Malmö FF, 1949-50

Malmö FF's soccer team won their first Swedish title in 1944. Five years later, they had built such a strong team that they won three titles in a row, and were undefeated for 49 league-matches. The 1949-50 season was their best, winning no less than 20 of their 22 games.

Olympics and World Cup

Life in Sweden just after the Second World War was way better than in most parts of Europe. Sweden stayed neutral, and the country didn’t suffer that much. The league wasn’t postponed and could maintain a higher level than most countries could. Maybe that’s why Swedish soccer had a very successful spell at the world stage, in the years immediately after the war. First they managed to win the Olympic title in London, in 1948. Two years later at the 1950 World Cup, Sweden did lose against host Brazil 7-1, but still claimed the bronze medal at the end.

League title in 1949

Malmö FF, 1948-49

The first great Swedish team from 1945 onwards was Gunnar Nordahl's IFK Norrköping, winning the league four times (1945 until 1948). Then, in the 1948-49 season, Norrköping got off to a bad start and never recovered. Also, star striker Nordahl left for Italy (AC Milan) halfway through the season. This meant Helsingborgs IF and Malmö FF got into a game of musical chairs for the championship. Finally, Malmö FF ended the season with five victories to clinch the title: 2-1, 6-0, 12-0 (three goals by Borje Tapper, Stellan Nilsson and Carl-Erik Palmer, two by Kjell Rosén and one by Egon Jönsson), 5-1 and 4-0.

The 1949-50 season

Topscorer Ingvar Rydell on his way to another goal

At the start of the 1949-50 season, the Swedish Allsvenskan league again lost a few of their best players to Italian clubs. Gunnar Gren (IFK Göteborg) left for AC Milan, and so did Nils Liedholm (IFK Norrköping). Elfsborgs Ake Hjalmarsson went playing for AC Torino. Champion Malmö FF wasn’t affected by this at all, and started the season where they left off a few months earlier: by winning all their matches. On September 11 for example, they crushed IFK Göteborg by 9-2. Only Jönköping Sodra could keep up with Malmö FF. After nine matches, Jönköping Sodra were just four points behind. Then the two teams met on October 9, 1949, at the Malmö-stadium. With a 4-2 win Malmö FF buried all hopes for Jönköping.

Back-to-back victories

Kjell Rosén takes a shot

After that, Malmö FF kept on winning, sometimes by a big margin (5-0 or 5-1), but mostly comfortable with a two or three goals difference. This way the team won seventeen matches in a row. Which gave them a ten point lead over second placed Jonköping Sodra after those seventeen matches. With five matches left, on May 7, 1950 all Malmö FF needed was a draw against Kalmar FF. Of course they won (5-1), and was crowned champion. That victory was number 23 (and number last) in a row. During the rest of the season, Malmö allowed both AIK Solna (3-3) and Helsingborgs (2-2) to take one point away from them. Still, with twenty wins and two draws, Malmö FF was the first team ever to clinch the title without losing a game in the Swedish Allsvenskan (since in 1924). As a matter of fact, until this day no other Swedish team has been able to equal this amazing record. The final standings really show how dominant Malmö was that season:

Malmö FF	22	20	2	0	40 : 4	82 : 21
Jönköping Sodra	22	12	3	7	27 : 17	50 - 37
Helsingborgs IF	22	10	6	6	26 : 18	45 - 38
AIK Solna	22	10	6	6	26 : 18	34 - 31
GAIS	22	7	7	8	21 : 23	34 - 42
IFK Norrköping	22	9	2	11	20 : 24	36 - 45
Elfsborg	22	6	7	9	19 : 25	34 - 45
Djurgårdens IF	22	8	2	12	18 : 26	34 - 39
Kalmar FF	22	5	8	9	18 : 26	25 - 33
Degerfors	22	6	6	10	18 : 26	26 - 35
IFK Göteborg	22	5	5	12	15 : 29	33 - 49
Halmia	22	6	2	14	14 : 30	28 - 46

Erik Nilsson

When looking at Malmö FF’s team roster, it’s remarkable to see that no less than six players were born in 1922, and four in 1921. They were all in the best years of their career, both in experience and in strength. Only goalkeeper Helge Bengtsson and Erik Nilsson (both 33 years at the start of the season) were older, while promising youngster Carl-Erik Palmer (20 years) was the rookie  of the team. Erik Nilsson was voted Swedish player of the year in 1950, Ingvar Rydell was the top goalscorer with 21 goals (number two, Hans Jeppsson (Djurgårdens IF) scored 18 and number three, Karl Simonsson (Jonköping Sodra) managed 16).

Malmö FF’s team roster:

Player	Born	Matches	Goals
Sven Hjertsson	07-03-1924	22
Helge Bengtsson (GK)	19-12-1916	22
Egon Jönsson	08-10-1921	22	15
Karl-Erik ‘Calle’ Palmer	17-04-1929	22	7
Ingvar Gård	06-10-1921	21	1
Arne Månsson	11-11-1925	21
Stellan Nilsson	28-05-1922	19	15
Ingvar Rydell	07-05-1922	19	21
Börje Tapper	20-03-1922	16	11
Kjell Hjertsson	01-08-1922	13	2
Hans Malmström	09-06-1921	13
Kjell Rosén	24-04-1921	10	1
Erik Nilsson	06-08-1916	8
Walfrid Ek	11-07-1922	6	6
Einar Mårtensson	Unknown	2	1
Sune Sandbring	10-04-1928	2
Gustaf Nilsson	20-10-1922	2
Kjell Persson	Unknown	1	2

World Cup 1950

Stellan Nilsson scoring

After the season, the Swedish national team - with eight Malmö FF-players -  left for Brazil, to compete at the 1950 World Cup. They got off to a good start, beating Italy 3-2. Thanks to Hans Jeppsson (2 goals) and Sune Andersson (1 goal) and Helsingborgs goalie, Kalle Svensson, who was nearly unbeatable that day. Svensson also was outstanding in the match against Spain, giving him the nickname ‘Kalle-Rio’.

Although Sweden lost against host Brazil (7-1) and soon to be world champion Uruguay (3-2), they ended the tournament with a bronze medal.

This success immediately started a new exodus of talented soccer players abroad, especially towards Italy. Of the eleven players that beat the Italians in Såo Paolo, two months later six played in Italy, one in France and one in England:

Player	Swedish club in 1949-50	Club in 1950-51
Sune Andersson	AIK Solna	AS Roma (Ita)
Hans Jeppsson	IFK Göteborg	Charlton Athletic (Eng)
Knut Nordahl	IFK Norrköping	AS Roma (Ita)
Lennart Skoglund	AIK Solna	Internazionale Milan (Ita)
Stig Sundqvist	IFK Norrköping	AS Roma (Ita)
Kall Svensson	Helsingborgs IF	Helsingborgs IF
Ingvar Gård	Malmö FF	Sampdoria (Ita)
Stellan Nilsson	Malmö FF	Genoa (Ita)
Lennart Samuelsson	Elfsborg	OGC Nice (Fra)
Erik Nilsson	Malmö FF	Malmö FF
Karl-Erik Palmer	Malmö FF	Malmö FF

Out of the other players of the Swedish squad, Gunnar Johansson (GAIS, to Olympique Marseille, Fra), Brorr Mellberg (AIK Solna, to Genoa, Ita), and Börje Tapper (Malmö FF, to Genoa, Ita) also left Sweden.

The 1950-51 season

So this time around, champion Malmö FF saw three of their international players leaving for Italy. On top of that, Kjell Rosén also said goodbye to Malmö and started playing for AC Torino. Four other players (Hans Malmström, Kjell Hjertsson, Walfrid Ek and Gustaf Nilsson) all packed their bags and left for a club nearby, Helsingborgs IF.  

Even so, the 1950-51 season was always in Malmö's hands, as Karl-Erik Palmer led the team to 21 games without a loss, only losing match number 22 to relegated AIK Solna. A year later, IFK Norrkoping ended Malmö FF’s reign. Still, These three titles in 1948, 1949 and 1950, gave the club two Swedish records, that will be hard to match up to, and probably will never be broken:

* unbeaten during a season;

* 49 consecutive league matches without defeat.

The greatest World Champion of all time

Three weeks ago I was looking into the "All Time Worst Performing World Champion - after winning the cup". 

Today, let's have a look at the world champions that did manage to live up to expectation, or even performed beyond that.  While current champion Spain still has one year to improve on their record, the Confederations Cup saw them dropping one place in the top 10 of all time.

10. West Germany 1990

In 1990 West Germany certainly was no crowd pleaser at the World Cup in Italy. They were mostly solid, and lucky against England in the semifinal. After that, the team wasn’t a bad World Champion at all, although they did lose seven matches.

Achievements: reaching the final of the European Championship 1992, losing 2-0 to outsider Denmark.

Disappointments: losing to Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Also losing most big matches, against The Netherlands, Brazil, Italy and Argentina, with just one victory over Brazil.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
West Germany 1990-'94	40	25	8	7	58 : 22	78 - 37	72,5%

9. West Germany 1974

After beating surprise act The Netherlands in the final, West Germany  continued their good form in the four years of their reign, managing 19 wins out of 32 matches.

Achievements: Reaching the final of the European Championship for a second time in 1976 in Yugoslavia, (to be beaten by the world famous Antonin Panenka penalty).

Disappointments: Only losing to England (1975) and France (1977), West Germany strongly believed  they could maintain the title in Argentina. Losing their last two preparation matches (0-1 against Brazil and 1-3 against Sweden) before the World Cup, destroyed their confidence and for the first time since 1962, they failed to reach the (semi)finals.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
West Germany 1974-'78	32	19	9	4	47 : 17	64 - 29	73,4%

8. England 1966

In 1966, England became the fifth country that won a World Cup. A title well deserved, if only for their influence on the development of the game. After that, England managed to win 23 of their 37 matches, losing only four times in four years.

Achievements: third place at the European Championship 1968.

Disappointments: losing to Scotland (1967), West Germany (1968) and Brazil (1969), but most of all losing the semifinal against Yugoslavia  1-0 (goal by Dragan Dzajic) at the European Championship 1968 in Florence.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
England 1966-'70	37	23	10	4	56 : 18	65 - 22	75,6%

7. France 1998

For the first time since England in 1966, a new country, France, (again at home) was crowned World Champion in 1998. Finally, it belonged to the big soccer nations. And they lived up to the expectations their newly conquered status brought. Not only by winning many matches, but by claiming titles as well.

Achievements: Two years later (2000), France became the first European World Champion that won the European title. Twelve years later, Spain equalled that. Also, France won the Confederations Cup in 2001.

Disappointments: None. Losing to Australia at the Confederations Cup 2001 was a big failure, but held no further consequences.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
France 1998-2002	49	33	10	6	76 : 22	101 - 39	77,5%

6. Italy 1938

After their World Cup win in 1938, Italy had little time and opportunity to show the world how great the team was. But they can only blame themselves and Germany for that. Still, they had pretty good results until the summer of 1942 (during which year the next World Cup would have been played).

Achievements: winning most of their matches against the strongest teams of the European continent, especially winning twice against Germany.

Disappointments: losing to Switzerland  (1-3) and losing big (5-2) against Germany, both in 1939.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Italy 1938-'42	16	11	3	2	25 : 7	35 - 21	78,1%

5. Brazil 1970

With Pelé’s retirement, Brazil lost their best player ever. Still, there was enough talent around to have a positive outlook at the next World Cup in Germany, in 1974. During this four year spell, Brazil hardly lost any games (only two), but were held to a draw by numerous countries, i.e. Austria (three times), Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Argentina (twice), Mexico and Greece.

Achievements: No real successes, except winning the Independence Cup (celebrating 150 years of Brazilian independence) in 1972. The Copa America was not played between 1967 and 1975.

Disappointments: The lack of goals and samba soccer. Brazil played defensively, winning nine times with the smallest of all margins, 1-0. Four times Jairzinho scored that goal, Brazil leaned heavily on their star striker. Losing 1-0 to Sweden (1973) and 2-0 to Italy (1973) obviously got the team very bad reviews back home.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Brazil 1970-'74	32	20	10	2	50 : 14	51 - 17	78,1%

4. Italy 1934

At the 1934 World Cup, Italy was a convincing champion. The team also had a great spell afterwards, winning the Olympics and defending their world title in 1938.

Achievements: Winning the Olympic title in 1936, despite sending an inexperienced, uncapped team to Germany.

Disappointments: Losing 3-2 against England in November 1934 was a blow. England didn’t bother to participate at the World Cup 1934, so the English could claim they were still the best in the world.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Italy 1934-'38	23	16	5	2	37 : 9	58 - 24	80,4%

3. Spain 2010

With their tiki-taka play Spain has conquered the soccer world since 2008. Their World Cup win in 2010 was well deserved. While the team has the habit of outclassing their opponents, once in a while they face tougher opposition. Still, Spain’s record since 2010 is a very proud one.

Achievements: Winning the European title in 2012. And remaining unbeaten in no less than 26 matches.

Disappointments: losing the final of the Confederations Cup 2013 to Brazil.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Spain 2010-2013	44	32	7	5	71 : 17	113 - 29	80,6%

2. Brazil 1958

With the young Pelé, Brazil’s 1958 winning team is widely considered as the most talented World Champion of all time. After that victory, Brazil stayed in a class all of their own for the next four years.

Achievements: Of the last sixteen matches before the World Cup 1962, Brazil won fifteen (only Argentina managed a 0-0).

Disappointments: not winning the Copa America in April 1959 (without losing a match), and in December 1959 (losing to Uruguay and Argentina). Their record was further damaged by awarding the matches at the Panamerican Games 1960 as full internationals, although Brazil did not employ their best players. They lost at these Games to Costa Rica and Argentina.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Brazil 1958-'62	44	34	4	6	72 : 16	113 - 48	81,8%

1. Brazil 1994

Finally, after 24 years without success, Brazil could claim their fourth World Cup title in 1994. Not in a playful way, though. Upfront, Romario and Bebeto were outstanding.  Dunga was a magnificent captain and also Taffarel and Jorginho had a great tournament. But overall it was not typically Brazilian… Nevertheless the team was very hard to beat, and their record over the next four years even makes Brazil 1994 the best performing World Champion of all time.

Achievements: Winning the Copa America 1997 as well as the Confederations Cup in the same year.

Disappointments: losing the final of the Copa America to Uruguay in 1995.

Country	P	W	D	L	Points	Goals	Percentage
Brazil 1994	66	50	11	5	111 : 21	165 - 48	84,0%