Nils Liedholm

Nils Erik Liedholm was a Swedish football midfielder and coach. Il Barone, as he is affectionately known in Italy, was renowned for being part of the Swedish "Gre-No-Li" trio of strikers along with Gunnar Gren and Gunnar Nordahl at A.C. Milan and the Swedish national team, with which he achieved notable success throughout his career. Liedholm was an intelligent offensive playmaker who was renowned for his excellent range of passing and precise crossing ability throughout his career, as well as his vision, tactical awareness, control, class, and his elegant style of play; he is regarded as one of Milan's and Sweden's greatest ever players, and considered one of the best players of the post-war era. As a coach, he was in charge of several teams in Italy, managing for nearly four decades, and was known for using a zonal marking system; he is regarded as one of the most successful managers in Italian football history. At the end of the 20th century Liedholm was voted the best Swedish player of the millennium by the readers of Sweden's largest newspaper, Aftonbladet.