# Ralf Edström

Ralf Sigvard Edström (born 7 October 1952) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as Sweden's best player in the 1970s, he started off his career with Degerfors IF in the late 1960s and went on to represent Åtvidabergs FF, PSV Eindhoven, IFK Göteborg, Standard Liege, and AS Monaco before retiring at Örgryte IS in 1985. A full international between 1972 and 1980, he won 40 caps for the Sweden national team and scored 15 goals. He represented his country at the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and was awarded Guldbollen as Sweden's best player in 1972 and 1974.

## Club career

Starting his career in Degerfors IF, a club known to produce many young talents, Edström moved to Åtvidabergs FF and became national champion in 1972. He moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1973 and was part of the team that became national champion in 1974/75 and 1975/76. On club level, he became not only Swedish Champion, but also Dutch (twice) and French Champion. He also won the Swedish, Dutch and Belgian Cups and was voted Swedish player of the year twice (1972 and 1974, winning Guldbollen). He injured his knee while at AS Monaco which prevented him from playing any games for Örgryte IS and ultimately led to his retirement from professional football in 1985.

## International career

Edström made 40 appearances for the Sweden national team and scored 15 times. He is most noted for his performance in the 1974 FIFA World Cup where he had a big part in Sweden finishing fifth, and he made six appearances and scored four goals during this tournament.
While representing Sweden at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Edström was arrested for speaking to a person in Buenos Aires; however, the Argentine military released him upon recognising its error (that he was not one of its citizens but a professional footballer who was in the country for the tournament it was hosting).

## Personal life

He has been an expert radio commentator since the 1980s.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Åtvidaberg | 1971 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| Åtvidaberg | 1972 | Allsvenskan | 19 | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| Åtvidaberg | 1973 | Allsvenskan | 11 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| Åtvidaberg | Total | Total | 52 | 28 | | | | | | | | |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1973–74 | Eredivisie | 33 | 19 | | | | | | | | |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1974–75 | Eredivisie | 32 | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1975–76 | Eredivisie | 29 | 15 | | | | | | | | |
| PSV Eindhoven | 1976–77 | Eredivisie | 18 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| PSV Eindhoven | Total | Total | 153 | 81 | | | | | | | | |
| IFK Göteborg | 1977 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 8 |
| IFK Göteborg | 1978 | Allsvenskan | 17 | 6 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 21 | 8 |
| IFK Göteborg | 1979 | Allsvenskan | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 5 |
| IFK Göteborg | Total | Total | 37 | 14 | 8 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 45 | 21 |
| Standard Liège | 1979–80 | First Division | 31 | 18 | | | | | | | | |
| Standard Liège | 1980–81 | First Division | 20 | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Standard Liège | Total | Total | 51 | 27 | | | | | | | | |
| Monaco | 1981–82 | Division 1 | 35 | 15 | | | | | | | | |
| Monaco | 1982–83 | Division 1 | 14 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Monaco | Total | Total | 49 | 16 | | | | | | | | |
| Örgryte | 1983 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Örgryte | 1984 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Örgryte | 1985 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Örgryte | Total | Total | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 350 | 156 | | | | | | | | |

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Sweden | 1972 | 4 | 8 |
| Sweden | 1973 | 9 | 1 |
| Sweden | 1974 | 9 | 4 |
| Sweden | 1975 | 5 | 2 |
| Sweden | 1976 | 2 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1978 | 4 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1980 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 40 | 15 |
    Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Edström goal.
List of international goals scored by Ralf Edström :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 6 August 1972 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Soviet Union | 1–0 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 August 1972 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Soviet Union | 2–3 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 3 | 6 August 1972 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Soviet Union | 4–4 | 4–4 | Friendly |
| 4 | 17 September 1972 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway | Norway | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1972–77 Nordic Football Championship |
| 5 | 17 September 1972 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway | Norway | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1972–77 Nordic Football Championship |
| 6 | 15 October 1972 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Malta | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 7 | 15 October 1972 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Malta | 3–0 | 7–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 8 | 15 October 1972 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Malta | 7–0 | 7–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 9 | 13 June 1973 | Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary | Hungary | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 10 | 23 June 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | Uruguay | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 11 | 23 June 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | Uruguay | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 12 | 30 June 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | West Germany | 1–0 | 2–4 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 13 | 3 July 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | Yugoslavia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 14 | 19 May 1975 | Örjans Vall, Halmstad, Sweden | Algeria | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 4 June 1975 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualifier |

## Honours

Åtvidabergs FF
* Allsvenskan: 1972, 1973
* Svenska Cupen: 1970–71
PSV Eindhoven
* Eredivisie: 1974–75, 1975–76
* KNVB Cup: 1973–74, 1975–76
IFK Göteborg
* Svenska Cupen: 1978–79
Standard Liege
* Belgian Cup: 1981
AS Monaco
* French Division 1: 1981–82
Individual
* Allsvenskan top scorer: 1972
* Guldbollen: 1972, 1974
* World Soccer World XI: 1975
* Sport Ideal European XI: 1975
* Swedish Football Hall of Fame: 2003