 Svensson playing for Elfsborg in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anders Gunnar Svensson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 July 1976[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980–1990 | Guldhedens IK | ||
| 1990–1992 | Hestrafors IF | ||
| 1993 | IF Elfsborg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–2001 | IF Elfsborg | 155 | (38) |
| 2001–2005 | Southampton | 127 | (9) |
| 2005–2015 | IF Elfsborg | 266 | (34) |
| Total | 548 | (81) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–1998 | Sweden U21 | 16 | (2) |
| 1999–2013 | Sweden | 148 | (21) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Anders Gunnar Svensson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈânːdɛʂ ˈsvɛ̌nːsɔn]; born 17 July 1976) is a Swedish former professional footballer. He was a central midfielder, known for his passing, free kicks, and set piece-taking abilities, who usually operated in a playmaking role. He was capped 148 times for the Sweden national team, many times as a captain, before he retired from international football in 2013. He is the most capped male player for Sweden, beating Thomas Ravelli's previous record of 143 caps.
As well as being named captain of Sweden on several occasions, Svensson also captained Southampton and Elfsborg. He played important roles in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, in which he proved his leadership skills, resulting in him being named captain of that Sweden national team in 2009.[4]
He is the eighth-most capped European player in history, after Lothar Matthäus, Martin Reim, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas, Vitālijs Astafjevs, Sergio Ramos, and Gianluigi Buffon. Svensson also represented the Sweden national team at three consecutive European Championships, in 2004, 2008, and 2012.
- ^ Holm, Stefan (26 May 2012). "Vi vann med 9–0 – han gjorde alla mål". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
- ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 1475. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
- ^ "No respect!: England always look down on us says Swede Svensson". The Mirror. London: TMirror. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.