[C] While at Latinläroverket during his secondary education, Linde participated in some of the first organised school football games in Sweden, playing goalkeeper and midfielder in matches against Realläroverket.

[4] Linde, described as fiery and quick,[3] mainly played as an outside left forward,[4] but had difficulty taking a place in the team that won the Swedish championships in 1908 and 1910.

[15] His later employment gave him knowledge within areas such as risk analysis, organisation, relations, and economics, which he subsequently applied in his sports administrator career.

[27] As football influences shifted from British to more Central European after the First World War,[28] Linde visited Hungary in 1920 and was impressed by the quick short-passing play of MTK Budapest.

[29] The hiring was the start of an influx of coaches from continental Europe to Sweden, including Willy Meisl, Imre Schlosser, and József Nagy.

[29] At the time of recruiting Bródy, Linde had worked hard to incorporate small neighbourhood clubs,[30] and with the help of their campaign "sports for everyone" ("idrott åt alla") IFK could field seventeen senior, junior and youth teams,[31] a Scandinavian record.

As soon as the first ever international for Sweden had been played in 1908, Linde had a letter published in the large Swedish sports newspaper Nordiskt Idrottslif where he complained about the decisions made by SvFF in picking the team.

[39] They demanded the resignation of the board of the football association, and the formation of a new Selection Committee (uttagningskommittén)[E] after two devastating losses (0–8 and 0–10) against Denmark.

— Away with the football-corrupted elements, away with the award-chasing egoists, away with the tail-wagging petty kings, who for years have allowed themselves to be duped by the Potemian builder Johanson's beautiful promises and well-calculated election maneuvers, away with the intriguers, the zeros and the thoughtless pursuers!

[47]Johanson struck back at his enemies by suspending the whole Olympic squad from further national team activities, for breaches of the amateur rules.

So much so that it was reported how Linde, John "Bill" Pettersson, and their common nemesis Anton Johanson fell into each other's arms crying in the changing room after the game.

[58] Sweden did not even send a squad to Uruguay, as most other European countries, and the following 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy was neither a success nor a failure, as the national team was eliminated in the quarter-finals by bronze medallists Germany.

[60] This laid the foundation for a four part coaching education programme supplemented by conferences, camps and other courses that by 1979 had 26,000 participants spread among 900 different events.

[62] Linde stayed as chairman and chief instructor of the Technical Committee for 20 years, leaving his post in 1950, when he also left the board of SvFF.

Administered by the limited company AB Fotbollsstadion at which Linde was one of the board members,[63] it provided the national team with the largest and most modern stadium in the Nordic countries.

[3][12] Linde did not live to see what he had fought for since the 1930 tournament, his idea of a World Cup at home,[65] but is given credit for making that dream come true six years after his death.

[66] To increase competitiveness, the modern-day Allsvenskan was created in 1924,[66] but Linde never accepted this as a new league, as it essentially erased 15 years of Gothenburg dominance in its previous Svenska Serien incarnation, writing about the 1924 premiere that it "took place without major ceremonies on the part of the organizers and without further attention from the audience.

[72] The alliance took a common stance against the municipality in questions regarding rent for training pitches and stadiums, agreed to not sign players from each other, and also arranged international friendlies and pre-season tournaments for the clubs.

[75] In a statement, Linde wrote that the association would be "a useful safety valve against abuse from the FA against those who primarily generate the good finances of football and make players available to the national team.

[78] In 1926 Linde took part in founding the Swedish Table Tennis Association and was chosen as the organisation's first chairman, a role he held until 1928.

[80] Other sports Linde took an interest in included motorsports—as secretary for the Scanian Automobile Club (Skånska automobilklubben) in 1926 and 1927—,[21][7][19] boxing—as board member for the Swedish Boxing Federation in 1919 and 1920—,[12] and wrestling—as chairman for the Gothenburg Wrestling Association from 1931 (or 1930[7]) until his death.

[21] When sports betting was legalised and monopolised in Sweden in 1934 through state concessions to the private company AB Tipstjänst, Linde was appointed to the board.

[7] Tegnér saw Linde's potential and gave him free rein,[86] and when Nordiskt Idrottslif stopped being published in 1920, Idrottsbladet took up the slack and developed its sports coverage to something "new and fresh".

His open debate during the 1930s with Rudolf Eklöw regarding tactical systems now forms part of a university course in football knowledge.

[3]Linde has been described as one of the greatest leaders in IFK Göteborg history who, along with Anders Bernmar, set the foundation for the professional structure of today's club.

[97] His work was enthusiastic and groundbreaking, but he was also controversial and combative,[97] challenging the existing state of affairs[76][98][99] as somewhat of a rebel, not seldom battling with Anton Johanson, the then "family head" of Swedish football.

[99] Linde fought against paternalism throughout his career,[20] and while on the Selection Committee defended the national team players that he believed were treated not "as our equals, but as a pariah class without rights but with all obligations.

"[89] But he came under fire after the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy as the players had made the Roman salute before the opening match against Argentina.

[103][104] During World War II, all the potential national team opponents were either occupied by Nazi Germany, allied with them, or only reachable through their territory, which limited the selection of internationals.

[106] Linde's replacement Hilding Hallgren [sv] had no difficulty in obtaining an entry visa on short notice, and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommended not to cancel the trip.