Glenn Strömberg

Glenn Strömberg
Glenn Strömberg in September 2013
Personal information
Full name Glenn Peter Strömberg
Date of birth (1960-01-05) 5 January 1960 (age 64)
Place of birth Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Lerkils IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1983 IFK Göteborg 91 (7)
1983–1984 Benfica 32 (10)
1984–1992 Atalanta 219 (18)
Total 342 (35)
International career
1979–1981 Sweden U21 9 (0)
1982–1990 Sweden 52 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Glenn Peter Strömberg (pronounced [ˈɡlɛnː ˈstrœ̂mːbærj]; born 5 January 1960) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in 1979 with IFK Göteborg, he helped the club win the 1981–82 UEFA Cup before signing with Benfica in 1983. In 1984, he joined the Serie A club Atalanta for which he served as the team captain for four seasons until his retirement in 1992. A full international between 1982 and 1990, he won 52 caps and scored 7 goals for the Sweden national team, and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was awarded Guldbollen in 1985 as Sweden's best footballer of the year.

Club career

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IFK Göteborg

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Strömberg was a part of IFK Göteborg's youth teams before making his senior debut for "Änglarna" on 16 April 1979 in an Allsvenskan game against Kalmar FF that ended 4–0.[1] He helped the team win the 1981–82 UEFA Cup, the 1982 Allsvenskan, as well as three Svenska Cupen titles between 1979 and 1983. During Strömberg's four seasons at Göteborg, he played in 203 games (including friendlies) and scored 33 goals.[1]

Benfica

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Strömberg signed with Benfica after the 1982 Allsvenskan season, reuniting with his former IFK Göteborg manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.[2] During only one and a half seasons at Benfica, Strömberg helped the team win two straight Portuguese league championships.[2]

Atalanta

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After scoring three goals for Sweden against Italy during the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying stage against Italy, Strömberg managed to land a contract in Serie A with Atalanta.[2] While at Atalanta, he was voted Swedish footballer of the year, winning the 1985 Guldbollen.[2][3]

International career

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Strömberg appeared 9 times for the Sweden U21 team between 1979 and 1981. He made his senior international debut for Sweden on 3 June 1982 in a friendly 1-1 draw with the Soviet Union, playing for 68 minutes before being replaced by Karl Gunnar Björklund.[4][5] Strömberg scored his first international goal on 29 May 1983 in a UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying game against Italy which Sweden won 2–0.[4] A few months later, Strömberg scored two goals as Sweden beat Italy 3–0 away in the same qualifying campaign. Despite the two victories against Italy, Sweden failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 1984.[4]

Strömberg was a part of the Sweden team that qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and scored a goal against Scotland as Sweden was eliminated in the group stage after three straight losses.[4] Strömberg's last international appearance came in the last group stage game against Costa Rica on 20 June 1990.[4]

Playing style

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For his majestic way of playing in the midfield Strömberg was nicknamed "The Marathon Man".[6] His usual position was central midfield or defensive midfield.

Personal life

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Strömberg works as an expert commentator for Sveriges Television, for Viasat on UEFA Champions League and F.A. Premier League matches[7] and for sports betting site Expekt.com[6] as an expert. In June 2012, Glenn Strömberg launched his own football site, Gurufans.com, in Swedish and English.

Since he has no managerial experience, he was never regarded as a serious candidate to succeed Lars Lagerbäck as head coach of the Sweden men's national football team. In interviews during the 2006 FIFA World Cup he said that he was flattered to get mentioned as a potential candidate for the job and that he would think carefully about any offer from the Swedish Football Association.[8]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[4]

National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1982 4 0
1983 6 3
1984 6 0
1985 7 1
1986 6 1
1987 8 0
1988 7 1
1989 3 0
1990 5 1
Total 52 7

International goals[4]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 29 May 1983 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden  Italy 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying [9]
2. 15 October 1983 Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy  Italy 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying [10]
3. 2–0
4. 17 November 1985 Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta 2–1 2–1 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifying [11]
5. 12 October 1986 Estadio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Portugal 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying [12]
6. 27 April 1988 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Wales 2–0 4–1 Friendly [13]
7. 16 June 1990 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Scotland 1–2 1–2 1990 FIFA World Cup [14]

Honours

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IFK Göteborg

Benfica

Atalanta

Individual

Orders

References

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  1. ^ a b "Glenn Strömberg - ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Kravet: "Sa att jag var tvungen att klippa mig"". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Guldbollen". svenskfotboll.se. Swedish Football Association. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Glenn Strömberg - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Sverige - Sovjet - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Känner du till våra ambassadörer?". Expekt.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  7. ^ Thomas Kingdahl (27 September 2008). "Glenn Strömberg klar för Champions League: "Jag är glad"". Viasat Sport. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  8. ^ Johanna Frändén (27 June 2006). "Glenn Strömberg: Får jag frågan ska jag fundera på det". Aftonbladet.se. Archived from the original on 29 June 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Sverige - Italien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Italien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Malta - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Portugal - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Sverige - Wales - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Sverige - Skottland - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  15. ^ Paulo Martins. "Taça Ibérica 1983". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  16. ^ "Strömberg Sig. Glenn Peter". www.quirinale.it (in Italian). President of Italy. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
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