Carl Blidberg
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 July 1867 | ||
| Place of birth | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| Date of death | 3 December 1944 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1887 | Göteborgs Gymnastiksällskap | ||
| 1888–1892 | Lyckans Soldater | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carl Blidberg (20 July 1867 – 3 December 1944) was a Swedish businessman and footballer who played a crucial role in the amateur beginnings of football in Gothenburg, having been the fundamental head behind the foundation of Lyckans Soldater in 1883, and playing in one of the first-ever football matches in the city in 1887.[1]
Carl Blidberg was born in Gothenburg on 20 July 1867, as the son of Nicoline Winberg and Fredrik Blidberg. In 1894, the 27-year-old Blidberg married Elin Bredberg, daughter of the merchant J. A. Bredberg and Marie Signeul.[2]
Playing career
On 12 October 1883, Blidberg was among the group of students from the Realgymnasium in Gothenburg who decided to create a sports club in the city, Lyckans Soldater ("Soldiers of Fortune"); Blidberg's family owned a farm called Lyckan, hence the club's name.[1][3][4] On 4 September 1887, he played with Göteborgs Gymnastiksällskap ("Gothenburg Gymnastics Society") in a Swedish football match against Göteborgs BK at Heden, which was a mixture of the English football and rugby rules.[1] For several years, Lyckans Soldater and Örgryte were the leading clubs in the city, and they went on to face each other in the first association football match played in Sweden in 1892, also at Heden.[1][3][4]
In 1902, Blidberg served as the shopkeeper of the outdoor games society of Gothenburg,[5] and in 1923, he was the chairman of the board of the Gothenburg Swimming Association.[6]