Kurt Hamrin, Sweden’s World Cup runner-up and Fiorentina’s all-time top scorer, has died aged 89, the Swedish Football Association said on Sunday.
Hamrin, nicknamed “Little Bird” for the speed and grace he showed on the wing, helped Sweden reach the 1958 World Cup final with four goals in the tournament, and was the last surviving player from the final, which they lost 5-2 to Pele’s Brazil.
“One of Swedish football’s greatest icons has left us. Rest in peace Kurt “Kurre” Hamrin,” the Swedish FA said.
“He is a legend in both AIK and Fiorentina for his efforts in the clubs. Thank you Kurre for all the blue and yellow memories you have been involved in creating for so many, rest in peace.”
Hamrin began his career at AIK in Sweden but is remembered most for his time spent in Italy’s Serie A at Juventus, Padova, Fiorentina, AC Milan and Napoli, and is ninth on the league’s all-time scoring list with 190 goals.
He spent eight seasons at Fiorentina, helping them win the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1961, their only major European trophy, and is the club’s record scorer with 208 goals.
Although Hamrin later played for Milan, winning the Scudetto and a European Cup, and ended his career back in Sweden, he returned to Florence to live with his family, where he died at his home in the city which adored him.
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