Pär BENGTSSON

Pär Bengtsson was a Swedish-born striker, who made his professional debut with Halmstad in 1942. His stay with the club would last four seasons, and his statistics with Halmstad were admirable. In 1946, he signed for IF Elfsborg, a club of higher standing in the Swedish championship, for whom he would score over thirty goals over three seasons. His good performances would be recognised, he was selected by Sweden to represent them at the London Olympic Games in 1948. Sweden went on to win the Gold Medal, but Bengtsson would not play any part in the campaign. In 1949, he exiled himself in Italy, playing for Torino, reigning Italian champions, who had been decimated by the tragic Superga incident, when the plane carrying the team back from a friendly against Benfica crashed, killing all the members of the team.) He would spend a season with the Turin side, and then continued his playing career in France, signing for OGC Nice, where he played a major part in leading them to the title of French Champions in 1951, scoring 15 goals, including three hat-tricks for the club from the Côte d'Azur. He doubled up the following season with Nice, winning not only the league title, but also the French Cup. He was rested for the game prior to the Cup Final, but he would take no part in the big game, as the manager had promised the players who came in for the Metz game that they would keep their places for the final if they won. After two great seasons with Nice, he signed for Toulouse, where he would help his new side to promotion to the top flight, winning the Second Division title. In 1953, he would be picked up by Stade Rennais, where his performances wouldn't go unnoticed, scoring 23 goals in his first season in Red and Black. The following season, he would be used less in the starting line-up, and he would be less prolific as a consequence. He chose to hang up his boots as a player at the end of the 1954/1955 season. After bringing his playing career to a close, he returned to his native Sweden to live. He passed away on 23rd October 2007, in his hometown, aged 85.