Kalle Svensson

Who was Kalle Svensson?

Karl-Oskar Svensson, nicknamed Rio-Kalle, was a famous Swedish football goalkeeper from Helsingborg. He played on elite level for Helsingborgs IF during his whole career, debuting in Allsvenskan only 18 years old on 4 June 1944, conceding two goals. He stood between the posts in 349 Allsvenskan matches, from his debut to the spring of 1959, after which he quit playing on elite level. He continued to play for local team Gunnarstorps IF, but made a comeback in Helsingborgs IF in June 1961, playing there until his last match on 21 October 1962. When he was not playing football, Kalle Svensson worked as a fire fighter in his hometown Helsingborg.

His 349 matches in the highest league is the third most for a goalkeeper in Allsvenskan. He also has got the less impressive record of being the goalkeeper who has conceded the highest number of goals in Allsvenskan, a total of 575. He never won Allsvenskan with his club, Helsingborgs IF finished second two times, third three times and fourth three times during his career, giving him a total of eight medals, but no gold, missing it by having a lower goal difference in 1948–49, and by being one point behind in 1953–54. He was the first goalkeeper to receive the Swedish Football Association award for best Swedish footballer, Guldbollen, in 1952.