Brolin: The Ledger Breaks on the Row After the Peak
BallFact keeps seven rows for Tomas Brolin: starting at Norrköping in 1990, three seasons at Parma, a 1994 national-team row, then Leeds and Crystal Palace. The overall summit, 82, is shared by two rows — 1993/94 and the 1994 row, the only cell our ledger marks peak. The break is not in the last year: durability falls 80 → 50, a 30-point step, on the row directly after the peak, then 46 and 34; the ledger stamps valley three times, all after the peak. The highest number in his file is 88, found 8 times: seven of them the showmanship column unmoved across seven rows, one the off-the-ball rating of 1994 — and the former does not even enter the overall score.
Page one of the file
Tomas Brolin, born 1969, a Swedish second striker, retired in 1998 — the two dates our file carries for him are 29 years apart. BallFact has filed 7 seasons: one at Norrköping, three at Parma (Serie A), a 1994 national-team row, and one row each at Leeds United and Crystal Palace.
One sentence carries this file: the break is not in the last year — it is the row after the peak. The overall summit, 82, is shared by 1993/94 and 1994, while durability falls 80 → 50, a single step of 30, then 46 and 34. The four physical columns (acceleration, agility, dribbling, sprint) hold identical values up to the break and decline strictly after it. Our own annotation column stamps valley three times, all of them after the only peak. And the highest number in the file, 88, appears 8 times: seven of them in a showmanship column that never moves — and does not enter the overall score at all.
Year-by-year attribute matrix · 1990—1997/98
★ = the row our file marks as peak. This matrix is editorial derivation (L3), solved from no game database. Heat shading only encodes absolute level (scale 60–99); outlined cells are the 8 cells at ≥88. The 1994 row is a national-team year, filed on its own per our convention. Per-season appearances, goals and standings are not held here, so the matrix omits and the prose never cites them. "The four physical columns freeze, then fall", "off-the-ball and goal hunger peak in the same 1994 cell" and "showmanship is constant at 88" are machine-checked against the database; if any fails, this page is not allowed to exist.
| Season | Age | Pos | MOBILITY | TECHNIQUE | PHYSICAL | DEFENDING | MENTAL | WILL | GOALKEEPER | OVR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | SPT | AGI | OFF | FIN | LSH | PAS | THR | CRO | SET | SHD | FTO | DRI | HEA | LFT | RFT | STA | STR | DUR | AIR | D1V | MAR | POS | AGR | ZON | INT | PRS | VIS | CMP | CON | LEA | STB | WOR | SHW | HGRL | WTW | DFZ | BIG | SAV | AER | CMD | DIS | ONE | OVR | |||
| 1990 | 20 | 82 | 86 | 83 | 86 | 74 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 62 | 64 | 76 | 78 | 64 | 86 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 72 | 74 | 88 | 80 | 73 | 52 | 75 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 80 | |
| 1990/91 | 21 | 82 | 82 | 83 | 86 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 62 | 65 | 77 | 78 | 64 | 84 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 77 | 76 | 72 | 70 | 74 | 74 | 88 | 82 | 75 | 52 | 78 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 81 | |
| 1993/94 | 24 | 82 | 82 | 83 | 86 | 78 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 62 | 65 | 77 | 78 | 64 | 80 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 79 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 88 | 83 | 77 | 52 | 81 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 82 | |
| 1994 | 24 | 82 | 82 | 83 | 88 | 78 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 62 | 65 | 77 | 78 | 64 | 80 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 79 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 88 | 84 | 77 | 52 | 81 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 82 | |
| 1994/95 | 25 | 76 | 76 | 77 | 86 | 70 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 78 | 62 | 64 | 76 | 68 | 64 | 50 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 79 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 88 | 79 | 77 | 52 | 81 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 79 | |
| 1995/96 | 26 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 86 | 64 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 74 | 62 | 63 | 75 | 64 | 64 | 46 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 79 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 88 | 76 | 77 | 52 | 81 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 77 | |
| 1997/98 | 28 | 64 | 64 | 65 | 86 | 56 | 74 | 84 | 84 | 66 | 76 | 74 | 84 | 66 | 62 | 61 | 73 | 56 | 64 | 34 | 60 | 52 | 44 | 62 | 54 | 50 | 56 | 67 | 79 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 75 | 74 | 88 | 71 | 77 | 52 | 80 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 74 | |
How to read this table? Start with Durability (DUR): 86, 84, 80, 80, 50, 46, 34 — four rows never below 80, then a single −30, then nothing above 50 again. Move left across the four physical columns: identical from 1990/91 through 1994 (ACC 82, AGI 83, DRI 84, SPT 82), then strictly lower in each row after the break (ACC 76→64, AGI 77→65, DRI 78→66, SPT 76→64). Finish with the outlined column at the right: Showmanship (SHW) reads 88 in all seven rows — the highest number in the file, and the one our weighting refuses to count.
One break line, two directions
Seven rows, seven testimonies
Norrköping, Swedish first tier — the first row of our ledger: overall 80, durability 86, the highest cell that column ever reaches. At 20 the body had not yet taken anything out of the account.
Parma, Serie A. He lands in Italy at 21; overall 81, one point above the Swedish row. Two cells of the file — 1991/92 and 1992/93 — are simply empty: years this archive has not filed are not filled in here either.
Parma, Serie A. Overall 82, level with the next row at the table high of 82; finishing 78 reaches its own summit here and never goes higher. The four physical columns have stopped moving by now — ACC 82, AGI 83, DRI 84, SPT 82 — and hold until the break.
★ National-team year — the only row this ledger marks peak. Overall 82 (the shared summit); off-the-ball 88 and goal hunger 84 are each their column's unique high, in the same row. BallFact holds no goal-by-goal ledger for Sweden at any match, so nothing below this row is a scoreline: the file states only the numbers it gives him.
Parma, Serie A. The break is this row: durability 50, 30 points below the one above; stamina 68 (previously 78), acceleration 76. Inside the same contract the body refunds first while the overall slips only 3 — a delayed verdict, printed one row after the peak. Our file marks it valley.
Leeds United, Premier League. Overall 77, durability 46; finishing 64, 14 under the 1994 row. The four physical columns keep falling, strictly: 76→72, 77→73, 78→74, 76→72. Mark: valley.
Crystal Palace, Premier League, the final row. Overall 74; durability 34 is the lowest cell in the file, stamina 56, sprint 64 (the first row still read 86). 28 years old; retired in 1998; no further row follows. Mark: valley.
Seven things the file can point at
Norrköping, Swedish first tier — the seven-row ledger opens: overall 80, durability 86, that column's highest cell. (BallFact player_seasons / player_attributes)
First Parma row (Serie A), overall 81. Two cells of the file — 1991/92 and 1992/93 — are empty: years this archive has not filed stay unfilled. (BallFact player_seasons)
Overall 82, level with the following row at the table high 82; finishing 78 is this column's summit and never higher. (BallFact player_attributes)
★ The only row our annotation column marks peak: overall 82, with off-the-ball 88 and goal hunger 84 as their columns' unique highs. No scoreline is claimed here: BallFact holds no goal-by-goal ledger for Sweden. (BallFact player_seasons.mark)
The break: durability 80 → 50 (−30), still at Parma; the overall slips only 3. Our file stamps this row valley. (BallFact player_attributes / mark)
Leeds United, Premier League. Overall 77; the four physical columns continue to fall strictly (ACC 76→72, AGI 77→73, DRI 78→74, SPT 76→72). Mark: valley. (BallFact player_seasons)
Crystal Palace, Premier League, final row: overall 74, durability 34 the file's lowest. Born 1969, retired 1998 — 29 years apart; no further row follows. Mark: valley. (BallFact players / player_seasons)
Why the break line sits under the summit
BONG WENG
Archivist
When this archive writes a fallen star it usually writes the last year: a season collapses, and then there are no more rows. Brolin's file is different — the collapse happens in the first cell after the summit, and the headline number barely moves. The 1994/95 row gives up only 3 overall points and 30 durability points. That is what a ledger is for: it does not record whether a man was still good, it records how much he had left.
The other thing worth filing sits in the outlined column on the right. Showmanship reads 88 in all seven rows — the highest figure in the file — and by our own position weighting it does not enter the overall score (the attribute definition says the column shapes the distribution of a performance, not its average). So the tallest number in Brolin's ledger is precisely the one the ledger refuses to count. As for the mark column (one peak, three valleys): that is this archive's own annotation, L3 editorial judgement, not a competition record. We cite it because it is the most honest handwriting in the document — and we label it as handwriting. One note of candour stands: the attribute arc is L3 editorial derivation, and what holds is what the script confirms cell by cell — the 82 summit across two rows, one peak and three valleys in order, the −30 single step, the four physical columns freezing then falling, and 88 in 8 cells.
The Fallen Stars series keeps ledgers for meteors (Recoba / Adriano / Owen); this file does not take a volume number in that series but shares its shape — summit and final row separated by very little. Two other 1994 ledgers run the opposite way: File #P00026 (Kostadinov) peaks in a club season before the World Cup, File #P00021 (Raducioiu) holds its unique summit exactly on the 1994 row. All three, plus the Group D ledgers of Cases 013 and 014, meet at the "America 1994" focus page.
Note: club/league assignments, per-season attributes and the per-season annotation (mark) come from the BallFact database (both attributes and marks are L3 editorial derivation). This archive holds no goal-by-goal ledger of any match involving Brolin and files no appearances, goals or standings, so this page makes no match claim of any kind and cites no such figure. Honours, injury narratives and national-team cap totals absent from BallFact-audited cases are neither used nor cited.
The break is not in the last year; it is the row after the peak.
Data basis and confidence grading
S1 · BallFact players database player_seasons / player_attributes (slug=brolin, 7 seasons × 44 rows = 308 attribute rows, all L3, including the mark column).
S2 · BallFact attribute scale and position-weight table attrs-def (SHW absent from the SS weights, which makes "showmanship is not counted in the overall" a matter of definition, not opinion).
S3 · BallFact Fallen Stars series hub (same family of ledger; this file does not take a volume number there): /fallen-stars/.
S4 · BallFact Player Files #P00026 (Kostadinov) and #P00021 (Raducioiu) — the other two 1994 books, shaped the opposite way: /players/kostadinov/ · /players/raducioiu/.
S5 · BallFact Case 013's Group D ledger (no figure here is taken from it; cited as cross-reference for the same summer): /truth/maradona-1994/ · Case 014 (the attribution audit of the same group): /truth/hat-trick-1994/.
S6 · BallFact focus page "America 1994 · A Focus" — the entrance to the 1994 cluster this file belongs to (navigation only, no new facts): /american-summer/
S7 · Dataset CSV: /data/players/brolin.csv (per-season attribute snapshot).