Orvar Bergmark

Orvar Bergmark (16 November 1930 – 10 May 2004) was a Swedish football defender, manager and bandy player. He was the second Swedish national manager ever, and managed to qualify the Swedish national football team for the FIFA World Cup in Mexico 1970, after having beaten France (among others) in the qualifications. The 1970 World Cup was the first one in 12 years, and it was also the first time in 20 years that Sweden had qualified for a World Cup. (Sweden hosted the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and hence did not need to qualify.) Sweden did not qualify for the World Cups in 1954, 1962 and 1966). In 1952 he took part in the Olympic Bandy tournament.

Orvar Bergmark
Bergmark in 1958
Personal information
Date of birth (1930-11-16)16 November 1930
Place of birth Bureå, Sweden
Date of death 10 May 2004(2004-05-10) (aged 73)
Place of death Örebro, Sweden
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Right back
Youth career
1944–1947 Byske IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948–1954 Örebro SK 97 (10)
1955 AIK 17 (0)
1956–1962 Örebro SK 133 (8)
1962–1964 AS Roma 2 (0)
1964–1965 Örebro SK 44 (1)
National team
1951–1965[1] Sweden 94 (0)
Teams managed
1958–1961 Örebro SK
1966–1970 Sweden
1971–1973 Örebro SK
1974–1977 Fjugesta IF
1978 Örebro SK
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Men's football
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1958 SwedenTeam
Men's bandy
Olympic Games (demonstration sport)
1952 OsloTeam
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In Mexico, Sweden had to face the becoming runners-up, Italy, in their first game, and lost 0–1. The Italian squad included Roberto Boninsegna, Gianni Rivera, Luigi Riva, Giacinto Facchetti and Dino Zoff. In the second game, Israel did not seem too difficult to beat. But Sweden got a 1–1 draw. Then Sweden needed to beat Uruguay in the last group game with at least two goals. Orvar Bergmark's squad only scored a single goal (in the last minute), and it all was over. Some of Orvar Bergmark's key players were Ove Grahn, Ove Kindvall, Hasse Selander, Tommy Svensson (who 24 years later would keep Orvars Bergmark's office, and led Sweden to a surprising bronze medal in the 1994 World Cup in the United States), Bosse Larsson and Roland Grip.

During the tournament, Sweden had a goal-keeping problem. Bergmark used the young Ronnie Hellström in the opening game against Italy, and was displeased with Hellström's performance when Italy scored. The little less talented, but far more experienced Sven-Gunnar Larsson guarded the Swedish goal during the last two matches instead.

Orvar Bergmark left his office soon after the World Cup and was replaced by Georg "Åby" Ericson.

Bergmark was not only a football player who won silver medals at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was also an international bandy player, and won silver medals at that sport's World Cup also. He played his bandy for Örebro.

In 1980, he organized the first international tournament for bandy ladies. In Örebro, Sweden met Finland, Norway and Holland, and took the first prize.

Bergmark contracted Parkinson's disease around 1980, and died from that in 2004.

Honours

Player
Sweden
Individual
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References
  1. "Örvar Bergmark – International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  2. "Eric Batty's World XI – The Sixties". Beyond the Last Man. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
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