Kurt Roland "Kurre" Hamrin (; 19 November 1934 – 4 February 2024) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career in his home country with AIK, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Fiorentina, with whom he won two Coppa Italia titles, a Cup Winners' Cup, and a Mitropa Cup over nine years, making over 350 appearances for the club and scoring over 200 goals in all competitions. He also represented AC Milan, with whom he won a Serie A title and the European Cup. A prolific goalscorer, he is currently the eighth highest goalscorer of all time in Italy's Serie A, with 190 goals.
In addition to his success at club level, Hamrin also had a successful international career, and was a member of the Sweden team that reached the 1958 FIFA World Cup final on home soil; he is commonly regarded as one of the greatest Swedish footballers of all time as well as one of Fiorentina's greatest players ever.
Hamrin died on 4 February 2024, at the age of 89. He was the last surviving player from either the Swedish and Brazilian sides who participated in the 1958 World Cup final.
Style of play
Hamrin was a fast, creative, elegant, and technically skilled right winger, who was gifted with outstanding pace, as well as good vision, and opportunism in front of goal. A direct and efficient two-footed player, he was known in particular for his flair, as well as his incredible dribbling and striking ability with either foot, and stood out for his ability to utilise his speed to get past his opponents; he was also capable of beating players in one-on-one situations with elaborate moves and feints, such as the nutmeg. Moreover, he was a highly prolific goalscorer. Despite his playing ability, however, he was also known to be injury-prone.
Career statistics
International
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Appearances and goals by national team and year
!National team
!Year
!Apps
!Goals
|-
| rowspan="13" |Sweden
|1953
|3
|1
|-
|1954
|8
|5
|-
|1955
|9
|4
|-
|1956
|0
|0
|-
|1957
|0
|0
|-
|1958
|5
|4
|-
|1959
|0
|0
|-
|1960
|0
|0
|-
|1961
|0
|0
|-
|1962
|1
|0
|-
|1963
|1
|0
|-
|1964
|3
|3
|-
|1965
|2
|0
|-
! colspan="2" |Total
!32
!17
|}
: Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hamrin goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+List of international goals scored by Kurt Hamrin
! scope="col" |No.
! scope="col" |Date
! scope="col" |Venue
! scope="col" |Opponent
! scope="col" |Score
! scope="col" |Result
! scope="col" |Competition
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
| align="center" |1
|15 November 1953
|Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary
|
| align="center" |2–2
| align="center" |2–2
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |2
|4 June 1954
|Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
|
| align="center" |5–0
| align="center" |6–0
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |3
|7 June 1954
|Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
|
| align="center" |3–0
| style="text-align:center" |3–0
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |4
| rowspan="3" |15 August 1954
| rowspan="3" |Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland
| rowspan="3" |
| align="center" |1–0
| rowspan="3" align="center" |10–1
| rowspan="3" |1952–55 Nordic Football Championship
| rowspan="3" |
|-
| align="center" |5
| align="center" |9–1
|-
| align="center" |6
| align="center" |10–1
|-
| align="center" |7
| rowspan="2" |15 June 1955
| rowspan="2" |Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
| rowspan="2" |
| align="center"|2–0
| rowspan="2" align="center"|4–1
| rowspan="2" |Friendly
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| align="center" |8
| align="center" |4–0
|-
| align="center" |9
|16 October 1955
|Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
|
| align="center" |3–3
| align="center" |3–3
|1952–55 Nordic Football Championship
|
|-
| align="center" |10
|20 November 1955
|Estadio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal
|
| align="center"|1–0
| align="center"|6–2
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |11
| rowspan="2" |12 June 1958
| rowspan="2" |Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
| rowspan="2" |
| align="center" |1–0
| rowspan="2" align="center" |2–1
| rowspan="2" |1958 FIFA World Cup
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| align="center" |12
| align="center" |2–0
|-
| align="center" |13
|19 June 1958
|Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
|
| align="center" |1–0
| align="center" |2–0
|1958 FIFA World Cup
|
|-
| align="center" |14
|24 June 1958
|Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
|
| align="center" |3–1
| align="center" |3–1
|1958 FIFA World Cup
|
|-
| align="center" |15
|13 May 1964
|Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
|
| align="center" |1–1
| align="center" |1–1
|1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying quarter-finals
|
|-
| align="center" |16
|27 May 1964
|Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union
|
| align="center" |2–1
| align="center" |3–1
|1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying quarter-finals
|
|-
| align="center" |17
|4 November 1964
|Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany
|
| align="center" |1–1
| align="center" |1–1
|1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
|}
Honours
Fiorentina
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1960–61
- Mitropa Cup: 1966
- Coppa Italia: 1960–61, 1965–66
AC Milan
- European Cup: 1968–69
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1967–68
- Serie A: 1967–68
Sweden
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1958
Individual
- Allsvenskan top scorer: 1954–55
- Serie A Team of The Year: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Top Scorer: 1960–61 (6 goals)
- FIFA XI: 1967
- Venerdì's 100 Magnifici
- UEFA President Award: 2014
- ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2012
- Fiorentina All-time XI
- Fiorentina All-time top scorer
References
External links
- Kurt Hamrin. aik.se