Earlier than Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland arrived to tear up the Premier League, a bunch of different Nordic stars had already made their mark on the sport, in Britain or additional afield.
In no specific order, FourFourTwo highlights the 16 finest footballers in each the boys’s and ladies’s video games to have heralded from Norway, Sweden and Denmark – with out noticing the burdening impacts of Odegaard or Haaland fairly but.
From Champions League-winning goalscorers to influential figures of worldwide triumphs – and the whole lot in between – these gamers are iconic figures in Scandinavia.
There even contains a God – or a minimum of that is what a sure somebody would like to be generally known as. So, with out additional ado, listed here are the 16 finest footballers from the aforementioned three nations.
Michael and Brian Laudrup (Denmark)
With due respect to the De Boers, Hazards and, er, Nevilles, there has by no means been a extra proficient pair of footballing brethren than the Laudrups.
Michael is arguably the best Danish participant of all time. A limousine of an attacking midfielder, he picked up silverware at Ajax, Barcelona, Actual Madrid and Juventus. He was an integral cog in Johan Cruyff’s now-mythical Barcelona ‘Dream Staff’, pocketing 4 La Ligas on the bounce and the 1992 European Cup; he then crossed the vicious divide to the Bernabeu however in some way stays a legend at each golf equipment.
Better of all, he did it in type. It’s exhausting to recall a extra elegant playmaker: fiercely clever, stuffed with feints and blind passes, an help machine. Italian defender Roberto Galia famous: “I’ve performed towards Maradona, Platini and Baggio, however the participant I noticed do probably the most indescribable issues was Michael.”
All of which might be intimidating for a youthful brother underneath regular circumstances, however this was a household made from stern stuff. Brian, 4 years junior, coasted out of his sibling’s shadow – and Michael acknowledged on quite a few events that he believed Brian to be the higher participant. Whereas most pundits would nonetheless choose Mike first within the playground, it doesn’t actually matter: they had been each world class and worshipped. Brian had ample technical potential, intelligence, tempo, and an analogous insatiable urge for food for assists. He gained the Danish participant of the yr award 4 instances (greater than Michael), and starred at Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Rangers. Danish dynamite certainly.
The largest deal with was watching the pair, who by no means performed collectively at membership stage, be a part of forces for Denmark. Michael’s one profession mis-step was opting to go on vacation quite than attend Euro 1992 (he didn’t just like the supervisor, and needed to watch his child brother come residence with the silverware), however the duo did collaborate to win the 1995 Confederations Cup, turning on the type with Bri up entrance and Mike in midfield.
The weirdest second out of the pair got here in Michael’s rollercoaster stint as gaffer of Swansea Metropolis, who he led to the highest half of the Premier League and League Cup glory, earlier than being sacked for a supposedly “laissez faire” perspective to their subsequent poor run.
John Arne Riise (Norway)
The left-back gained a file 110 caps for Norway and have become a Liverpool hero throughout seven seasons at Anfield, after becoming a member of from Monaco in 2001. A part of the staff that pulled off the fabled Miracle of Istanbul towards Milan in 2005 (though he truly missed a penalty within the shoot-out), he was the king of the thunderbastard, famously beating Fabien Barthez with one hypersonic strike towards Manchester United. In one other recreation towards Liverpool’s rivals, his shot was so highly effective that it sadly dislocated Alan Smith’s ankle.
He additionally scored the quickest objective in League Cup last historical past, after 45 seconds towards Chelsea in Cardiff. Being on the receiving finish of a golf membership swung by Craig Bellamy, throughout a late-night incident within the Algarve, is actually an interesting story, too. Fore!
Hanna Ljungberg (Sweden)
Fast present of palms: who’s heard of the Swedish metropolis of Umea? When you’ve got, it’s in all probability due to Hanna Ljungberg, the speedy spearhead of Umea IK, a ladies’s soccer powerhouse within the 2000s: claiming extra cups than IKEA’s bewildering downstairs homeware bit.
No relation to Freddie, Ljungberg helped them turn out to be European champions twice – she virtually gained the 2003 World Cup too, racing by for the opener within the last, earlier than favourites Germany hit again. ‘Skam!’, as they are saying in Umea (which means ‘Disgrace’, we’re not accusing anybody of match-fixing, don’t sue us).
Unusually, Perugia tried to signal Ljungberg in 2003 – for his or her males’s staff. The Serie A upstarts actually thought exterior the field: in addition they signed Colonel Gaddafi’s son. Did their odd techniques work? Er, no, a deal for Ljungberg fell by, they received relegated, and haven’t been again within the high flight since.
Ada Hegerberg (Norway)
The 2020s have been frustratingly stop-start for the Norwegian super-striker, up to now. Simply again from a six-month damage after two years out with cruciate issues – plus a well-known five-year absence from the Norway nationwide staff – it’s virtually as if she’s actively making an attempt to let mere mortals catch up. Lyon’s taliswoman is like that too-good child who needs to be moved up an age group to maintain issues aggressive: it’s simply not truthful in any other case.
Truly, Hegerberg did precisely that as a youngster, besides she moved straight into first-team soccer. Already a fixture for first membership Kolbotn at 15, she scored her first hat-trick at 16 and completed that season high scorer. In 2012 she even scored 5 in a primary half, towards Fart. Blew them away.
The prodigious striker – and older sister Andrine, a midfielder – then moved to Germany’s terrifically-named Turbine Potsdam. However Ada actually took off in France, scoring 15 within the 2017-18 Champions League (nonetheless a file) throughout Lyon’s treble season, and successful the primary ever Girls’s Ballon d’Or. Though that handover was horrendously off-key – see beneath.
Hegerberg had already made a dramatic stand towards footballing inequality months earlier, refusing to play for Norway till the tradition modified; so she hasn’t all the time been universally beloved, again residence. That self-imposed exile ended final yr, with a hat-trick towards Kosovo.
Accidents are a priority however at 27, Hegerberg is already the Girls’s Champions League’s all-time high scorer, with 59 targets – and that’s regardless of hardly enjoying for 3 years. Is the hundred believable? No matter occurs subsequent, she’s received to be within the GOAT race.
How lengthy have you ever received for her profession highlights? A 16-minute hat-trick within the 2019 Girls’s Champions League Remaining takes some topping. Even perhaps sweeter although was her objective in final yr’s last, additionally towards Barcelona, after two years out. She’s a goalscoring machine who not often appears rusty.
The worst reserving of Hegerberg’s profession? Whoever employed DJ Martin Solveig to co-host the Ballon d’Or ceremony, in 2018. The Lyon phenom gained the inaugural ladies’s award, then Solveig requested if she twerks, which went down about in addition to a Europop banger at a funeral. Would he ask Luka Modric to pole dance? Most likely not.
Peter Schmeichel (Denmark)
Think about making an attempt to defend in entrance of Peter Schmeichel – regardless of how grand your profession, you’d nonetheless really feel like a type of shaky greasy-spoon cooks struggling to make an egg for Gordon Ramsay.
The robust love labored although: purple-faced Pete is certainly the highest Nordic primary and an honest shout for biggest keeper ever, given Denmark’s miraculous success at Euro 92, plus umpteen home honours and the 1999 Champions League. You simply don’t get that kind of simmering fury from trendy keepers. Jordan Pickford? Not fairly the identical, in some way.
The Nice Dane was such a dependable decision-maker, till he left Manchester United. For some, Schmeichel’s single season at Manchester Metropolis partly tarnished eight wonderful years at Outdated Trafford, however extra troubling was his promo work for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. Generally keepers simply shouldn’t enterprise out.
Tomas Brolin (Sweden)
If there was ever a gathering of supervisor and participant destined for doom, it was when maverick Swedish genius Brolin signed for no-nonsense Leeds taskmaster Howard Wilkinson. Brolin was a wildly proficient playmaker, fantastic at Parma in his early twenties, and sensational for his nation. However his transfer to Elland Highway derailed him. Sergeant Wilko thought he was lazy and performed him out of place: the grumpy Swede determined to self-sabotage. “Run up and down like an fool? That wasn’t me. So I made a decision I used to be going to be piss-poor.” He ended up battling weight points and retiring at 29.
Brolin gained 47 Sweden caps, scoring 26 targets, and his shows at Euro 92 in his homeland had been mesmeric. He smashed a top-corner cracker previous Chris Woods to get rid of England and immediate the Graham Taylor-baiting headline “Swedes 2, Turnips 1”, as his facet pillaged into the ultimate 4.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
The place to begin with a person who’s already a legend, who like Elvis or Kanye is known sufficient to solely want one title (trademarked, different Zlatans!), who has statues erected earlier than he’s even retired, who is aware of 5 languages and black-belt taekwondo, who has his personal vary of laptop video games and cosmetics, and who is definitely the best Swede of all time? Again in your field, Bjorn Borg botherers.
With the soccer, we guess: Zlatan’s manufacturing since his debut for Malmo in 1999 has been relentless. He’s performed greater than 850 video games, scored greater than 500 targets for Ajax, Juve, Inter, Barca, Milan, United, PSG and LA Galaxy, and turn out to be his nation’s all-time high hitman. Furiously pushed (“I have to be offended to play effectively”), his bodily belongings are overt – 6ft 5in tall, fast, agile, a fighter’s physique – however have been twinned with a chic tactical mind, technical excellence, versatility, an urge for food for exhausting work and road crafty to provide a near-perfect footballer.
Equally as essential to his iconic standing, although, have been the appears to be like, swagger and wit. Not since Eric Cantona has there been an enigmatic glare to match Zlatan’s, nor such a fierce insouciance in the direction of reputations (to Pep Guardiola: “you haven’t received any balls”). There’s even a likeability about his third person-referencing (telling Arsene Wenger “Zlatan doesn’t do auditions”; signing off at Galaxy with “you needed Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan… now return to watching baseball”).
Maybe being humorous saves him from the form of opprobrium that fellow self-worshipping powerhouse CR7 receives. Saying issues like “I can’t assist however giggle at how good I’m” is Muhammad Ali territory – however Zlatan is without doubt one of the few who can match such speak with the stroll, too.
With regards to profession highlights, take your choose. That objective towards England? Changing into Sweden’s high scorer? Everybody could have their very own peak Zlatan second – however his 2014-15 season for PSG, 50 targets in 51 video games, even taking into consideration the standard of among the opposition, is frankly insane.
Nonetheless, the launch of his aftershave, Zlatan Pour Homme, which accommodates “notes of electrical pepper and driftwood”, and has his tattoo on the bottle, was actually unusual. It was dismissed as “very Nineties, like watermelon, disappointing, a sheep in wolf’s clothes,” by FourFourTwo’s fragrance reviewer in 2015.
Pernille Tougher (Denmark)
The costliest participant in ladies’s soccer, earlier than Keira Walsh’s transfer to Barcelona in September. Chelsea signed the Dane from Wolfsburg for £250,000 three years in the past – Tougher has since gained the WSL twice, plus FFT’s world ballot to find out who would have claimed the 2020 Girls’s Ballon d’Or, had it not been cancelled due to COVID.
With 70 worldwide targets to her title, the 30-year-old attacking midfielder is Denmark’s all-time main scorer, and has YouTube to thank for inspiration when she was youthful. “It was troublesome to seek out any ladies’s soccer on TV, so I watched clips of Marta,” she revealed. Solely Alexia Putellas can match her two UEFA Participant of the Yr awards.
She additionally captained Denmark to qualification for the 2023 World Cup – their first journey to the event since 2007.
Thorbjorn Svenssen (Norway)
In 1961, the central defender grew to become simply the second participant in historical past to achieve 100 worldwide caps, after England’s Billy Wright, who’d achieved the feat two years earlier. Nicknamed ‘Klippen’ (The Rock), Svenssen spent his complete profession at Sandefjord, between 1945 and 1964, and was vastly admired. “Within the Fifties, he was seen as one in every of Europe’s finest centre-halves,” stated Per Ravn Omdal, former president of the Norwegian FA.
Having additionally represented Norway on the 1952 Olympics, he completed with 104 caps, one in need of Wright, enjoying his final recreation aged 38. Solely three gamers, Ronny Johnsen amongst them, have appeared for Norway at a extra superior age.
After first captaining Norway aged 24, Svenssen ended up skippering his nation an unimaginable 93 instances.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Norway)
“SOLSKJAER!” It’s a type of surnames you’ll be able to solely ever hear in a single specific accent – that of climaxing Clive Tyldesley – even after a 17-year enjoying profession, then one other decade in administration. That’s the factor about injury-time winners in Champions League finals: individuals are likely to overlook about the whole lot else. Good drawback to have, although.
The elfin Norwegian did some good things again residence first – serving to Clausenengen and Molde to new heights – then received 126 targets for Manchester United, top-scoring with 18 in his first season. Different highlights: essential strikes towards Liverpool, Villa and Leeds, 4 versus Forest and Everton, and a fantastically cynical match-saving skilled foul to thwart Newcastle, taking a pink card for the staff. The infant-faced murderer didn’t simply rating targets.
Nonetheless, he normally performed second fiddle to the first-choicers – Eric Cantona, Dwight Yorke, Andy/Andrew Cole, Ruud van Nistelrooy – and appeared perennially set for strikes to, say, Spurs. United accepted gives, he selected to remain. Which is sensible: simply depend the medals. He was key for Norway although, forming a traditional little-and-large double act with Tore Andre Flo; a kind of Stan and Ole.
Solskjaer was a Premier League pioneer, in a means. At Manchester United, he kicked off like your traditional start-hungry supersub, however settled into life main the brand new breed of rotation-happy squad our bodies; an authentic Origi, or proto-Chicharito. Trendy groups could acquire gamers like Panini stickers however they actually need feelgood professionals like him, warming the bench emotionally too.
He has a plethora of profession highlights, too – successful that large last is certainly up there, however for sheer Solskjaerian magic, it’s Nottingham Forest’s Metropolis Floor, earlier in 1999. United had been already 4-1 up when Ole entered, stage left. “Simply preserve the ball,” stated coach Jim Ryan; he scored 4 in 14 minutes. That new Norwegian sensation might need tapped in 5 towards RB Leipzig not too long ago, however he had an entire hour, absolutely the light-weight.
Issues solely actually went awry when Ole grew to become supervisor. It began awkwardly – caught in a resort as a result of he’d rented his Cheshire home to, er, Virgil van Dijk, and the pressure finally advised. Throughout one poor run in 2021, he reckoned the gamers had been confused by the pink banners round Outdated Trafford. Again to Clive: “And Solskjaer has misplaced it…”
Pia Sundhage (Sweden)
The Swede is a Yoda-like determine in ladies’s soccer, after amassing a then-record 146 caps for her nation between 1975 and 1996. Sundhage made her nationwide staff debut as a 15-year-old prodigy again in 1975, occurring to internet a joint-record 71 targets, and even appeared on a Swedish postage stamp, such was her fame.
The previous ahead has since had success as a supervisor – guiding the USA to Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, delivering silver for Sweden in 2016, then successful the Copa America Femenina with Brazil final summer time.
Sundhage was each finest participant and main scorer at Euro 84, netting in each legs of the semi last towards Italy. After scoring as soon as extra towards England in Gothenburg, she bagged the successful spot kick within the second leg, in a penalty shootout at Kenilworth Highway.
Allan Simonsen (Denmark)
Do you know that Maradona prompted Charlton Athletic’s 80s downfall? Sort of. When Diego joined Barcelona in 1982, it squeezed out Allan Simonsen, who – hankering for smaller environment – went to Charlton. One drawback: the Addicks shelled out £300,000, however had been within the second tier and couldn’t actually afford him. Cue years of monetary strife, and a transfer away from The Valley.
What a signing, although. The prolific Dane had thrust Borussia Moenchengladbach to 3 league titles, two UEFA Cups and the 1977 European Cup Remaining: Liverpool gained however Simonsen scored a corker and beat Kevin Keegan to the Ballon d’Or.
Trailing to Terry McDermott’s opener, Simonsen seized on a free go, reached the nook of Liverpool’s space, thought-about his choices and determined to simply smash it previous Ray Clemence. Would possibly as effectively.
For Celtic followers, Larsson continues to be the ‘king of kings’. For opposition defenders, he was a ghost. “Larsson would disappear,” recalled bewildered Motherwell stopper Stephen Craigan of making an attempt to deal with him. “You’d swear generally that he’d vanished into skinny air. He was invisible.”
The Swede was an entire ahead: quick, robust, with nice contact, good within the air, explosive, and a deadly finisher. However most of all, he was evasive, with an uncoachable intuition for locating area and slipping his man.
Some would possibly argue seven seasons in Scottish home soccer, bamboozling the backs of Motherwell and past, was too lengthy for a participant of his worldwide pedigree. However the Hoops had been flying in Europe, and Larsson beloved Glasgow. His household had been settled and “we had one thing good occurring with Martin O’Neill. I used to be actually joyful at Celtic, I knew I used to be essential there. There was no motive to go.”
Half of Glasgow beloved him again. Larsson helped foil Rangers’ bid for the evasive 10 in a row, and the targets by no means stopped: he would find yourself with 242 targets in 313 video games. He received his shot on the large time after an amicable separation from Celtic, with two seasons at Barcelona. The primary was curtailed by an ACL damage, however the second was magical – particularly within the Champions League last towards Arsenal, the place he broke North London hearts by aiding each targets. A spell with Manchester United, some superb play internationally and a middling administration profession adopted – however nothing would really high his time in Scotland.
Within the 2006 Champions League last, Larsson was the influence sub to finish all influence subs. “Folks all the time speak about Ronaldinho, Eto’o and the whole lot, however I didn’t see them right this moment, I noticed Henrik Larsson,” stated Thierry Henry afterwards. “He got here on, he modified the sport. That’s what killed the sport.”
His weirdest second? It’s in all probability not bizarre to floorball followers (is there a floorball journal referred to as FloorFloorTwo?), however Larsson was extremely aggressive within the hockey-style recreation as a child, and after retiring from soccer, took up the game once more at a superb stage for his hometown membership, Helsingborg.
Hege Riise (Norway)
Norway’s present ladies’s coach is an iconic determine in her homeland – and one of many biggest feminine footballers in historical past. Riise gained the Euros in 1993, the World Cup in 1995 after which Olympic gold in 2000 – a hat-trick of titles achieved by simply two different ladies.
A set-piece queen, Riise was invited by Even Pellerud, her 1995 World Cup successful coach, to coach with Norwegian high flight membership Lillestrom when he moved again into males’s soccer. “It was to point out the gamers learn how to take good free kicks,” Per-Mathias Hogmo not too long ago defined.
After a spell as USA assistant coach, Riise grew to become England’s interim boss when Phil Neville departed in 2021, taking cost for the Olympics in Tokyo.
On the 1995 World Cup, Riise scored 5 targets to win the Golden Ball because the event’s finest participant.
Thomas Gravesen (Denmark)
He’s primarily remembered as a demented Danish wrecking ball – the midfield “Mad Canine” who as soon as knocked out Brazilian Ronaldo’s tooth, though they had been on the identical staff – however Gravesen may additionally play a bit. He earned a transfer to Actual Madrid (Fabio Capello stated “he’s only a bit peculiar… I don’t mess with him”), and bagged 66 worldwide caps. On these shores, although, he’ll all the time be a Goodison Park ledge, the place because the alpha pup for David Moyes’ ‘Canines of Battle’, the Toffees grew to become notoriously sturdy opponents.
Gravesen was as soon as caught on digicam inexplicably dangling his genitals over the top of Claus Jensen at Denmark coaching, or almost hitting Everton’s physio with a firework he let off throughout his days on Merseyside. He advised FFT he wasn’t truly aiming on the physio, however nonetheless…
