Agne Simonsson

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Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a forward. Beginning his career with Örgryte IS in 1953, he went on to represent Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in La Liga in the early 1960s before returning to Örgryte in 1963. Simonsson won 51 caps for the Sweden national team, and was a part of the Sweden team that finished second at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was also the recipient of the 1959 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal after a spectacular performance for Sweden in an international game against England at Wembley Stadium.

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Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4
Simonsson with Sweden in 1960s
Tore Klas Agne Simonsson
(1935-10-19)19 October 1935
Gothenburg, Sweden
22 September 2020(2020-09-22) (aged 84)
Göteborg, Sweden
Forward
BK René
TeamApps(Gls)
Örgryte IS42(25)
Real Madrid3(1)
→ Real Sociedad (loan)22(8)
Örgryte IS120(80)
187(114)
Sweden U211(3)
Sweden51(27)
Örgryte IS
BK Häcken
Örgryte IS
Iraklis
Runner-up1958 Sweden
Runner-up1958 Sweden
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

The Sweden men's national football team in 1961 with this players – from the left, standing: Bengt "Fölet" Berndtsson, Torbjörn Jonsson, Åke "Bajdoff" Johansson, Agne Simonsson, Rune Börjesson and Lennart Backman; crouched: Olle "Lappen" Hellström, Orvar Bergmark, Bengt "Zamora" Nyholm, Lennart Wing and Gösta "Knivsta" Sandberg.

Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a forward. Beginning his career with Örgryte IS in 1953, he went on to represent Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in La Liga in the early 1960s before returning to Örgryte in 1963. Simonsson won 51 caps for the Sweden national team, and was a part of the Sweden team that finished second at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was also the recipient of the 1959 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal after a spectacular performance for Sweden in an international game against England at Wembley Stadium.

Simonsson played youth football for BK René before signing for Örgryte IS in 1949. He made his senior debut for Örgryte in 1953, when the team played in Division 3. He helped the team win promotion to Division 2 in 1955, and later won promotion to Allsvenskan in 1958 with Gunnar Gren as a player-coach. While at Örgryte IS, he finished fifth in votes for the 1959 Ballon d'Or and was awarded the 1959 Guldbollen.

Widely regarded as the best center forward in the world after a string of impressive performances for the Sweden national team, Simonsson was signed by the La Liga team Real Madrid in 1960. However, fierce competition from especially Alfredo Di Stéfano limited Simonsson's playing chances at the club and he ended up playing in only three league games during the 1960–61 La Liga season, scoring one goal as Real Madrid was crowned champions. His only goal was the third goal against Real Zaragoza in a 5–1 home win in 9th round. He was also a part of the Real Madrid teams that won the 1960 Intercontinental Cup and the 1962–63 La Liga, but did receive any playing time. Simonsson is the only Swede ever to have represented Real Madrid men’s team.

For the 1961–62 La Liga season, Simonsson was loaned out to Real Sociedad for which he scored 8 goals in 22 league games. However, at the end of the season Simonsson was forced to see his team be relegated, as the team finished 15th out of 16 teams in the table.

In 1963, Simonsson returned to Sweden and Örgryte IS to form a feared striker partnership together with Rune Börjesson. Simonsson is Örgryte IS' best ever goal scorer in league play with a total of 206 goals.

Simonsson made his only appearance for the Sweden U21 team on 22 September 1957 in a friendly game against Finland, scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 win. He made his full international debut for Sweden a month later on 13 October 1957 in a 1956–59 Nordic Football Championship game against Norway, scoring two goals as Sweden won 5–2.

Simonsson scored four goals as Sweden reached the final of the 1958 FIFA World Cup on home soil, including a goal in the final as Sweden lost 2–5 to Brazil.

He was awarded the 1959 Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal as well as the 1959 Guldbollen after his performance against England on 28 October 1959 when Sweden beat the English 3–2 at Wembley Stadium and Simonsson scored two goals and made one assist. This was only the second time in history that a team beat England at Wembley.

He won his 51st and final cap in a 2–0 win against Finland on 10 August 1967 in the 1964–67 Nordic Football Championship. He scored a total of 27 international goals.

In 1982, Simonsson managed BK Häcken to win promotion to their first ever season in Allsvenskan. As a manager for Örgryte IS, Simonsson led the team to the 1985 Swedish Championship title, winning them their first league title since 1913.

Simonsson died on 22 September 2020, at the age of 84.

National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden195722
195898
195976
196033
196142
196200
196341
196451
196533
196691
196750

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Simonsson goal.

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
113 October 1957Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenNorway1–05–21956–59 Nordic Football Championship
23–0
37 May 1958Olympia, Helsingborg, SwedenSwitzerland2–13–2Friendly
43–2
58 June 1958Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenMexico1–03–01958 FIFA World Cup
63–0
719 June 1958Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenSoviet Union2–03–01958 FIFA World Cup
829 June 1958Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenBrazil2–42–51958 FIFA World Cup
920 August 1958Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, FinlandFinland7–17–11956–59 Nordic Football Championship
1014 September 1958Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, NorwayNorway2–02–01956–59 Nordic Football Championship
1121 May 1958Ullevi, Gothenburg, SwedenPortugal1–02–0Friendly
1221 June 1959Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, DenmarkDenmark2–06–01956–59 Nordic Football Championship
132 August 1959Malmö Stadium, Malmö, SwedenFinland3–13–11956–59 Nordic Football Championship
1418 August 1959Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, SwedenNorway3–06–21956–59 Nordic Football Championship
1528 October 1959Wembley Stadium, London, United KingdomEngland1–13–2Friendly
162–1
1718 May 1960Malmö Stadium, Malmö, SwedenRepublic of Ireland2–04–1Friendly
183–0
1922 June 1960Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, FinlandFinland3–03–01960–63 Nordic Football Championship
2028 May 1961Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenSwitzerland3–04–01962 FIFA World Cup qualifier
2129 October 1961Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, SwitzerlandSwitzerland1–02–31962 FIFA World Cup qualifier
223 November 1963Råsunda Stadium, Solna SwedenGermany1–02–1Friendly
2329 April 1964De Kuip, Rotterdam, NetherlandsNetherlands1–01–0Friendly
245 May 1965Nya Parken, Norrköping, SwedenCyprus1–03–01966 FIFA World Cup qualifier
253–0
2622 August 1965Skogsvallen, Luleå, SwedenFinland2–22–21964–67 Nordic Football Championship
276 November 1966Råsunda Stadium, Solna, SwedenDenmark1–12–11964–67 Nordic Football Championship

Örgryte IS

  • Division 2 Västra Götaland: 1957–58

Real Madrid

  • La Liga: 1960–61, 1962–63
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1960

Sweden

  • FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1958
  • Nordic Football Championship: 1956–1959

Individual

  • Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal: 1959
  • Guldbollen: 1959
  • Kristallkulan: 1959
  • Nordic Football Championship top scorer: 1956–1959

Records

  • Most league goals for Örgryte IS: 206 goals

BK Häcken

  • Division 3 Nordvästra Götaland: 1977

Örgryte IS

  • Swedish Champion: 1985

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  • Agne Simonsson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
  • SvFF Hall of Fame profile
  • Fotbollsweden.se statistic