Lennart “Nacka” Skoglund
Early life & football career
On December 24, 1929, Christmas was being celebrated in Stockholm, Sweden, but although they may not have known it at the time, Linnea Viola Bremberg and Josef Ferdinand Skoglund celebrated something bigger: the birth of their son, Lennart Skoglund. By all means, Lennart’s childhood would see Sweden reform politically, which was the beginning of a process which would later transform the nation into a glaring example of national welfare. Nonetheless, The Great Depression was not even the main reason why Sweden was plagued by tough times in the 1930’s. As for Lennart, he grew up in Södermalm in southern Stockholm — a borough which even today is seen as a contrast to the more rich and affluent borough of Östermalm, whereas Södermalm has historically been associated with the working class, and a down-to-earth attitude. This contrast was more extreme in the 1930’s, however, and Lennart was born into poverty in an especially rough part of Södermalm at the time. In his youth, Lennart would hardly excel academically, and would make a name for himself on the football pitch. The nickname “Nacka” would later become his summon name, and is certainly a reference to the Nacka Municiplaty in Stockholm County, but the origins of it are unclear. Nonetheless, it would go on to become synonymous with him for the rest of his life. He was not Lennart, he was not Skoglund; he was Nacka.
At the age of 15, Nacka would finally start playing football in the youth system of Hammarby IF, the professional football club based in his local Södermalm. Naturally, the club has historically been synonymous with the identity and reputation of Södermalm, and as Nacka’s own reputation grew, he would become an increasingly prominent symbol for Hammarby; thereby also Södermalm. On the other hand, Nacka would make his debut in Allsvenskan — the Swedish first division — with fierce Stockholm rivals, AIK. His time at AIK would be successful, and in a friendly, Nacka would even score in a 3–1 win against the Milan of Gre-No-Li. However, at this point his big breakout was still yet to be.
The big break
Nacka’s major breakthrough wouldn’t truly occur until the summer of 1950. After all, his move to AIK was reportedly only worth today’s equivalent of about €1750, as well as a tailor made suit and a coat for his mother. He was still a far cry away from being a star in Italy. He needed an even greater opportunity to truly showcase his talent than the friendly against AC Milan, and such an opportunity would eventually arise.
In the early summer of 1950, the Swedish national team was set to face “the team of the press” — a team consisting of Swedish players who had not called up to the national team, selected by journalists. It was a friendly which gave the lesser known players of Sweden an opportunity to prove themselves against the stars of the country, ahead of the 1950 World Cup. The team of the press would win 3–1, and Nacka was the star man, scoring two of those goals and assisting the other one. Subsequently, he was called up to the national team ahead of the 1950 World Cup. At this point, Nacka’s name had begun to truly hold some weight. The 1950 World Cup was the first World Cup following WWII, and thereby the first one in 12 years. For Nacka, the tournament would be somewhat symbolic of his career.
Sweden ended up winning the bronze medal, and Nacka was certainly a contributor. Particularly in their 3–2 win against Italy, who had won the previous two World Cups, Nacka was magnificent, but he would also end up being sent to the bench for off-the-pitch issues. Thus, it would not end up being the tournamament of Nacka, but most certainly the tournament of Maracanãzo; Nacka was overshadowed. Nonetheless, following the tournament, and likely largely due to his performance against Italy, Nacka would earn a move to Inter.
Superstardom
Nacka would experience immediate success at Inter, culminating in a performance against Milan which saw him score two of the goals in Inter’s 3–2 victory. The first season was a general success, and almost catapulted Inter to their first scudetto win in 11 years, but they would finish one point behind eventual champions Milan. In the following seasons, Nacka — who was still only 21 when he had arrived at Inter — would quickly establish himself as a star player at Inter in the following seasons. Eventually, this even resulted in silverware for Inter, as they would win the scudetto in both 1953 and 1954. In the 1953–54 season, Nacka’s most notable contribution was the three assists he provided in another derby against Milan, which would prove to be decisive for the race for the scudetto in the end.
The following years for Inter would prove to be more difficult, but Nacka’s magic would not disappear until his departure in 1959. This was partly indicated by his return to the Swedish national team ahead of the 1958 World Cup, in which Sweden would host the event. In previous years, Swedish players who played abroad were not permitted to play for the national team, but for the 1958 World Cup an exception was made, and it would perhaps be the final triumph for Nacka. He appeared in all six of Sweden’s games, and while he would struggle in the infamous final against Brazil, he had been a major contributor in Sweden’s greatest ever achievement on the international stage — a World Cup silver medal.
However, none of these vague descriptions of Nacka’s success at club– and international level really capture his true essence. What was it that made Nacka so special? Why am I telling this story? Well, for one, he was creative and capable of scoring goals, but more importantly, Nacka is one of the greatest dribblers of all time. His flair, creativity as a dribbler and ball control was unforeseen at the time; revolutionary. Truly ahead of his time, Nacka was a magician on the pitch, and is one of Sweden’s very greatest players ever, but even this description doesn’t truly do Nacka’s legacy justice.
Legacy on the pitch
Once again, Nacka Skoglund was truly a revolutionary on the pitch. Clearly, he was among the best players in the world in his prime: he dominated in one of the world’s best leagues — the Italian Serie A — and he was one of the centerpieces of Sweden’s legendary 1958 World Cup team. At the same time, this still does not really emphasize just how special Nacka was, as mentioned. In Sweden, Nacka’s legacy is profound, especially among Hammarby’s supporters. However, elsewhere Nacka isn’t nearly as well-known and mythical, so how great is he really? Has his legacy been distorted and overblown by Swedish football fans due to their relative lack of all-time great talents compared to other countries? Let’s ask Italian Inter legend and former teammate of Nacka, Benito Lorenzi, and hear what he has to say.
At some point between 1979 and 1989 — based on the Inter shirt with their iconic snake-badge, worn in in those years — Benito Lorenzi is interviewed, and asked about Nacka. At the time it had been 21–31 years since they had last played together. Did Benito Lorenzi remember his old Swedish teammate? To say that would be an understatement. “How was it to play alongside Nacka?”, the interviewer asks. Without having to take the time to think about who Nacka was, Benito immediately responds: “You cannot describe it”. As you can see, he quickly becomes very emotional and is reduced to tears at the mere thought of his old teammate. He is briefly excused, and then continues:
“To play alongside Nacka was something completely fantastic. You cannot describe him, he simply has to be seen. I have seen films of his old matches. He was unique, he never looked at the ball, he simply carried it with him. He looked his opponent in his eyes and got him out of balance. He would look his opponent in the eyes as he dribbled past him. It was as if the defender was hypnotized and Nacka disappeared with the ball. When in form even the other attackers in the team were completely amazed — me, Wilkers and Nyers [and Nacka]. There were four of us and Nacka was in a different was in a class of his own.”
Nacka the Rockstar
Back in Sweden, Nacka is perhaps remembered even more for his antics off the pitch, than his magic on the pitch. Amidst the gloomy days of Södermalm in the 1940s, Nacka would find enjoyment in both the game of football and in a very wild, festive lifestyle off the pitch. At the time, Nacka was not yet a professional player, as Hammarby were only playing in the third tier of Swedish football. This meant he had a lot of time to spend off the pitch, which was perhaps what truly birthed his bitterswet, complicated legacy.
Nacka’s extravagant lifestyle would continue in Italy, and as he established himself as one of the best talents the game had to offer, his lifestyle off the pitch would become symbolic of his presence on the pitch: flashy, extraordinary, and possibly a little bit too wild. Just two years into his stay in Milan, Nacka would marry Italian model Nuccia Zirilli, but his reputation as a womaniser would not end there; Nacka’s unfaithfulness to his wife was a common topic of discussion. Sure enough, Nacka had reportedly called himself “the greatest thing to happen to women”, and made no attempt to hide this aspect of his life.
Furthermore, Nacka was not someone who made up for a lack of personality with excessive alcohol consumption — he was not just a character on Saturday nights. He was always known to be a charming, comical person. At one point, when Nacka and Inter were visiting Rome, they passed the Colosseum, which is listed as one of the seven wonders of the world. Nacka was not impressed with the ancient artifact, however. He turned to a teammate and asked, “What’s the matter? Are they broke?”, in reference to the broken down state of the monument. For better or worse, Nacka was always a vibrant soul. As for the “worse”, the truth is that there was always a much darker side to Nacka. He was a natural character with his sense of humor and flamboyant, groundbreaking style of play on the pitch, but the aspects that made him a character beyond that — notably his alcoholism and unfaithfulness — were highly problematic. The signs of Nacka’s struggles were always present, and all whilst the media and public alike perceived him as a superstar with a lively social life, the reality was that Nacka was in a downward spiral, and it would ultimately lead to his demise.
Later years & demise
As previously implied, Nacka would struggle with alcoholism for almost the entirety of his adult life. In fact, if not for his alcohol consumption it’s safe to assume that he would have been an even better player, and that his career would have lasted even longer, but for better or worse, this was not Nacka.
Following his move to Inter, people around Nacka became aware of his financial situation. He would commonly be exploited financially by friends and family throughout his playing career, and his financial situation wasn’t made better by his extravagant lifestyle. To compensate for this and add another source of income, Nacka and his wife Nuccia Zirilli would open a bar in Milano by the name of “Bar Nacka”. Eventually this project would fail, however, and soon enough Zirelli and Nacka would divorce. In reality, Nacka, although struggling with alcoholism, was not the victim in the situation.
Throughout much of his adult life, Nacka walked a line between being a charming, humorous and eccentric character, and being a hurtful, destructive asshole. His alcoholism and unfaithfulness to his wife illustrated his ugly side by all means. In the latter stages of his career, Nakca would spend a brief stint at Palermo, where he was practically living in a jail cell within the club’s stadium. About how life was treating him in the Sicilian capital, Nacka once said “I don’t feel so at home here in n’**er-town”; an obvious attempt at humor, but a blatantly crude and nasty comment at the same time.
Following his departure from Inter in 1959, Nacka would slowly but surely sink lower and lower. His alcoholism would worsen, his ability to play football would worsen, and he would even become addicted to pills, to make matters worse. His return to Hammarby was by no means a triumphant comeback, and would really mark the end of his playing career. Following his retirement, Nacka’s life would somehow take an even darker turn. He was struggling to find meaning and had become a shell of his former self, as a person. Or, perhaps the mask had simply slipped off; many signs implied that this is who Nacka had always been deep down. Simultaneously, he continued to struggle with different addictions, and was said to be surviving off of welfare checks. In 1972, he would fall in love with a young girl who helped him find a job as a snow shoveler, but when she find out that he was drinking while in his lone time, Nacka’s new partner would end the relationship. In reality, despite all those years in the spotlight, Nacka’s only true friend had been his mother. She called him son “The loneliest man in the world”. On just another Monday in the summer of 1975, Lennart Skoglund was found dead in his apartment on Södermalm, aged 45.
Legacy
Nacka’s legacy will ultimately always be tainted by the incredibly dark aspects of his life. On the one hand, he was a victim of alcoholism, although this does not excuse a lot his actions — a lot of his charm and vibrance as a character also came with a lot of damage to the people around him, and perhaps more importantly also himself.
Still, Nacka was an incredible player, and is in my opinion one of the most underrated players in the history of the sport. If you praise Ronaldo Nazário based on how good he could have been if not for his injury issues, maybe the same logic should be applied to Nacka, who was a legendary football player in spite of his alcohol abuse and lack of true dedication to becoming the best player he could be. Maybe there’s an alternate reality in which Nacka is able to steer away from the alcohol, dedicate himself to his craft, and become the greatest Swedish player of all time — maybe he would still be alive today. However, for better or worse, this was never meant to be. Perhaps Nacka was doomed from the start, having been born into extreme poverty, and subsequently having been shaped into a deeply sad and burdened person, hidden by his vibrant showmanship which made a huge mark on so many people. Nacka was never meant to simply be a great football player. His style of play was deeply reflective of his personality and lifestyle: flamboyant, fun and eccentric, but also problematic. After all, Nacka was both praised and criticized for his individualism and lack of regard for tactics on the pitch.
The story of Nacka Skoglund is extremely remeniscent of that of George Best. On the other hand, rather than Nacka being the Swedish George Best — being the lesser known player — it should perhaps be the other way around. Nacka Skoglund was the original George Best; George Best was the Northern Irish Nacka Skoglund. For all his issues and the ultimately tragic tone of his life, the overall perception and legacy of Nacka is still incredibly positive, and at the very least people still talk about him; people remember “Nacka”, and they always will. The way his life panned out is undeniably sad, but perhaps we should come to terms that this was the inevitable end to such a truly special character. If Nacka’s private life had been more controlled, and maybe he would have lived longer, but would we still be talking about him today? At the funeral in 1975, the priest said this:
“Now it’s time for you go to heaven. There’s probably a place to play there for you too, Nacka.”
