Conny Torstensson

Jan Conny Torstensson (born 28 August 1949) is a former footballer from Sweden.[2] With Sweden he participated in the 1974 and 1978 editions of the FIFA World Cup. With Åtvidabergs FF he won national titles. Later he belonged to the side of Bayern Munich which dominated international club football in the mid-1970s.

Conny Torstensson
Personal information
Full name Jan Conny Torstensson
Date of birth (1949-08-28) 28 August 1949
Place of birth Lofta, Sweden
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1973 Åtvidabergs FF 50 (18)
1973–1977 Bayern Munich 81 (11)
1977–1978 FC Zürich 24 (3)
1978–1980 Åtvidabergs FF 49 (6)
Total 204 (38)
National team
1972–1979 Sweden[1] 40 (7)
Teams managed
1986 Åtvidabergs FF
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Torstensson commenced his career with Åtvidabergs FF in southern Sweden, then a club renowned for its successful youth development. From 1967 onward he featured regularly in the senior team with which he ascended to the first division after the first season. In the following years he was part of the team that defined the golden era of the club, winning the only titles in its history. 1970 and 1971 Åtvidabergs FF won the cup and was twice runner up in the championship, which the club won in 1972 and 1973. In 1973 the club also reached the cup final once more. Torstensson himself debuted 1972 in the Swedish national football team.

In the first round of the 1973–74 European Champions Cup campaign Åtvidabergs FF encountered Bayern Munich, with stars like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller one of the favourites of the competition. In Munich Åtvidaberg lost 1–3, With the aid of two goals by Torstensson, who already scored in Munich, the Swedes achieved the same result in the return leg, albeit losing in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. However, Torstensson impressed coach and management of Bayern and was speedily transferred for a then impressive sum of 580.000 Marks (290.000 Euros).

Until 1977 he played in 81 Bundesliga matches for Bayern scoring 11 goals. He impressed most in European Cup matches, where he scored a number of important goals, and won the competition three times consecutively between 1974 and 1976, featuring in the finals of 1974 and 1975. Altogether, he scored 10 goals in 21 European cup matches. A further highlight was the winning of the Intercontinental Cup in the two finals against Cruzeiro EC of Brazil.

1974 he participated with Sweden in the World Cup in Germany, reaching the second phase of the tournament, where he scored the winner against Yugoslavia. Four years later he also participated in the world Cup in Argentina. Sweden exited there winless after round one.

On club level Torstensson moved 1977 to FC Zürich in Switzerland, returning a year later to Åtvidabergs FF, where he ended his career in 1980.

After his playing years he initially had a position in the packaging industry. Over the years he held various functions at Åtvidabergs FF. In 1986, he coached the club in the second division. Later he was manager with the speedway team - speedway is counted amongst the major sports in Sweden - of Västervik, which in those years became runner-up in the national championship.

In 2015, he lived with his wife Annette, a teacher and local politician with the Centerpartiet at a lake in Borghult, a rural location ca. 25 km north-west of Västervik. The couple has been married since 1971 and has two daughters.

Honours

Åtvidabergs FF

Bayern Munich

References
  1. "Sweden national football team stats". passagen.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  2. "Torstensson, Conny" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
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