Sven Rydell

Sven Åke Albert Rydell (14 January 1905 – 4 April 1975) was a Swedish footballer who played as a forward. He represented Holmens IS, Örgryte IS, and Redbergslids IK during a club career that spanned between 1920 and 1934. A full international between 1923 and 1932, he won 43 caps and scored 49 goals for the Sweden national team. He scored five goals at the 1924 Summer Olympics where Sweden finished third. He was the all-time leading scorer for the Sweden national team for more than 80 years before his record was overtaken by Zlatan Ibrahimović in September 2014.

Club career At club level, Rydell played for Örgryte IS, Redbergslids IK, and Holmens IS. Rydell had scored a record of nine hat-tricks for Sweden.

International career Rydell played in the 1920s and 30s, and scored 49 goals in only 43 matches for the Sweden national team. His 49 goals stood as the national record for over 80 years. Because his career spanned the nascent years of international football, he never got a chance to play in the World Cup; his only appearance at the world stage came in the 1924 Summer Olympics, at which Sweden won a bronze medal. He was the all-time leading scorer for the Sweden national team until 4 September 2014, when Zlatan Ibrahimović overtook him by scoring his 50th international goal. However, he holds the record of scoring nine hat-tricks for Sweden.

Rydell was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1931 after an impressive performance in an international game against Denmark in 1931.

Personal life Rydell's daughter Eva represented Sweden as a gymnast in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. Rydell died on 4 April 1975. He is buried at Östra kyrkogården in Gothenburg.

Career statistics +Appearances and goals by national team and year No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 20 June 1923 Strömvallen, Gävle, Sweden 1–0 5–4 Friendly 2 16 September 1923 Gressbanen, Oslo, Norway 3–2 3–2 Friendly 3 18 May 1924 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 1–0 5–1 Friendly 43–155–16 29 May 1924 Stade de Colombes, Paris, France 2–0 8–1 1924 Summer Olympics 76–088–19 1 June 1924 Stade Pershing, Paris, France 4–0 5–0 1924 Summer Olympics 10 9 June 1924 Stade de Colombes, Paris, France 1–0 3–1 1924 Summer Olympics 113–112 15 June 1924 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark 2–2 3–2 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 133–214 29 June 1924 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–0 5–0 Friendly 153–0164–0175–018 21 September 1924 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden 4–1 6–1 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 195–1206–121 5 July 1925 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 1–4 2–4 Friendly 22 12 July 1925 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–0 6–2 Friendly 235–224 23 August 1925 Gräsbanen, Oslo, Norway 1–1 7–3 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 253–2264–2275–228 9 June 1926 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–2 3–2 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 293–230 3 April 1927 Duden Park, Brussels, Belgium 1–1 1–2 Friendly 31 29 May 1927 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–0 12–0 Friendly 328–03312–034 26 June 1927 Gressbanen, Oslo, Norway 1–1 5–3 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 352–1364–137 6 November 1927 Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland 1–1 2–2 Friendly 38 7 October 1928 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark 1–3 1–3 1924–28 Nordic Football Championship 39 9 June 1929 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–0 6–2 Friendly 403–0415–142 28 July 1929 Malmö IP, Malmö, Sweden 2–0 10–0 Friendly 43 28 June 1931 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 2–1 3–1 1929–32 Nordic Football Championship 443–145 26 July 1931 Arosvallen, Västerås, Sweden 4–0 6–0 Friendly 46 8 November 1931 Üllöi utca, Budapest, Hungary 1–1 1–3 Friendly 47 16 May 1932 Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden 1–1 7–1 Friendly 482–1496–1

Honours Sweden

Summer Olympics bronze medal: 1924

Individual

Nordic Football Championship top scorer: 1924–1928 Swedish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2003 Records

Most hat-tricks for the Sweden national team: nine