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A successful career, a peaceful ending

Nils Liedholm, a former Sweden and AC Milan midfielder who later became a title winning soccer coach in Italy, died Monday. He was 85.

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Nils Liedholm, the former Sweden and AC Milan footballer who guided his country to the 1958 World Cup final, dies at 85

MILAN: Nils Liedholm, a former Sweden and AC Milan midfielder who later became a title winning soccer coach in Italy, died Monday. He was 85.

Liedholm died in the village of Cuccaro Monferrato, in the northern Italian province of Alessandria, AC Milan said in a statement. The cause of death was not given.

Liedholm formed a celebrated attacking trio with Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl for Sweden and Milan in the 1950s —known as the “Gre No Li.”

He made 23 international appearances for Sweden — scoring 11 goals — and helped lead Sweden to the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics in London.

He was also on the 1958 World Cup team in Sweden that reached the final but lost to Brazil.  Lars Ake Lagrell, chairman of the Swedish Football Association, called Liedholm “one of the real greats of Swedish football.”

“Nils Liedholm has meant a tremendous lot to Swedish football, both at home and internationally,” Lagrell said. Liedholm came to Italy in 1949 to play for Milan and stayed there for the rest of his life. He made 359 appearances for the Rossoneri from 1949-61 — scoring 81 goals — and won Italian championships in 1951, ‘55, ‘57, and ‘59.

After retiring, Liedholm moved into coaching — picking up the nickname “Il Barone” or “The Baron.”

He guided AS Roma for 12 seasons and Milan for eight, winning five trophies, including two league titles — in 1979 with Milan and in 1983 with Roma.

He also coached Fiorentina, Verona, Varese, and Monza, before retiring in 1997.

“Milan weeps for the passing of Nils Liedholm,” Milan said. “With him goes an enormous piece of Milan’s history.

But his memory will remain permanently in the heart of all Milan supporters and fans of soccer.” A funeral will take place in Cuccaro Monferrato on Thursday, the ANSA news agency reported.

Milan players will wear black armbands during their match at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday. Club officials are also hoping to organize a minute’s silence before kickoff, Milan said.

The soccer world paid tribute on Monday to former Sweden and AC Milan great. Liedholm captained the Sweden team that lost the 1958 World Cup final to Brazil and he won four Italian titles with Milan in the 1950s before embarking on a successful coaching career. 

“A piece of the history of soccer has gone,” former Juventus goalkeeper and Italy captain Dino Zoff told Corriere della Sera (www.corriere.it). 

“He was part of the heart of the great Milan (of the 1950s), along with (Gunnar) Gren and (Gunnar) Nordahl, and then he had a splendid career as a coach. He was always a gent with exemplary behaviour.”

“I knew him and had the chance to appreciate a person of great humour and humanity,” Roma captain Francesco Totti told his club’s Web site.

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