Crystal Palace players have had a hard enough time trying to win the PFA Player of the Year award, let alone the prestigious Ballon d’Or. None of the Eagles’ past and present have claimed either award, but the Holmesdale Road End faithful have roared on some of the most entertaining footballers to grace the English game.

Legendary former skipper Geoff Thomas, the terrifically talented Ian Wright and speed demon Wilfried Zaha are three of many Palace heroes. The South Londoners have a rich history of unearthing top talent and giving those wanting opportunities a chance to shine at Selhurst Park.

Palace very rarely get their recruitment wrong, but current chairman Steve Parish would maybe have something to say about the club’s decision to sign a struggling Premier League star in January 1998. For all their admirable efforts to give talent a chance, desperate times called for desperate measures.

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The Rise & Fall of Ballon d’Or Contender Brolin

From lighting up the 1994 World Cup to struggling at Crystal Palace

Every footballer wants to represent their country at the World Cup, and to play a pivotal role in reaching the semi-final stages is a dream. That was the case for Tomas Brolin, who starred for Sweden in the United States, producing rock-and-roll football from the right side of midfield to fire the Swedes to a third-place finish.

Brolin was one of Europe’s most exciting talents, and his displays in the tournament not only earned him a place in the World Cup’s All-Star Team.. He finished joint-fourth in the 1994 Ballon d’Or race alongside Romanian icon Gheorghe Hagi.

The Hudiksvall-born forward eventually arrived in the Premier League with Leeds United in November 1995, joining from Italian giants Parma after winning the UEFA Cup. His fine record of 30 goals and 12 assists in 190 games in Italy didn’t follow him to England, and he endured a fall from grace at Elland Road.

Brolin stuttered and Leeds tried sending him back on loan to Zurich and Parma to rediscover form but he was unable to replicate his Ballon d’Or nomination form. The Peacocks ran out of patience, and he moved to Palace in 1997, a brief spell with the Eagles that didn’t justify the enormous talent he’d displayed years ago at the World Cup.

Brolin told FourFourTwo in 2018 when reflecting on his decision to call time on his career at the age of 28. He’d spent just six months at Selhurst Park but his head was evidently elsewhere:

The former 47-cap Sweden international met inventor Goran Edlund in 1997 and turned his focus to founding Twinnovation AB. They developed a new, lighter, and more efficient vacuum cleaner idea and became 50% company owners. The brand is now one of Sweden’s most popular and has ‘taken the world by storm’ just as Brolin had done at the World Cup three years prior:

Brolin used earnings from the vacuum company for charitable causes, paying 30 per cent to a children’s rights society in Sweden. He also put his business cap on and turned to the property market, pharmaceuticals and catering firms. He also played poker and owned several racehorses.

The Injury and Leeds Turmoil That Broke Brolin

The Swede never recovered

The turning point in Brolin’s career came in November 1994 when Sweden faced Hungary in a European Championship qualifier. He’d impressed at Rasunda Stadium, providing Martin Dahlin with an assist to make it 2-0, but he suffered a broken left foot late in the second half.

Brolin left Parma for Leeds after undergoing lengthy rehab and recovery to try to get back into peak condition, but unfortunately, he wasn’t the same player. The Swedish attacker fared well in his loan spell back at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, helping the Italian outfit move from 10th to second and qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

The Twinner company website claims that Leeds prevented Brolin from returning to Parma permanently by ‘demanding too much money’. Then Peacocks manager George Graham would not be on him, and he was later sent to the reserves before mutually agreeing to terminate his contract in October 1997.

Brolin initially joined Palace in January 1998 as a player after a trial period, and the club desperately needed players. He would eventually spend time working alongside Atillo Lombardo in the coaching setup until his contract expired in May, and he headed back to Sweden, where he retired at Hudiksvalls FF after just three months with the club.

Now sells vacuum cleaners

Following his retirement, Brolin now lives a very different life away from football. He told the press that he had met entrepreneur Goran Edlund and invested in the inventor’s business.

Edlund had developed a new vacuum cleaner nozzle that was lighter, more efficient, and easier to clean than its rivals. Brolin took a 50 per cent stake in the ‘Twinner’, explaining:

“At the time, everyone told me that at 28, it was too early to retire, but I replied: “It depends on what you’ve done in those 28 years.” I had already achieved a lot. Life is too short to do boring things. I don’t do things I don’t enjoy.

“I needed something more. My mind was looking for new experiences, and being an entrepreneur was useful for me. I discovered a new world, learned a trade, and challenged myself again.

“Now, if I think about it, I come to the conclusion that I’ve always wanted to challenge myself in every area. I did it with football, I did it with business.”

The company currently shift units in Sweden and the UK so they must be doing something right. That said, it’s certainly been a dramatic career change for the former Ballon d’Or contender.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt

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