournament and win their first World Cup medal throughout history.

Skoglund waited until 1958 to be called up to the national team in the 1958 World Cup on home soil, in accordance with the Swedish Football Association's policy to ban professional players from representing the side. or a "soloist". Albin Skoglund, the grandson of Skoglunds's brother "Ya", is also a professional footballer.

Outside football In his early years, before turning professional, Skoglund earned his living from working as an electrician. The song reached No. 7 at the Swedish charts and became the first of Skoglund's six musical releases.

In 2004, he was voted as Hammarby's biggest profile throughout the history of the club. He also got inducted as a member of the Swedish football Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2017, Skoglund was named as the single best player to have originated from Stockholm during the last century, in a vote held by the county's football association and Sveriges Radio.

A statue was raised in his honour outside his childhood home at Katarina Bangata in 1984. The monument was designed by artist Olle Aldrin and got named Vi ses vid målet (in English: "See you at the goal"). In 2000, the square in Södermalm where the statue is located officially got named "Nackas Hörna" (in English: "Nacka's Corner") – a play with words with reference to his famous goal in his comeback for Hammarby, where he shot a corner kick straight into goal.

Career statistics

International Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Skoglund goal.

Honours AIK Svenska Cupen: 1950

Inter Milan Serie A: 1952–53, 1953–54 Sweden FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1958 FIFA World Cup third place: 1950