Freddie Ljungberg
Personal information
Full name	Karl Fredrik Ljungberg
Date of birth	April 16, 1977 (1977-04-16) (age 31)
Place of birth	Vittsjö, Sweden
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Seattle Sounders FC
Number	10
Youth clubs
	Halmstads BK
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994–1998 1998–2007 2007–2008 2009–	Halmstads BK Arsenal West Ham United Seattle Sounders FC	079 0(10) 216 0(46) 025 00(2) 000 00(0)
National team2
1998–2008	Sweden	075 0(14)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:13, 1 May 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 27 June 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg (IPA: [ˈfreːdrɪk ˈjɵŋˌbærj]) (born 16 April 1977 in Vittsjö, Hässleholm) is a professional Swedish footballer who is under contract to Seattle Sounders FC, which will make its debut in Major League Soccer in March 2009. He is also a male model, and was the model for Calvin Klein underwear¹ until 2007.²

Ljungberg normally plays as a winger, either on his preferred right side or occasionally on the left. He was the captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his retirement after Euro 2008.

Club career

Early career

Ljungberg joined Halmstads BK in Sweden as a youth player at the age of five. He played several other sports including ice hockey and handball for which he was called up to the national squad. He made his senior debut for Halmstad on 23 October 1994 in the Swedish First Division against AIK. He went on to make 139 appearances and score 16 goals for the club. He won both the Swedish Cup and League title with the club.

Arsenal

Ljungberg was signed by Arsenal in 1998 for £3 million, which at the time was the biggest transfer ever for a Swedish player. Arsenal scouts watched him for over a year and Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, took the unusual step of authorising the signing of Ljungberg after watching him play for Sweden in their defeat of England on television, without seeing him play live. This decision was made as the rest of Europe saw the quality of the player in the match against England. The match confirmed to Wenger that Ljungberg would cope against English opponents. Ljungberg passed the test without difficulty and made a sensational debut after coming on as a substitute scoring against rival club Manchester United, the match ended 3-0.

Some of Ljungberg's best form came in the second half of the 2001-02 season, when Arsenal won their second Premiership and FA Cup double. Following a knee injury to Robert Pirès, Ljungberg scored in most of Arsenal's remaining games, including a stunning finish in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. He endeared himself to Arsenal supporters by having a bright red stripe in his hair. (A popular chant spawned from this to the tune of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Franki Valli and the Four Seasons: "We love you Freddie, because you've got red hair, we love you Freddie because you're everywhere, we love you Freddie, you're Arsenal through and through" Later when he shaved his head this was updated to "We love you Freddie, because you've got no hair").

Ljungberg was the first player to score a goal at an FA Cup final outside England, when Arsenal lost against Liverpool in 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A year later, against Chelsea, he became the first player to score in consecutive FA Cup finals

Ljungberg, second from left, in a match between Arsenal and Middlesbrough, September 2006.

He is most comfortable on either wing in midfield, though he can also play centrally in a 4-5-1 formation or as a second striker. Ljungberg became a regular in Arsenal's starting lineup following the departure of Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars in the summer of 2000. For several seasons he played a major role for the club including being a member of the unbeaten 49 game run for Arsenal. He had to fight with constant injury problems and occasionally severe bouts with migraines; in 2005 a mysterious persistent hip injury led to fears he may have contracted cancer, which were unfounded. It transpired that he was suffering from blood poisoning caused by his large tattoos.³

Despite a persistent ankle injury Ljungberg played for Arsenal in the 2-1 defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League Final in Paris on May 17, 2006.

It was speculated in January 2007 that Ljungberg was being forced to leave Arsenal, after bosses became tired of a run of injuries restricting his play. Though it was suggested he could make a move to West Ham, later these speculations proved to be premature. "Ljungberg still has a lot to offer to Arsenal," Arsene Wenger said, on January 13, 2007, at a Blackburn Rovers pre-match press-conference, stressing the fact that Ljungberg will stay at Arsenal until the end of his contract in 2009.⁴⁵ However, Ljungberg did indeed leave Arsenal before the end of his contract, making the move to West Ham in mid-2007.

Ljungberg came back after a long injury in an FA Cup match against Bolton Wanderers, scoring a goal thirteen minutes before the end of extra time, earning Arsenal a place in the fifth-round tie of the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers.

In 2008 Freddie placed 11th in Arsenal.com's Gunners' Greatest 50 Players.⁶

West Ham United

On July 23, 2007, Ljungberg joined West Ham United on a four-year contract.⁷ West Ham United were only the second English professional club of Ljungberg's career. Ljungberg made his West Ham United debut in the 2-0 home defeat by Manchester City on August 11, 2007 a game in which he was also captain. He scored his first league goal for West Ham against Birmingham City on February 9, 2008.⁸ His first season with West Ham was ended on 26 April 2008 when Newcastle United defender, Steven Taylor, landed on him breaking one of his ribs.⁹ In August 2008, West Ham released Ljungberg after an agreement was reached to terminate his contract.¹⁰

Seattle Sounders

On October 28, 2008, Seattle Sounders FC, a new Major League Soccer franchise, officially announced they had signed Ljungberg as their Designated Player for the 2009 season, tying him to a two-year contract worth US$10 million a year.

International career

Ljungberg represented Sweden at U21 level. He received his first full cap for Sweden on January 24, 1998 against the USA. He has represented his country at Euro 2000, World Cup 2002, Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006, where his 13th goal for Sweden came in the 89th minute of the match against Paraguay, and Euro 2008. After the World Cup 2006 finals, Ljungberg became captain of Sweden and lead them in Euro 2008. Ljungberg was considered by newspapers in Sweden, France, Germany and the host nation Austria as being Sweden's leading player throughout the tournament.

On June 27, 2008 Ljungberg announced that he was ending his 10-year career for the national team.¹¹ The decision came following Sweden's early exit from Euro 2008. Ljungberg played his last match for Sweden on June 18, 2008 in the 2-0 defeat to Russia in the last group stage match of Euro 2008.¹²

Career statistics

As of May 1, 2008

Awards

Ljungberg receiving the Guldbollen award, 2006.

• 1998 Swedish FA prizes for "Best Midfielder of the year"
• 1998 Swedish FA prizes for "People's player of the year"
• 1998 Nominated for the Sexiest Men in the World
• 2000 Arsenal FC Player of the Month (January and February)
• 2000 Arsenal FC Dreamcast Player of the Season competition came 2nd
• 2000 AFCi Awards "Most Improved Arsenal Player" for the 1999–2000 season
• 2000 2nd in AFCi Awards "Arsenal Player of the Season"
• 2002 Winner of Guldbollen, the award for the best Swedish footballer of the year
• 2002 MVP Barclay Premier League player of the year
• 2006 Winner of Guldbollen, the award for the best Swedish footballer of the year
• 2007 Third Best Looking Athlete voted by Sports Illustrated
• 2007 17th Best Dressed Player in the World voted by US Esquire
• 2007 Sexiest player in the Premier League voted by the Sun
• 2008 In the Top 10 Celeb´s Women Lust After. Glamour Magazine

Honours

With Halmstad

• Swedish Cup Winner: 1995
• Swedish League Winner: 1997

With Arsenal

• Community Shield: 1999
• FA Premier League Winner: 2001-02, 2003-04
• FA Cup: 2002, 2003, 2005
• Champions League, Runner-Up 2006

References

External links

• FootballDatabase Fredrik Ljungberg's profile and stats
• Fredrik Ljungberg career stats at Soccerbase
• The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics
• Freddie Ljungberg at GoSounders.com

v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Hedman • 2 Nilsson • 3 P. Andersson • 4 Björklund • 5 Lucic • 6 Sundgren • 7 Mild • 8 Gustafsson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Pettersson • 11 Alexandersson • 12 Kihlstedt • 13 Svensson • 14 Mellberg • 15 D. Andersson • 16 A. Andersson • 17 Mjällby • 18 Osmanovski • 19 K. Andersson • 20 Larsson • 21 Allbäck • 22 Asper • Coach: Lagerbäck & Söderberg

v • d • e Sweden squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Hedman • 2 Mellberg • 3 P. Andersson • 4 Mjällby • 5 Michael Svensson • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 A. Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Allbäck • 11 Larsson • 12 Kihlstedt • 13 Antonelius • 14 Edman • 15 Jakobsson • 16 Lucic • 17 Magnus Svensson • 18 Jonson • 19 Farnerud • 20 D. Andersson • 21 Ibrahimović • 22 A. Andersson • 23 Isaksson • Coach: Lagerbäck & Söderberg

v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Isaksson • 2 Lucic • 3 Mellberg • 4 Mjällby • 5 Edman • 6 Linderoth • 7 Nilsson • 8 Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Larsson • 12 Hedman • 13 Hansson • 14 Östlund • 15 Jakobsson • 16 Källström • 17 Andersson • 18 Jonson • 19 Farnerud • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Wahlstedt • 23 Kihlstedt • Coach: Lagerbäck & Söderberg

v • d • e Sweden squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Lucic • 5 Edman • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 A. Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Larsson • 12 Alvbåge • 13 Hansson • 14 Stenman • 15 K. Svensson • 16 Källström • 17 Elmander • 18 Jonson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Shaaban • Coach: Lagerbäck

v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Hansson • 5 Stoor • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Elmander • 12 Shaaban • 13 Wiland • 14 Majstorović • 15 Granqvist • 16 Källström • 17 H. Larsson • 18 S. Larsson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Dorsin • Coach: Lagerbäck