Freddie Ljungberg

Explore about the Famous Soccer Player Freddie Ljungberg, who was born in Sweden on April 16, 1977. Analyze Freddie Ljungberg’s net worth, age, bio, birthday, dating, height-weight, wiki. Investigate who is Freddie Ljungberg dating now? Look into this article to know how old is Freddie Ljungberg?

Freddie Ljungberg Biography

Swedish professional football player who was known for his work as a winger for several clubs including Chicago Fire, Celtic, and Mumbai City. He is also know for having played on Sweden’s national team and also worked as a coach for the Arsenal Under 23 squad.

He started his youth career playing with the Halmstad academy. He then made his professional debut with the squad in 1982. In 1993, he started playing for several Swedish youth national teams. He then retired in 2014 after playing with Mumbai City and started his coaching career in 2016 with the Arsenal Under 15 team.

He was awarded MLS Best Player of the Month in October of 2009 and Swedish midfielder of Year during multiple seasons including 1998, 2002, and 2004.

He was born and raised in Vittsjo, Sweden and shared a photo with his wife to Instagram in June of 2014.

He was coached by Arsene Wenger when he joined the Arsenal club in 1998.

Ljungberg was born on 16 April 1977 in Vittsjö to Roy Alve Erling Ljungberg, a civil engineer and owner of a construction and consultant business, and Elisabeth Bodil Ljungberg, a Swedish Labor Department worker. On 12 September 1984, the Ljungbergs had another son, Karl Oskar Filip. In 1982, the Ljungberg family left Vittsjö and moved to Halmstad. At first, the tenacious five-year old would not have any part of moving. He argued with his parents that he did not want to live in Halmstad. His parents relented and took him to Halmstads BK, where he played on the youth team under manager Olle Eriksson.

Karl Fredrik Ljungberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈfrěːdrɪk ˈjɵ̂ŋːbærj] ; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger and is a football manager. He is currently the assistant coach of Arsenal Football Club after serving as interim head coach in 2019.

In 1989, at the age of 12, Ljungberg had convinced Halmstads BK to move him from P12 to P14 which was against Halmstad’s policies at the time. At age 14, Ljungberg joined the junior team under coach Robert Nordström. His perseverance paid off because three years later he was moved up to the senior team.

Ljungberg made his senior debut on 23 October 1994 in the Allsvenskan against AIK. In 1995, Ljungberg played 31 games in which he scored his first goal as a professional player. That same year, Halmstad won Svenska Cupen. In 1997, Halmstad won the Allsvenskan with Ljungberg netting and assisting goals that season for the club, despite picking up injuries. During his time with Halmstad, he went on to make 139 appearances and score 16 goals for the club. After winning several trophies in his years with Halmstad, Ljungberg’s star was on the rise with interest from Barcelona, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Parma and Arsenal.

In 1996, Ljungberg made his debut for the Sweden national under-21 team. He almost did not make it as an international player because Sweden head coach Lars Lagerbäck thought Ljungberg was too short. In the 2003 documentary film Fredrik Ljungberg: Up Close, Lagerbäck stated: “Of course it’s difficult to say at 15 to 16 years of age (whether or not a player has the potential to be an international player). To be honest, I wouldn’t say I thought he would become an international player because he was very very little. In his first match, we played Denmark and he scored twice so he convinced me rather fast that he was a good player even if he was very very small but he was quick.” On 10 November 1996, Ljungberg scored twice in a game against Scotland.

Ljungberg made his senior international debut on 24 January 1998 against the United States in Orlando, losing 0–1. He scored his first national team goal against Denmark in Malmö with a 3–0 victory.

Ljungberg was signed by Arsenal in 1998 for £3 million. Arsenal scouts watched him for over a year and Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, took the unusual step of authorising the signing after watching Ljungberg play for Sweden in their victory against England on television, without seeing him play live. Seeing Ljungberg’s performance against England only confirmed to Wenger that Ljungberg could cope against English opponents, and he was signed shortly after. Ljungberg proved himself without difficulty and scored on his debut on 20 September after coming on as a substitute against rival club Manchester United, the match ending 3–0. Ljungberg made 21 appearances across all competitions in his first season, and 43 in his second (1999-2000). He missed the 2000 UEFA Cup Final due to a rib injury. At the end of his third season at Arsenal, 2000-01, they got to the 2001 FA Cup Final. Ljungberg scored to put Arsenal 1-0 up but then Liverpool scored two late goals to win 2-1. This made Ljungberg the first player to score a goal at an FA Cup final outside England, with the game being the first final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Some of Ljungberg’s best form came in the second half of the 2001–02 season, when Arsenal won their second Premier League and FA Cup double. Following a knee injury to Robert Pires, Ljungberg scored in most of Arsenal’s remaining games, including a stunning finish for Arsenal’s second goal in the 2–0 FA Cup Final win over Chelsea. Ljungberg had scored many important and vital goals for Arsenal throughout the season. He scored an equaliser against Manchester United, in a game where Arsenal went on to win 3–1. He was instrumental in Arsenal’s 2–1 win against Liverpool at Anfield where he won a penalty which Thierry Henry scored and then he slotted in a sweet finish from a Pires cross. He scored a nearly identical goal again against Liverpool at Highbury three weeks later, where the matched ended up being a 1–1 draw. Ljungberg ended the 2001–02 season scoring 17 goals in all competitions. In the 2002 FA Cup Final he became the first player in 40 years to score in consecutive FA Cup Finals.

Ljungberg was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a “Secret Tournament” commercial (branded “Scopion KO”) directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament “referee”.

Sweden was a part of Group F, dubbed the ‘Group of Death’, which included Argentina, England and Nigeria. At the time, Ljungberg was suffering from a hip injury which prevented him from playing in most of the games. However, Ljungberg did muster the strength to play against England on 2 June 2002 and Nigeria on 7 June 2002 despite the pain. After Sweden advanced from group death, the team was defeated by Senegal.

During an open team practice before the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ljungberg broke into a fight with teammate Olof Mellberg following a robust tackle from the latter. Ljungberg pushed Mellberg right in front of the world press and Mellberg responded by grabbing at Ljungberg’s jersey top at throat level before the two wrestled on the ground. The two of them were quickly separated by shocked teammates and the team practice was immediately cancelled to deal with the public relations disaster. Within hours, video footage of the fight flooded the media and internet.

In the 2002-03 season Ljungberg helped Arsenal reach a third consecutive FA Cup final. He scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Sheffield United, and then started the final as Arsenal defeated Southampton. It was Ljungberg’s blocked shot which set up Robert Pires to score the winning goal. This season Ljungberg also scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 4-0 win at Sunderland.

He began his career at Halmstad and went on to spend most of his career at Arsenal, where he won honours including two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, scoring in two finals including the victory in 2002. After leaving Arsenal in 2007, he had short spells at a number of clubs in England, Scotland, the United States, Japan and India. An international for a full decade, Ljungberg earned 75 caps and represented Sweden national team at UEFA Euro 2000, 2004 and 2008, as well as at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He was captain of Sweden from 2006 until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.

Ljungberg’s work as a male model have garnered media attention rivaling that of his football career. In 2003, he signed a contract as an underwear model for Calvin Klein, fronting a worldwide campaign which became one of the company’s most successful ever. However, Ljungberg was upset that, as a result, women persistently groped him in nightclubs.

In 2003-04 Ljungberg made 30 league appearances during Arsenal’s unbeaten Invincibles season. That season he scored the winning goal against rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Highbury. The following season (2004-05) Ljungberg played in his fourth FA Cup final, when he came on as a subtitute and scored one of Arsenal’s penalties in the shootout as they defeated Manchester United.

Sweden were one of the 16 teams to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004 with host nation of Portugal. In Sweden’s first game on 14 June, Ljungberg scored the opening goal as Sweden beat Bulgaria 5–0. He started the next two matches against Italy and Denmark, which both ended in draws. Sweden along with Italy and Denmark were in a three-way tie for the first spot. However, it was concluded that Italy would not advance due to a goal difference after Sweden and Denmark drew 2–2. Italy disputed the decision saying both Sweden and Denmark fixed the match. UEFA squashed that notion and Sweden moved onto the next round to compete against the Netherlands. The match ended with 0–0 draw in which Ljungberg attempted two shots but failed to score.

Sweden’s weak start was quickly forgotten after their victory against Paraguay in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, Paraguay almost held out for a scoreless tie until Ljungberg scored in the 89th minute giving Sweden a 1–0 victory. Sweden’s third match within the group was against England, resulting in a 2–2 draw. Despite the draw, Sweden advanced to the next round only to lose 0–2 against host nation Germany. Ljungberg received the Guldbollen award for helping Sweden advance to the next round in the World Cup by heading in the game-winning goal against Paraguay: “I am proud and humble to get this award,” Ljungberg said. “If you look at the football year 2006, it was very eventful. … If I should try to sum it up, the Champions League final left some deep marks. That felt heavy. But for me, the World Cup was the biggest event of the year.”

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

After the 2006 World Cup, Ljungberg was made captain of Sweden. He captained the side in eight of the nine UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers including games against Latvia, Liechtenstein, Spain, Northern Ireland, and Iceland. In the qualifiers, Ljungberg scored one goal against Liechtenstein on 17 October 2007 and had an assist in the Latvia match four days later. Sweden qualified for the European Championship with six wins.

On 23 July 2007, after nine years at Arsenal, Ljungberg joined London rivals West Ham United on a four-year contract. Ljungberg made his West Ham debut on the opening day of the 2007–08 season, in West Ham’s 2–0 home defeat by Manchester City on 11 August, a game in which he was also captain. After seven months at the club, Ljungberg finally scored his first goal for West Ham in the home match against Birmingham City on 9 February 2008, putting West Ham up 1–0, with the game finishing 1–1. Ljungberg also scored what turned out to be his final goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat away at Sunderland a month later.

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 a game away at rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 21 April 2007 Ljungberg limped off with an injury in the first half, and this proved to be his final appearance for the club.

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. “Ljungberg still has a lot to offer to Arsenal,” Arsène Wenger said, on 13 January 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.

Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear until 2007. He previously represented brands such as Nike, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal, Puma, Beats, ESPN and Pepsi.

Sweden was unable to compete with the young Russia squad and were defeated 0–2. Despite Sweden’s early dismissal from the tournament, Ljungberg was considered by newspapers in Sweden, France, Italy, Germany and the host nation Austria as being Sweden’s leading player throughout the competition. On 27 June 2008, Ljungberg announced that he was ending his ten-year career for the Sweden national team. The decision came following Sweden’s early exit from UEFA Euro 2008. Ljungberg played in 75 internationals for Sweden, scoring 14 goals.

Prior to UEFA Euro 2008, Ljungberg fractured his ribs, making his appearance in the tournament uncertain. However, Ljungberg was able to participate in the Euro and played the games with a special brace to protect his healing ribs. Ljungberg was able to start in Sweden’s first match against Greece which ended in a 2–0 victory. Sweden’s next match was against one of the favorites, Spain. Sweden were able to contain Spain who struggled from making big advances. However, Sweden lost that match 1–2.

In December 2008, it was announced that Ljungberg would undergo surgery to repair a persistent hip injury that has plagued him throughout his later career. Surgeons repaired a slightly torn hip labrum and shaved a small amount of bone where the hip meets the femur to prevent future injury. The Seattle Times reported that Ljungberg was expected to miss ten to twelve weeks of training and possibly be sidelined for the team’s inaugural game, but he recovered from his hip injury sooner than expected. Although Ljungberg did not take part of Seattle’s preseason in Argentina, he did however do light training with IS Halmia.

In December 2008, it was announced that Ljungberg would undergo surgery to repair a persistent hip injury that has plagued him throughout his later career. Surgeons repaired a slightly torn hip labrum and shaved a small amount of bone where the hip meets the femur to prevent future injury. The Seattle Times reported that Ljungberg was expected to miss ten to twelve weeks of training and possibly be sidelined for the team’s inaugural game, but he recovered from his hip injury sooner than expected. Although Ljungberg did not take part of Seattle’s preseason in Argentina, he did however do light training with IS Halmia.

In June 2008, Ljungberg retired from the Sweden national team, saying:”I have decided to concentrate on my football with West Ham. This is where my priority now lies.”

In 2008, Ljungberg placed eleventh in Arsenal.com’s Gunners’ Greatest 50 Players.

Ljungberg went on to win the U.S. Open Cup of 2009 with the Seattle Sounders in September of that year.

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