Folke Holmberg Explained

Folke Holmberg
Fullname:Folke Holmberg
Birth Date:30 January 1927
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Death Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:1942–1946
Youthclubs1:Hammarby IF
Years1:1946–1951
Clubs1:Hammarby IF
Caps1:86
Goals1:69
Years2:1951–1953
Clubs2:Djurgårdens IF
Caps2:24
Goals2:12
Years3:1953–1957
Clubs3:Hammarby IF
Caps3:57
Goals3:20
Totalcaps:167
Totalgoals:101
Nationalyears1:1951
Nationalteam1:Sweden
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0

Folke "Hinken" Holmberg (30 January 1927 – 22 February 2015) was a Swedish football player, best known for representing Hammarby IF.

Club career

Hammarby IF

Holmberg made his debut at age 18 for Hammarby IF in Division 2, Sweden's second tier.[1]

In 1946–47, Hammarby finished last in Division 2, and got relegated to Division 4 due to a restructuring of the Swedish league system.[2]

Holmberg decided to stay with the club and led the club to several promotions. He became known as a physically gifted player and prolific goalscorer in the lower divisions.[3] When he left the club in 1951, Hammarby was back in Division 2, and Holmberg had scored a total of 69 goals in 86 league games.[4]

Djurgårdens IF

In 1951, Holmberg moved to rivals Djurgårdens IF in Allsvenskan, the highest domestic league. He went on to make 24 appearances for the side during the next two seasons and scored 12 goals.[5]

Return to Hammarby

Holmberg returned to Hammarby before the 1953–54 season and led the side to a promotion to Allsvenskan.[6] After three seasons with Hammarby in the highest domestic league, Holmberg left the club again in 1957, having scored 20 goals in 57 appearances.[4]

In the 1960s, he made a brief comeback as the player-manager of Stureby SK in the lower divisions.[7] [8]

International career

On 11 November 1951, Holmberg won his first and only cap for Sweden, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against Italy.[7]

Personal life

His son Lars-Ove Holmberg also played for Hammarby from 1968 to 1973.[8] Folke Holmberg died on 22 February 2015, aged 88.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1946. HIF Historia. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  2. Web site: 1946/47 – Ner i fyran. Hammarby Fotboll. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  3. Web site: Svenske legendaren avliden: "Det är sorg". 24 February 2015 . Expressen. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  4. Web site: Hammarby IF:s historia. HIF Historia. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  5. Book: Persson . Gunnar . Glanell, Thomas . Lundgren, Lars . Stark, Janne . Strömberg, Robert . amp . Allsvenskan genom tiderna . Strömbergs idrottsböcker . 1988 . Stockholm . 91-86184-35-0.
  6. Web site: 1954. HIF Historia. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  7. Web site: Landslagsdatabasen: Folke Holmberg. Swedish Football Association. 30 October 2020. Swedish.
  8. Web site: Magnusson möter: Lars-Ove Holmberg. Hammarby Fotboll. 30 October 2020. Swedish.