Tributes pouring in for Sweden and Milan great

MILAN: The soccer world paid tribute on Monday to former Sweden and AC Milan great Nils Liedholm, who has died at the age of 85.

Liedholm captained the Sweden team that lost the 1958 World Cup final to Brazil and he won four Italian titles with Milan in the 1950s before embarking on a successful coaching career.

"A piece of the history of soccer has gone," former Juventus goalkeeper and Italy captain Dino Zoff told Corriere della Sera (www.corriere.it).

"He was part of the heart of the great Milan (of the 1950s), along with (Gunnar) Gren and (Gunnar) Nordahl, and then he had a splendid career as a coach.

"He was always a gent with exemplary behavior. As a coach he liked to make his teams play good football".

After hanging up his boots, the Swede led AC Milan to the league title in 1979 from the bench and won the Serie A crown with AS Roma in 1983.

"I knew him and had the chance to appreciate a person of great humor and humanity," Roma captain Francesco Totti told his club's website. "It is a very great loss for soccer and for Roma."

Bruno Conti, a member of Roma's 1983 title-winning team, praised Liedholm's personal qualities:

"He was the coach I debuted with. He was the person who taught me the importance of work and, at the same time, he knew how to make fun of himself and make light of things.

"I owe him my career as a footballer and my formation as a human."

AC Milan President Silvio Berlusconi mourned "a great of Milan's history".

"He was a champion, a gentleman, a friend," the former Italian premier added. "I remember performances in which he didn't make a single mistake. Thank you Nils for all you did for us."

Agencies

(China Daily 11/07/2007 page24)