Thomas Ravelli

Thomas Ravelli

Ravelli in 2014
Personal information
Full name Thomas Ravelli
Date of birth (1959-08-13) 13 August 1959
Place of birth Vimmerby, Sweden
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Youth career
Öster
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1988 Öster 219 (0)
1989–1997 IFK Göteborg 211 (0)
1998 Tampa Bay Mutiny 23 (0)
1999 Öster 8 (0)
Total 461 (0)
National team
1981–1997 Sweden 143 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Thomas Ravelli (pronounced [ˈtuːmas raˈvɛlːɪ]; born 13 August 1959) is a retired Swedish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

His 21-year professional career was almost exclusively associated with Öster and Göteborg, for whom he appeared in 430 Allsvenskan games combined.

The most-capped player for the Swedish national team for several years, Ravelli represented the nation at two World Cups and one European Championship.

Club career

Ravelli was born in Vimmerby. At the club level he played for Östers IF and IFK Göteborg, winning three Allsvenskan championships during his ten-year tenure with the former team before signing for the latter in 1989, at the age of 29.

With Göteborg, Ravelli conquered a further six leagues and his only Swedish Cup. In 1998, already 39, he joined the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer, closing out his career the following year with his first club; in total, he played in nearly 600 official matches as a professional.

International career

Ravelli's international career spanned almost two decades, starting in 1981. He played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, and the 1994 World Cup, with Sweden finishing third in the latter tournament, and appeared in a total of 143 games.[1]

He is well known for saving two penalties during the shootout against Romania in 1994 World Cup's quarter-final clash, including one in the "sudden death" by Miodrag Belodedici (5–4 win).[2] This feat led to him finishing second in the year's race for Goalkeeper of the Year,[3] and he was also named by France Football as the seventh best player in Europe.[4]

Personal life

Ravelli's twin brother, Andreas, was also a footballer. Their father was an Austrian immigrant of Italian descent,[5][6] and the siblings played alongside each other at Öster and the national team.

Club statistics

[7][8]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sweden League Svenska Cupen League Cup Europe Total
1978ÖsterAllsvenskan00
1979130
1980260
1981260
1982240
1983280
1984170
1985190
1986200
1987240
1988220
1989GöteborgAllsvenskan220
1990260
1991280
1992240
1993260
1994250
1995200
1996170
1997230
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1998Tampa Bay MutinyMajor League Soccer230
Total Sweden 4300
USA 230
Career total 4530

Honours

Club

Östers
Göteborg

International

Sweden

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Thomas Ravelli – Century of International Appearances; at RSSSF
  2. ↑ World Cup USA '94 / Quarterfinals: There once was a man named ravelli... : Sweden: Goalkeeper's performance against Romanian penalty kicks seems like the stuff of legends.; Los Angeles Times, 11 July 1994
  3. 1 2 IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year 1994; at RSSSF
  4. ↑ European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1994; at RSSSF
  5. ↑ Thomas Ravellis släkthistoria stolen (Thomas Ravelli's family history stolen); Aftonbladet, 10 June 2000 (Swedish)
  6. ↑ Thomas Ravelli; UEFA.com, 10 July 2003
  7. ↑ "Thomas Ravelli". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Thomas RAVELLI" (in Japanese). Level K. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  9. ↑ IFFHS' World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year 1995; at RSSSF
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