# Martin Dahlin

Dan Martin Nataniel Dahlin (Swedish pronunciation:; born 16 April 1968) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. In his prime, he was considered one of the world's best strikers.
Starting off his career with Malmö FF in 1987, he was the 1988 Allsvenskan top scorer and played for clubs in the Bundesliga, Serie A, and the Premier League before retiring in 1999.
A full international between 1991 and 1997, he won 60 caps for the Sweden national team and was in the Sweden national team that placed third in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics and UEFA Euro 1992. In 1993, he was bestowed the Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year.

## Early life

Dahlin was born in Uddevalla, Sweden to a Nigerian father, who was a musician (Nat Atkins), and a Swedish mother. Named after Martin Luther King Jr., Dahlin spent his upbringing in Lund.

## Club career

In 1993, he was selected as best Swedish player of the year, winning Guldbollen.
He played for Malmö FF, Borussia Mönchengladbach, A.S. Roma, Hamburger SV and Blackburn Rovers. The most successful time of his career he spent with Borussia Mönchengladbach with whom he won the German Cup in 1995 along with Stefan Effenberg.
Dahlin transferred from Roma to Blackburn Rovers in mid-1997 and made 21 appearances in the 1997–98 season, scoring four goals.
In the 1998–99 season, he only played five games when an injury in a training game ruled him out for the rest of the season and contributed to his retirement from the game after a short spell at Hamburger SV in 1999.
Blackburn Rovers later sued their insurance company who had refused to pay out over the injury claiming that normal wear and tear could have been a contributing factor. Although the initial verdict was given in favour of the club, in 2005 the Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and sent it back to the lower court. On 12 April 2006, the High Court ruled in favour of the insurance company, decreeing that the player probably had a pre-existing condition. This decision left Blackburn about £4 million out-of-pocket.

## International career

Dahlin earned 66 caps for the Sweden men's national team. He was in the Sweden men's national team that finished third in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament. He also was in the team that reached the semifinals of UEFA Euro 1992.

## Retirement

Dahlin legally lives in Monaco. He lends his name to a clothing line. He speaks three languages – Swedish, English and German.
Dahlin became a sports agent working for former teammate Roger Ljung's sport agency Roger Ljung Promotion AB. He has since formed his own agency called MD Management. He represents Ola Toivonen, Guillermo Molins, Markus Rosenberg, Jonas Olsson, Behrang Safari and Pontus Jansson.

## Career statistics
### Club

    Source:
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Malmö FF | 1988 | Allsvenskan | 21 | 17 | | | – | – | | | | | 21 | 17 |
| Malmö FF | 1989 | Allsvenskan | 17 | 4 | | | – | – | | | | | 17 | 4 |
| Malmö FF | 1990 | Allsvenskan | 19 | 7 | | | – | – | | | | | 19 | 7 |
| Malmö FF | 1991 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 11 | | | – | – | | | | | 22 | 11 |
| Malmö FF | Total | Total | 79 | 39 | | | 0 | 0 | | | | | 79 | 39 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1991–92 | Bundesliga | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 2 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1992–93 | Bundesliga | 20 | 10 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 11 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1993–94 | Bundesliga | 27 | 12 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 14 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1994–95 | Bundesliga | 24 | 11 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 13 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1995–96 | Bundesliga | 23 | 15 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 18 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Total | Total | 106 | 50 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 58 |
| Roma | 1996–97 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) | 1996–97 | Bundesliga | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 10 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1997–98 | Premier League | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 6 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1998–99 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 |
| Hamburger SV (loan) | 1998–99 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 241 | 103 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 267 | 113 |
* ↑ Appearance in German Super Cup

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
| National team | Season | Apps | Goals |
| Sweden |
| Sweden | 1991 | 7 | 6 |
| Sweden | 1992 | 10 | 4 |
| Sweden | 1993 | 8 | 6 |
| Sweden | 1994 | 12 | 6 |
| Sweden | 1995 | 6 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1996 | 8 | 5 |
| Sweden | 1997 | 9 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 60 | 29 |
International goals
    Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 1 May 1991 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Austria | 4–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 1 May 1991 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Austria | 5–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 3. | 15 June 1991 | Idrottsparken, Norrköping | Denmark | 1–0 | 4–0 | Scania 100 Tournament |
| 4. | 15 June 1991 | Idrottsparken, Norrköping | Denmark | 2–0 | 4–0 | Scania 100 Tournament |
| 5. | 4 September 1991 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 4–3 | Friendly |
| 6. | 4 September 1991 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Yugoslavia | 3–2 | 4–3 | Friendly |
| 7. | 7 May 1992 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Poland | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 8. | 26 August 1992 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway | Norway | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 9. | 7 October 1992 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Bulgaria | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 10. | 11 November 1992 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel | Israel | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 11. | 28 April 1993 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | France | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 12. | 11 August 1993 | Ryavallen, Borås, Sweden | Switzerland | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 13. | 22 August 1993 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | France | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 14. | 8 September 1993 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | Bulgaria | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 15. | 13 October 1993 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Finland | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 16. | 13 October 1993 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Finland | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 17. | 19 June 1994 | Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, US | Cameroon | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 18. | 24 June 1994 | Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan, US | Russia | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 19. | 24 June 1994 | Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan, US | Russia | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 20. | 3 July 1994 | Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas, US | Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 21. | 12 October 1994 | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland | Switzerland | 2–1 | 2–4 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier |
| 22. | 16 November 1994 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Hungary | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier |
| 23. | 24 April 1996 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 24. | 9 May 1996 | Olympia, Helsingborg, Sweden | Slovakia | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 25. | 16 May 1996 | Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea | South Korea | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 26. | 1 June 1996 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Belarus | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 27. | 1 September 1996 | Daugava Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Latvia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 28. | 8 June 1997 | Kadriorg Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia | Estonia | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 29. | 6 August 1997 | Malmö Stadion, Malmö, Sweden | Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

Malmö FF
* Swedish Champion: 1988
* Allsvenskan: 1988, 1989
* Svenska Cupen: 1988–89
Borussia Mönchengladbach
* DFB-Pokal: 1994–95
Sweden
* FIFA World Cup third place: 1994
Individual
* Allsvenskan top scorer: 1988
* Guldbollen: 1993
* kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1995–96