Born: Hudiksvall, Sweden, 29 November, 1969
Considering the only man to receive more votes in the 2008 poll of worst
footballers than Tomas Brolin was not, in fact, a real footballer — top
spot went to Ali Dia, a conman who talked his way into turning out for
Graeme Souness at Southampton, it could be argued Brolin has a legitimate
claim to top spot.
But before he was signed by Leeds in 1995, the Swede enjoyed a glittering
career.
It is the evening of 14 June 1992 at the Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm.
England are playing their final Group A game of Euro 92 against the host
nation Sweden, needing a win to ensure progression to the semi-finals.
After drawing with both Denmark and France, England manager Graham Taylor
is troubled and under intense media pressure from the tabloids and the
pundits in the television studios.
Before the tournament, he had famously told England supporters on the
Wogan show to relax and let him do the worrying, and these brash, confident
words are now hanging over him like the sword of Damocles. With only two
points awarded for a win, Sweden know that a draw will ensure qualification.
Sweden had beaten their Scandinavian rivals Denmark in their last game,
but the host nation were underdogs going into this match, especially after
their calamitous performance at the 1990 World Cup where they lost all
three games to finish bottom of their group. Swedish manager Tommy Svensson
made a tactical change for the Denmark match, pushing 22-year-old winger
Tomas Brolin further forward. It worked; he scored the winning goal in
a crucial victory.
England led 1-0 at half-time and appeared to be in control as Taylor
looked like he was going to achieve the result he needed. Sweden had to
respond so, once again, Svenson made some tactical changes to provide
more support for his strikers in the second half. It produced results
as, just six minutes after the restart, Swedish defender Jan Eriksson
equalised from a corner.
The game was drifting inexorably away from England and a desperate Taylor
gambled by replacing Gary Lineker, their most prolific marksman, with
Alan Smith. It had no effect. Eight minutes before the end, Brolin was
fouled in midfield. He received the ball on the left flank from the resulting
free-kick and cut inside, dribbling past the hapless David Batty and Neil
Webb. He played a one-two with Ingesson and then another with Dahlin,
never breaking stride as he accelerated through the middle of the England
defence, before producing a spectacular finish from the edge of the penalty
area that gave Chris Woods in goal no chance.
Brolin milked the acclaim of the home crowd with his trademark pirouette
celebration, jumping up and twisting around with his hand raised aloft.
Commentator Martin Tyler described the goal as 'Glorious, absolutely glorious'.
It was arguably the best of the tournament. Brolin had started the move
and never stopped running until he placed the ball in the net.
When the final whistle went, Brolin was mobbed by his teammates and coaches.
He had single-handedly ensured that Sweden made it to the semi-finals,
and his two goals in two matches had proved decisive. The young Swede
had proved himself to be a potent striker on Europe's biggest stage. On
the sidelines, a weary 31-year-old Lineker could only watch and reflect
that as his England career wound down.
In the semis, Sweden came up against a formidable German side, whose
greater skill enabled them to prevail 3-2. Ironically, if the Swedes had
finished second in the group they would have earned an arguably more winnable
tie against the Dutch. More frustrating was the fact that Denmark, who
they had defeated in the group stage, were the eventual winners.
Brolin scored from the spot in the semi, which brought his tally to three
goals for the tournament, making him the joint top scorer. The Swedish
press summed up the thoughts of a nation the next morning with their headline:
'Thanks, Heroes'. In reality, there had been one outstanding hero, the
man who had scored three of their six goals, Tomas Brolin.
Despite being the third youngest member of the team, Brolin had already
established himself as a prolific striker for his country. In 1990, as
a 20-year-old, he made his debut against Wales and scored twice past Neville
Southall. In his next game, against Finland, he repeated the feat. His
goal-scoring impact just six weeks before Italia 90 led to a public clamour
for him to be included in the squad.
Although the 1990 World Cup had been a catastrophe for Sweden, Brolin
scored their first goal against Brazil and generally gave their defenders
a torrid time with his movement and trickery. In the final match against
Costa Rica, they still had an outside chance of qualification but when
the striker went off injured after 34 minutes, with Sweden leading 1-0.,
they fell away, losing 2-1.
Nevertheless, representatives of some of Europe's biggest clubs made
a note of his performances. Playing well and scoring against Brazil in
a World Cup was always going to attract admirers.
Back in Sweden, Brolin was the new poster boy for the Blagults. He had
started playing in the fourth tier in 1987 at the age of 15 with Sandvikens
before moving to Sundsvall, who had just been promoted to the top flight.
Despite his goals, the team struggled in the top flight of Swedish football,
the Allsvenskan, and were relegated after two seasons.
Several top sides came in for him, duly ending up at Norrköping. He came
on at half time for his debut and he scored a hat-trick as his team destroyed
giants Gothenborg 6-0 in the first game of the campaign. The media had
been impressed with his impact, and with his success at both national
and international level, he was the obvious candidate to be honoured with
the Guldbollen, the Swedish Footballer of the Year award. In the press
release that accompanied his award, it was implied that the choice had
been easy for the panel.
Born Per Tomas Brolin in November 1969, he had become the living embodiment
of a Swedish fairy tale, a footballer who had literally come out of nowhere.
Brolin was raised not in a major conurbation such as Stockholm or Gothenburg,
but instead in the isolated rural backwater of Finflo, a place so small
most in Sweden had never heard of it.
Despite that, from a young age, he developed as a talented forward at
a prodigious rate, going from making his debut in the fourth division
in 1987 to playing for his country in a World Cup against Brazil within
three years. Brolin was the living embodiment of the Swedish dream; he
delivered the message to aspiring Swedish footballers in rural backwaters
that anything was possible if you had the talent.
At the start of the 1990s, there was only one arena to showcase your
talent if you considered yourself to be a leading player - Serie A. Although
several leading calcio teams had monitored his progress, it was the newly
promoted Parma, a team that had never played in Serie A before, who identified
Brolin as the man to establish their position in the top tier.
The club was in a healthy financial situation, bankrolled by the multinational
food and dairy chain Parmalat. Although a number of suitors on the continent
were intent on procuring the services of Brolin, Parma were successful
in signing the player for a fee in the region of £1.2m, a hefty price
for someone as yet unproven outside of his homeland.
Nevio Scala was the coach who had led Parma to promotion, and he was
about to guide them to the most successful period in their footballing
history. The coach decided to start the 1990/91 campaign with Brolin operating
as a deep-lying centre-forward, with Alessandro Melli playing as the more
advanced striker.
The duo proved to be an extremely effective partnership, with Melli scoring
13 goals and Brolin another seven. Between them they provided almost half
of Parma's goals in that campaign. In a competitive league, Parma finished
in sixth place, well exceeding the predictions of most journalists. More
importantly for the club, it meant that they had qualified for a European
club competition for the first time in their history. In his first Serie
A campaign, the boy from Finflo had justified his fee.
The following season saw Parma confirm their status as a major player.
They achieved a seventh-placed finish in Serie A but more importantly
won their first ever trophy as they claimed the Coppa Italia. Brolin had
played a decisive part by scoring the winning goal against Sampdoria in
the semis and was also an ever-present figure in the league campaign,
scoring four goals.
Brolin returned from Euro 92 on a high but suddenly found himself struggling
for a regular place in the Parma starting line-up due to the three foreigners
rule in Calcio. Unfortunately for the Swede, in the close season the club
had signed Faustino Asprilla for a record fee, virtually guaranteeing
him a place in the side.
Brolin appeared to accept the situation stoically and didn't demand a
transfer, although a number of clubs apparently inquired. The team made
it all the way to the final of the Cup Winners' Cup, but Asprilla had
sustained an injury and was unable to play. Brolin was handed his place
back in the side and grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he played
his part to help the Italians beat Royal Antwerp 3-1 in front of a surprisingly
sparse crowd of 37,000 at Wembley.
With a proven record of success on the pitch, Parma were now able to
attract the best talent at home and abroad. Italy internationals Gianfranco
Zola and Massimo Crippa arrived that summer, putting yet more pressure
on Brolin's place. Scala, though, had other ideas and, having seen the
benefits of playing Brolin in midfield during the previous campaign, decided
to withdraw him into a deeper role alongside Crippa and Gabriele Pin,
leaving Aspirilla and Zola as the attacking outlets. The move worked and
Brolin thrived, reinventing himself as a playmaker. His passing, vision
and exceptional technique made him a natural for the role.
It was another season of progress for Parma. They finished in fifth in
the league, nine points behind the eventual champions AC Milan. In the
European Super Cup, they demonstrated their potential by securing a victory
over Milan that would see them start the new season amongst the favourite
for the title. This was their second European success in less than a year.
They were also doing an excellent job of defending their Cup Winners'
Cup, progressing to the final for the second time with Brolin contributing
an impressive tally of five goals en route.
Parma faced Arsenal in the final in Copenhagen. The Gunners were managed
by George Graham, who would later cross swords with Brolin at Leeds. Despite
Parma playing the better football and Brolin hitting the post, Arsenal
took the lead through Alan Smith, and a dour defensive masterclass allowed
the Gunners to grind out a less-than-deserved win.
Brolin's time at Parma, where he'd become a firm fans' favourite, had
coincided with a golden age in their 81-year history. It all meant that
he entered USA 94 in prime form. A nation expected.
Sweden had been placed in a tough qualifying group for the 1994 World
Cup, finishing top ahead of Bulgaria and France, who failed to qualify.
Brolin, apparently worn out by media obligations and the intensity of
Serie A, asked for a break from playing for his country but returned with
a bang, registering a hat-trick against Israel.
Given their performances at Euro 92, the fans and players were cautiously
optimistic until they were placed in a tricky group alongside Brazil,
Russia and Cameroon. Nevertheless, under Svensson, Sweden were organised
and played with grinta throughout the finals. They came close to losing
their opening fixture against Cameroon but managed to salvage a 2-2 draw
thanks to a Martin Dahlin equaliser. The next game against Russia was
crucial, with Brolin scoring from the spot as Sweden triumphed 3-1. The
final match against Brazil ended in a credible draw, which ensured Sweden's
passage to the next stage as runners-up.
In the round of 16, they were paired with Saudi Arabia, who had finished
level on points with the Netherlands in their group. The Swedes' superior
fitness in the heat and technique proved too much for the opposition as
they cantered to a 3-1 win. Against all expectations, they had made it
to the quarter-finals, where they faced a Romania side boasting arguably
the player of the tournament so far in Gheorghe Hagi.
In a tense game, the Swedes took the lead with one of the goals of the
tournament - a wonderfully engineered move from a free kick. Stefan Schwarz
shaped to shoot but instead jumped over the ball, leaving Håkan Mild to
flick it into the path of Brolin's astute run, which had left him unmarked
as he peeled away from the Romania wall. The forward then spun and thrashed
the ball into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles. Romania,
though, equalised two minutes from time to take the game into extra-time
Sweden fell behind to a goal from Florin Raducioiu before Schwarz was
sent off with 20 minutes remaining. Outnumbered and playing in a blistering
heat, the 10 men hung on and manufactured an unlikely equaliser through
Kennet Andersson to take the game to a penalty shoot-out. After the great
Miodrag Belodedici missed his effort, Sweden were through to a World Cup
semi-final for the first time in 36 years.
The semi proved to be one game too far for an exhausted Swedish side,
who lost 1-0 to the eventual winners, Brazil. However, in the playoff
for third place, they demolished Bulgaria 4-0, Brolin starting the scoring
with a header after eight minutes. It was his third goal of the tournament,
cementing his place alongside Andersson as one of Sweden's stars in the
US. It all resulted in his selection to the FIFA All-Star XI at the conclusion
of the finals.
It came as no surprise, then, when he received the Guldbullen in 1994
for the second time in his career. With the world at his feet, Spanish
newspapers linked Brolin with Barcelona, suggesting he was the natural
replacement for Hristo Stoichkov. Despite the Catalans' interest, Brolin
opted to stick with Parma, believing a Scudetto was now firmly within
their grasp.
Brolin appeared to have made the right decision. After nine games, Parma
led the table and Brolin, once again playing in midfield, was a key contributor.
At the start of November 1994, he joined up with the national side as
they started their qualification campaign for Euro 96.
Sweden played Hungary at the Rasunda with Brolin was at his imperious
best. He scored the first goal and then brilliantly sent up Dahlin for
the second. While the team celebrated, though, Brolin had collapsed in
agony and was lying on the floor screaming for attention. In supplying
the pass, he appeared to have twisted his left foot as it caught with
the turf when he turned.
Scans revealed that he'd broken his foot. It was a massive blow to Sweden's
hopes of qualification, and though nobody predicted at the time, it would
also put an end to the Brolin the world of football had become so enamoured
with.
It was a long road to recovery. Brolin was out of the game for over six
months, and it would require a determined effort on his part to get back
into shape physically and mentally. Parma's Serie A challenge faltered
under his absence, while Sweden failed to win their next two games in
qualification. The goals and assists were proving difficult to replace.
He made his comeback for Parma in May 1995 but struggled for form and
fitness, failing to complete 90 minutes once. To compound his misery,
Brolin was sent-off against Napoli on the last day of the season as Juventus
captured the Scudetto.
It was going to be a make or break summer for the Swede, which was not
made easier by Parma signing Stoichkov to lead the line. Brolin faced
a tough summer of intensive training in an effort to get his body back
into shape. He appeared in two of Parma' s pre-season games but he was
clearly not the same player, obviously overweight and missing the spark
that so often saw him create space to showcase his skill.
He was duly dropped for Massimo Bambrilla and never reclaimed his place.
Struggling for form, fitness and confidence, Brolin had fallen out of
the loop at Parma. It was time to move on.
Despite failing to regain his place at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, Brolin's
reputation still had enough currency to attract offers from other leading
European clubs. He turned down offers from three Serie A clubs, which
in retrospect was a disastrous decision. Leeds eventually parted with
£4.5m to sign him in November 1995, a record fee for the club at the time.
Manager Howard Wilkinson had sold the club to Brolin by insisting that
he was to play behind Tony Yeboah in a withdrawn striking role. Given
the success that he'd enjoyed playing in this position for both Parma
and Sweden, and that English football was always a popular destination
amongst Scandinavian players, it was easy to see why Brolin chose Elland
Road.
Wilkinson appeared confident that he'd deliver and decided to recoup
some of the fee by selling fan favourite Noel Whelan to Coventry. Given
his previous performances, the Gelderd Enders were confident that Brolin
could have them challenging for honours again.
The striker made his debut away at Newcastle, coming off the bench after
82 minutes to replace Mark Ford. He started in a League Cup game against
Blackburn the following week and scored his first goal away in a 6-2 defeat
at Sheffield Wednesday in mid-December. He followed this with an impressive
performance in his home debut as Leeds defeated Manchester United 3-1.
The club embarked on a run of four wins in six games without defeat,
in which Brolin scored another three goals, including a brace in a masterclass
performance that led to a 2-0 win at West Ham. With four goals in eight
games, the Leeds fans sang his name long into the night.
A crushing 5-0 defeat at Liverpool marked the turning point in the striker's
fortunes in Yorkshire. He was asked to play on the right-hand side of
midfield, a role he loathed due to the defensive running involved. Brolin
was adamant that this was not a role best suited to his skills and, in
a catastrophic error of judgement, decided he would not even try during
the game to prove his point.
Wilkinson was incandescent with rage after the match, branding his signing
as 'lazy'. Brolin countered that he had signed as a striker and not as
a winger. As other players like Eric Cantona had previously established,
Sergeant Wilko didn't tolerate those who spoke their mind. Brolin struggled
to make the starting line-up under Wilkinson again, although he did appear
as a 65th-minute substitute in the League Cup final defeat to Aston Villa,
with desperate fans chanting his name.
Despite his poor form in the Premier League, even a near-fit Brolin was
an automatic choice for the national side, and on 6 June he scored from
the spot to earn Sweden a 1-1 draw with Iceland and scored again in a
friendly match against the USA.
At the start of the 1995/96 season, the headlines reported that Brolin
had been fined by Wilkinson for missing a part of pre-season. The reality
was that a disillusioned manager had given him three days leave to find
another club. The striker had sought assurances that he would play in
his preferred role, but Wilkinson's silence on the issue was deafening.
As Brolin himself succinctly stated a few years later, 'The man would
not bloody listen!'
As a result, Brolin failed to return to Leeds, incurring a fine of a
week's wages. With no future at Elland Road, Brolin went to FC Zürich
on loan, taking a substantial wage cut in the process. A poor run of form
led to Wilkinson's sacking in September 1996, but if the Swede thought
matters would improve with the departure of his nemesis, he was mistaken.
New manager George Graham immediately demanded that Brolin return to
Leeds, threatening legal action if he didn't comply. Injuries continued
to plague the Swede as a metal staple inserted into his ankle during a
scar tissue-removal operation earlier in 1996 scuppered a move to Sampdoria
in November.
Oblivious to the staple's existence, Leeds called Brolin back to Yorkshire
to have the injury properly examined amid fears that his playing career
might have reached a premature end. Brolin never played for Leeds again,
and eventually he took the step of self-funding a loan move back to Parma
in December, paying £500,000 of his own money to facilitate the deal.
At Parma, he struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular and
it soon became clear that the club had no intention of keeping him permanently.
In reality, Parma had only agreed to the loan as a favour for his loyal
and fruitful service in the early 1990s, and his period there was a mixture
of brief cameos and substitute appearances. Prior to his move back to
Italy, he played his last game for the national team in a draw against
Turkey.
He was due to return to Leeds for pre-season training but an incident
involving a bird smashing into the windscreen of his car - which was falsely
reported as Brolin running over an elk in the British tabloids - resulted
in a delay. Graham was furious, and when Brolin appeared at Elland Road,
the manager, never averse to the draconian castigation of a player, confiscated
his passport and locked it away.
Brolin, remarkably, still managed to leave the country to go to Sweden
for the weekend. The result? He wasn't included in the team photo, didn't
get any training gear, and was no longer allowed in for free at Elland
Road to watch Leeds play - despite still being a Leeds player. When interviewed
for the Swedish magazine Offside, Brolin was contemptuous in his
judgement on Graham: 'He was an even bigger idiot than Wilkinson.'
Both parties now decided that it was in their mutual interest for a parting
of the ways. Brolin, increasingly incensed by his treatment, had threatened
legal action by taking the club to a Premier League Tribunal. and also
to go to the BBC for a warts and all documentary on his treatment by Graham.
The board at Leeds agreed to release him from his contract and also to
rescind any previous fines they had imposed. His sojourn at Leeds was
over. It had been a costly experience for both sides.
Steve Coppell, the Crystal Palace manager, offered Brolin a two-week
trial that began in January 1998. He made his debut against Everton, looking
visibly overweight in a tight- fitting shirt which was anything but flattering
to his physique. However, he was out of form and out of condition and
failed to score the six months he spent at Selhurst Park. He had become
a pale imitation of the player who had shined at the European Championship
and at two World Cups. Although he was still only 28, his career was over.
Brolin consistently appears in the lists of worst Premier League players,
not least at Leeds and Crystal Palace. But are these judgements fair?
Does a portly George Best playing out his career at the likes of Dunstable
and Stockport negate the thrill his talent brought to the table when he
was at his prime? Surely not - and the same is true for Brolin.
Back in Sweden, Brolin was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in
2010. His record of 27 goals in 47 appearances marks him out as the seventh
highest goalscorer in the country's history. So proud is he of his record
for his country that he successfully lobbied for a goal that Roland Nilsson
had been awarded in a 1991 match against Norway to be awarded to him.
At Parma, they still regard him as one of the pivotal cogs in their greatest
era. His photograph can still be seen in many of the cafes near the Stadio
Ennio Tardini, where he's cherished as one of their finest imports.
Sadly, he never fully recovered from his broken foot, but a return of
four goals in his first eight appearances for Leeds begs the question:
would a more sympathetic manager have coaxed better performances from
Brolin if he had played him in his preferred position?
At his peak, Brolin was one of the most thrilling players to watch on
the world stage. He shone as a midfielder in Serie A, the most competitive
league in the world at that time, and registered a brilliant seven goals
in 12 appearances at the World Cup and European Championship. Aside from
Gunnar Gren in 1958, he is the only Swede to have been selected for a
World Cup All-Star side.
Despite the unfair regard with which he's held in England, Tomas Brolin
will always be the Swedish superstar from Finflo whose golden years in
the limelight convinced you that he was one of the world's very best players.