- But Holmberg was not only loyal, he was also extremely skillful. As a central player in the 2-3-5 lineup that was used, usually with Sven Rydell on one side, Holmberg often got loose and got into many finishing positions. Unless he took matters into his own hands and shot from distance, of course. “The guns need to rumble a lot more often,” Holmberg said in a 1987 interview. And when “Slana” speaks, you have to listen to him.

Because it is undeniable that he knows what he is talking about. Holmberg scored with his feet and with his head, from far and near. All the time. Goals, goals, goals. When it comes to scoring goals and the noble art of finishing, Holmberg has very few superiors. In the 1925/26 season, the year after his Allsvenskan debut when he was only 19, and 1927/28 he won the Allsvenskan scoring league with 29 and 27 goals respectively and contributed to the series victories of those years. In 1931/32, when ÖIS finished second, he scored 29 goals and claimed his third league win, a record that only Gunnar Nordahl, Karl-Alfred Jakobsson, Bo Larsson and Jan Mattsson have equaled or beaten over the ages. Winning the scoring league before the age of 20 is even rarer.

- In the history of ÖIS, besides Holmberg, only Yngve Lindgren, Rune Börjesson, Sören Börjesson and Marcus Allbäck have achieved the feat of winning the Allsvenskan scoring league. Holmberg also showed his skills in the national team, scoring eight goals in 14 international appearances, but it was at ÖIS where he performed best. And most. For a long time he was the player with the most appearances to his name for ÖIS, but his tally of 260 was eventually surpassed by Niclas Sjöstedt.

- However, his 194 goals in the Allsvenskan are still an ÖIS record and domestically, only Elfsborg's Sven Jonasson has a better figure. Holmberg's greatness can be clearly seen in all the top goal lists in Allsvenskan history. There is no doubt that Holmberg was our biggest star in the 1920s and 1930s, along with a certain Sven Rydell whose shadow was hard to avoid. Holmberg may be a hidden gem to some, but the statistics and his good reputation say it all: Carl-Erik Holmberg is one of our greatest players of all time and his portrait is worth immortalizing.

Links:
https://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/leg ... erg-508578
https://ifkdb.com/player/Karl-Erik-Holmberg_277
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl-Erik_Holmberg
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl-Erik_Holmberg