Robert Klas-Göran Prytz (born 12 January 1960) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from the late 1970s until the early 2000s.[1] He earned 56 caps for the Sweden national team and is best known for his time at Hellas Verona, Malmö FF and Rangers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Klas-Göran Prytz | ||
| Date of birth | 12 January 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Malmö, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1976 | Kirseberg IF | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1982 | Malmö FF | 80 | (27) |
| 1982–1985 | Rangers | 77 | (12) |
| 1985–1986 | IFK Göteborg | 11 | (2) |
| 1986–1987 | Young Boys | 40 | (15) |
| 1987–1988 | Uerdingen 05 | 32 | (9) |
| 1988–1989 | Atalanta | 30 | (2) |
| 1989–1993 | Hellas Verona | 122 | (20) |
| 1993–1995 | Malmö FF | 52 | (9) |
| 1995–1996 | Young Boys | 38 | (3) |
| 1996–1997 | Kilmarnock | 3 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Dumbarton | 3 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Cowdenbeath | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | East Fife | 18 | (3) |
| 1998–2000 | Pollok | 60 | (17) |
| 2000–2001 | Hamilton Academical | 9 | (2) |
| Total | 576 | (121) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976 | Sweden U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 1977–1978 | Sweden U19 | 16 | (0) |
| 1980–1984 | Sweden U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 1980–1989 | Sweden | 56 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He was the 1986 recipient of Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year.
Career
editRobert Klas-Göran Prytz was born 1960 in Malmö and grew up with four brothers and three sisters in a working-class neighbourhood called Kirseberg.
He started playing for his local team Kirsebergs IF before moving up to Malmö FF as a 16-year old. Under the successful English manager Bob Houghton Prytz flourished and although it was because of injuries he got the chance of a lifetime when he in 1979 as a 19 year old played in the European Cup Final vs Nottingham Forest in Munich. A game that Nottingham won 1-0. The year after he made his international debut for Sweden.
In 1982 Robert spent 3 months at Stoke City and was meant to sign for them, but work permit rules meant that the move didn't happen. Back home he got a call from an agent saying that there was another team in the UK interested in him: Glasgow Rangers. Robert Prytz was only the second Swedish player for Rangers after Örjan Persson that played in the club 1967-70.
In his first season in Scotland: 1982-83 Robert Prytz scored his first goal for the club vs Clydebank away in the League Cup in August, with Rangers winning 4-1.
He also made a good impact in his league debut away vs Motherwell scoring in a 2-2 draw. Prytz scored the 2-1 winner away to Aberdeen 3 weeks later and he scored a spectacular goal away to Celtic in October, a corner kick that went straight in goal.
His first season at Rangers saw him play 48 games (30 in the league) scoring 7 times (5 in the league) Rangers finishing only 4th in the league witch saw Dundee United winning. Rangers did reach both the Scottish Cup and League Cup finals but lost them both.
The 1983-84 season started the same way as the previous with Prytz scoring on the opening day of the season, a penalty earning a 1-1 draw at home against St Mirren. But after a terrible start to the season with Rangers losing 7 of the following 10 games manager John Greig was replaced by legendary manager Jock Wallace. Rangers did lose the following game but then went on a 22 match unbeaten run, but Rangers eventually finished 4th yet again. Aberdeen led by a former Rangers player called Alex Ferguson winning the league. Rangers did however win 2 trophies that season beating Celtic both in the Glasgow Cup final 1-0 as well as winning a thrilling League Cup final 3-2 after extra time, with Ally McCoist scoring a hattrick.
Robert Prytz's appearances for the season was 42 games (26 in the league) scoring 9 goals (4 in the league).
The season 1984-85 finished almost identically as the previous season with Aberdeen winning the league and Rangers finishing 4th. Rangers won both the League Cup and Glasgow Cup the second season in a row.
Prytz made 28 appearances (21 in the league) scoring 4 goals (3 in the league). His Rangers career saw him play 118 games (72 in the league) scoring 20 goals (12 in the league) in 3 seasons.
It became obvious though that Prytz's technical style of playing the ball on the ground didn't always fit the style that British clubs played at that time and it was time to move on.
He joined IFK Gothenburg for a brief spell in the summer and then moved on to Young Boys in Switzerland where he became an instant success, winning the league that year.
Robert Prytz also represented Bayer Uerdingen, Atalanta, Hellas Verona, Malmö FF and Young Boys again before 1996 moving back "home" to Scotland He did keep his house in Glasgow the whole time since he met and married the Scottish Joyce, and had 2 daughters.
Prytz continued playing for various Scottish clubs for another 5 seasons, including Kilmarnock, Dumbarton, Cowdenbeath, East Fife, Pollok and Hamilton Accies before hanging up his boots in 2001.
After living in Glasgow for 26 years a divorce and the ability to be closer to his aging mother Prytz moved back to Sweden in 2008, and he did get to spend two years with his mother before she died. He now lives and works in Malmö, all his earnings as a professional football player went to securing the future for his ex-wife and now adult daughters.
During his career Robert Prytz won 2 league titles with Young Boys and Malmö FF. He also won the Swedish Cup with Malmö FF, the Swiss Cup with Young Boys and of course 2 League Cups and 2 Glasgow Cups with Rangers FC.
He also won the Guldbollen = player of the year award in Sweden in 1986.
He was capped 56 times for Sweden, scoring 13 goals.
He still continues to play football on a more modest level, playing in friendlies for a team consisting of celebrities and former players.[2]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1982 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1983 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1984 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1985 | 8 | 5 | |
| 1986 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1987 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 13 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Prytz goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 April 1983 | Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands |  Netherlands
|
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [4] |
| 2 | 15 May 1983 | Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden |  Cyprus
|
1–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification | [5] |
| 3 | 5–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 22 August 1984 | Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden |  Mexico
|
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | [6] |
| 5 | 14 November 1984 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal |  Portugal
|
1–1 | 3–1 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification | [7] |
| 6 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 May 1985 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel
|
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | [8] |
| 8 | 22 May 1985 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden |  Norway
|
1–0 | 1–0 | 1981–85 Nordic Football Championship | [9] |
| 9 | 5 June 1985 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |  Czechoslovakia
|
1–0 | 2–0 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification | [10] |
| 10 | 11 September 1985 | Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark |  Denmark
|
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | [11] |
| 11 | 17 November 1985 | Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Malta
|
1–0 | 2–1 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification | [12] |
| 12 | 6 August 1986 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland |  Finland
|
1–0 | 3–1 | 1981–85 Nordic Football Championship | [13] |
| 13 | 3–0 |
Honours
edit- Malmö
- Allsvenskan: 1977
- Svenska Cupen: 1979–80
- European Cup Runner-up: 1978–79
- Rangers
- Young Boys
- Pollok
- Central Sectional League Cup: 1999–00
- West of Scotland Junior Cup: 1999–00[15]
Individual
- Stor Grabb: 1984[16]
- Guldbollen: 1986
- Swiss Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1986–87
References
edit- ^ "Robert Prytz". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ Podcast. Haften skotte - Halften malmoit - MFF legend Robert Prytz. Blatt Snack. 2019
- ^ "Robert Klas-Göran Prytz - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Nederländerna - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Sverige - Cypern - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Sverige - Mexiko - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Portugal - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Israel - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Sverige - Norge - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Sverige - Tjeckoslovakien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Danmark - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Malta - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Finland - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Switzerland Super Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ "ROBERT PRYTZ: THE EUROPEAN CUP FINALIST WHO ENDED UP IN THE SCOTTISH NON-LEAGUE". These Football Times. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Stora Grabbars Märke - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
External links
edit- Robert Prytz at National-Football-Teams.com
- Robert Prytz at ifkdb.com
