MILAN – It may have been a totally different game back then but there's nothing wrong with taking a stroll down memory lane to look at some of the heroes of yesteryear. To get away from the compulsive need to win and remember who we once were.
54 years ago to the day Lennart Skoglund made his last appearance in a Nerazzurri shirt against Bari. Winner of two Scudetti with Inter in 1952/53 and 1953/54, the Swedish midfielder had joined the club at the age of 21 after making his name in his homeland, resisting the overtures of Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo.
But how can we talk about Skoglund without mentioning Benito Lorenzi? Veleno (Poison) was the exact opposite of Skoglund, but on the pitch and off it they were the best of friends. Skoglund, totally enamoured with the Milanese lifestyle of the 1950s, would meander up Via Montenapoleone when it was time for the pre-dinner aperitif. It was a very different Milan back in the day, a city where everyone took an evening stroll to catch a glimpse of the glitterati. The fifties saw great changes: from World War 2, and the aftermath following the drama, to the collective desire to grasp life by the horns again and enjoy it to the max.
The blond, talented and fragile Skoglund saw the small, dark and determined Lorenzi (Poison was no coincidental nickname) as an older brother. It was a role Lorenzi – in his own words – took very seriously. If Lennart ever pushed the boat out a bit too far at night, and risked not being able to turn up for the game in tip-top shape, Benito would lock him indoors with a litre of milk.
Just as they lived very differently, so too did they die very differently. Lorenzi passed away at the age of 82 in 2007, having never completely cut his ties with Inter. Skoglund left this world still young in 1975, aged 46. He was found in his home in Stockholm: the world had forgotten him and perhaps he too wanted to forget the world.
