Ronnie Hellström

Ronnie Hellström

Hellström in 2013.
Personal information
Full name	Ronnie Carl Hellström
Date of birth	(1949-02-21) 21 February 1949
Place of birth	Malmö, Sweden
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1966–1974	Hammarby IF	169	(0)
1974–1984	1. FC Kaiserslautern	266	(0)
1988	GIF Sundsvall	1	(0)
Total		436	(0)
International career
1968–1980	Sweden	77	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronnie Carl Hellström (born 21 February 1949 in Malmö) is a former Swedish football goalkeeper.

He played most of his career in Sweden and Germany; being considered one of the world's top goalkeepers in the 1970s, he won the Golden ball (Guldbollen) twice, in 1971 and 1978. His son, Erland, is also a footballer and a goalkeeper.

Club career

Hellström started his career in Hammarby IF, and in 1974 became a professional with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he played 266 Bundesliga matches before retiring, in 1984. From 1978–82, although always coming up empty in the end, he helped the club to consecutive top three (or four) finishes.

In 1988, Hellström played one match in the Allsvenskan, for GIF Sundsvall. He was 39 years, 7 months and 18 days at the time. He later went on to work as a goalkeeping coach for Hammarby and Malmö FF.

International career

Hellström helped Sweden to a fifth place in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, and also played at the 1970 and the 1978 editions. In total, he received 77 caps.

While in Argentina during the 1978 World Cup, Hellström took part in the demonstrations of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo in front of Casa Rosada together with teammates Roy Andersson and Roland Andersson.

Ronnie Hellström is unsuccessful in trying to stop Grzegorz Lato's header in the game against Poland in the 1974 World Cup. Kent Karlsson is visible on the left.

Honours

Team

• DFB-Pokal: Runner-up 1975–76, 1980–81

Individual

• Swedish Golden Ball: 1971, 1978

External links

• Ronnie Hellström at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Ronnie Hellström at worldfootball.net
• Ronnie Hellström at goalkeepersaredifferent.com