Crystal Palace players have already struggled to win the PFA Player of the Year title, let alone the coveted Ballon d’Or. None of the Eagles’ past or present players have won either accolade, but the Holmesdale Road End fans have cheered on some of the most entertaining footballers to grace the English game.
Among Palace’s numerous heroes are legendary former captain Geoff Thomas, the incredibly skilled Ian Wright, and speed demon Wilfried Zaha. The South Londoners have a long history of discovering elite talent and providing opportunities for those looking to succeed at Selhurst Park.
Palace rarely make mistakes in their recruitment, but current chairman Steve Parish may have something to say about the club’s decision to sign a failing Premier League player in January 1998. For all their great attempts to give talent a chance, difficult times necessitated drastic methods.
The Rise & Fall of Ballon d’Or Contender Brolin
From lighting up the 1994 World Cup to struggling at Crystal Palace
Every footballer aspires to represent his country in the World Cup, and playing a key part in reaching the semi-finals is a dream. That was the case for Tomas Brolin, who shined for Sweden in the United States, playing rock-and-roll football from the right side of midfield and leading the Swedes to third place.
Brolin was one of Europe’s most dynamic players, and his performances in the competition not only won him a spot on the World Cup All-Star Team. He tied for fourth place in the 1994 Ballon d’Or race with Romanian icon Gheorghe Hagi.
The Hudiksvall-born forward joined Leeds United in the Premier League in November 1995, having previously won the UEFA Cup with Italian giants Parma. His impressive record of 30 goals and 12 assists in 190 games in Italy did not follow him to England, as he suffered a fall from grace at Elland Road.
Brolin faltered, and Leeds attempted to send him back on loan to Zurich and Parma to regain form, but he was unable to duplicate his Ballon d’Or nomination form. The Peacocks lost patience, and he moved to Palace in 1997, a brief tenure with the Eagles that failed to justify the great skill he demonstrated at the World Cup years before.
“If you want to continue playing at a high level you’ve got to train every single day, but I wasn’t so keen to keep doing that.”
Brolin informed FourFourTwo in 2018 about his choice to end his career at the age of 28. He’d just spent six months at Selhurst Park, but his mind was clearly elsewhere:
“I had other projects in my head – when I stopped playing, an inventor came up to me with his new idea about hoover cleaners and I opened that company.”
The former 47-cap Sweden international met inventor Goran Edlund in 1997 and decided to start Twinnovation AB. They created a new, lighter, and more efficient hoover cleaner concept and became 50% owners. The brand is now one of Sweden’s most popular and has ‘taken the globe by storm’, just as Brolin had done at the globe Cup three years previously.
“If I had wanted to play again in December of that year, I would have returned. But that emotion never occurred, and it’s been 20 years. Everyone says 28 is a young age to retire, but it all relies on what you’ve accomplished over your 28 years as a football player. “I’d accomplished a lot.”
Brolin donated 30% of the hoover company’s earnings to a Swedish children’s rights society. He also put on his business cap and focused on the real estate market, pharmaceuticals, and catering companies. He also enjoyed poker and owned several racehorses.
The Injury and Leeds Turmoil That Broke Brolin.
The Swede never recovered.
The turning point in Brolin’s career occurred in November 1994, when Sweden faced Hungary in a European Championship qualification. He had shined at Rasunda Stadium, assisting Martin Dahlin to make it 2-0, but he sustained a broken left foot late in the second half.
Brolin departed Parma for Leeds after extensive treatment and recovery to try to regain peak performance, but he was not the same player. The Swedish forward performed admirably during his loan return to Stadio Ennio Tardini, helping the Italian club climb from tenth to second place and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history.
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