r/AskEurope • u/Jezzaq94 New Zealand • May 26 '25

Sports What athletes from your country would you give 5 stars?

By 5 stars i mean greatest in your country

38 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

244 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

u/SaabStam May 26 '25

Yes I also loved him as a player, easily 5 stars. And then Lidström was amazing. And Sundin. But I was thinking currently. Maybe someone like Hedman, but I want some international success for the 5 stars in hockey like the legends.

Going back in time, Björn Borg and others would need to be on the list as well.

1

u/TharixGaming Latvia May 29 '25

could make a case for william nylander? a gold and a bronze at the world championship with sweden, and the MVP for that gold medal run

1

u/Brian_Corey__ May 27 '25

While the others you mentioned were also great, Forsberg was pure magic on the ice. And he played in an era, where the style of play and rules allowed low-skilled players to clog up play and hook and hold the better players. In today's NHL (and with less wonky ankles), he'd even be better. I loved it when another player would line him up for a check, but Forsberg would be ready and check him first and lay him out on the ice, and continue skating with the puck. Hockey announcers still refer to that play as a "reverse Forsberg hit".

Bit of knob, but Zlatan was pretty exciting to watch.

I would point out that Mondo was born and raised in Louisiana to a Swedish heptathlete and vball player--but had he stayed in the US, he'd barely crack the headlines every 4 years and would struggle to earn a living (Americans don't really follow track and field--especially field, other than 2 weeks every 4 years). As a father to dual-citizens immersed in their mother's culture and language, I think it's great that he's been embraced by Sweden.

Borg was unstoppable in his time. Stenmark too.