Karl Gustav Johan Svensson (born 7 February 1987) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg as a centre-back. Starting off his footballing career in Sweden with IFK Göteborg in 2005, he went on to play professionally in Turkey, Ukraine, China, and the United States before returning to Sweden in 2021. A full international between 2009 and 2021, Svensson won 32 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as UEFA Euro 2020.
.jpg) Svensson with Sweden at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karl Gustav Johan Svensson | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Gothenburg, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | IFK Göteborg | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2000 | Azalea BK | ||
| 2000–2001 | ES Le Cannet-Rocheville | ||
| 2001–2005 | IFK Göteborg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2010 | IFK Göteborg | 101 | (8) |
| 2010–2012 | Bursaspor | 25 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Tavriya Simferopol | 21 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | IFK Göteborg | 52 | (1) |
| 2016 | Guangzhou R&F | 28 | (0) |
| 2017–2020 | Seattle Sounders FC | 90 | (4) |
| 2021 | Guangzhou City | 5 | (0) |
| 2021– | IFK Göteborg | 85 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2009 | Sweden U21 | 24 | (1) |
| 2009–2021 | Sweden | 32 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:19, 12 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editIFK Göteborg
editHe played for a local team in Gothenburg as well as a French team in his youth but joined IFK Göteborg at the age of 14. He played there until 2010 and won the Swedish Championship with the club in 2007. Gustav was nominated as the Newcomer of the year in Swedish football the same season but lost out to Johan Oremo.
Bursaspor
editOn 1 September 2010, he signed a three-year contract with 2009–10 Süper Lig champions Bursaspor.[2]
Tavriya Simferopol
editOn 7 July 2012, he signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian club Tavriya Simferopol.[3] According to Svensson he was forced to flee Tavriya's native soil Crimea by bus during the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.[4]
Return to IFK Göteborg
editOn 23 March 2014, he signed a four-year contract with his former club IFK Göteborg.[5]
Guangzhou R&F
editOn 14 January 2016, he signed a three-year contract with Chinese club Guangzhou R&F.[6]
Seattle Sounders FC
editOn 30 January 2017, Svensson joined MLS side Seattle Sounders FC.[7] Svensson made his Sounders debut in the opening game of the 2017 season, starting at right back in a 2–1 loss to Houston.[8] While he has also played as a center back, Svensson primarily plays as a defensive midfielder for the Sounders.[9]
Guangzhou City
editOn 9 April 2021, Svensson returned to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City.[10]
Second return to IFK Göteborg
editOn 22 July 2021, Svensson returned to IFK Göteborg for the second time, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.[11]
International career
editYouth
editMaking his debut in 2007, Svensson played 24 games for the Sweden under-21 team and was a part of the U21 team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
Senior
editIn May 2018, he was named in Sweden's 23 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[12] At the 2018 World Cup, Svensson played in three games for Sweden as they were eliminated by England in the quarter-final.[13] He started and played the full 90 minutes in the second-round game against Switzerland.[14]
On 8 September 2020, Svensson was sent off for the first time in his senior international career in the first half after two yellow cards in Sweden's game against Portugal in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.[15] He served as Sweden's team captain for the first time in a friendly game against Denmark on 11 November 2020, in his 30th international appearance.[16]
In May 2021, he was named in Sweden's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[17] He appeared in the 1–0 group stage win against Slovakia as Sweden reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by Ukraine.[17] Svensson announced his retirement from international football following the tournament, having won 32 caps for his country between 2009 and 2021.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 13 December 2021
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| IFK Göteborg | 2005 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006 | Allsvenskan | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2007 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| 2008 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 33 | 3 | ||
| 2009 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | ||
| 2010 | Allsvenskan | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 101 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 125 | 8 | |||
| Bursaspor | 2010–11 | Süper Lig | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | Süper Lig | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Tavriya Simferopol | 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Ukrainian Premier League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| IFK Göteborg | 2014 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||
| Total | 52 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 66 | 1 | |||
| Guangzhou R&F | 2016 | Chinese Super League | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2017 | Major League Soccer | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | Major League Soccer | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2019 | Major League Soccer | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | Major League Soccer | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| Total | 90 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 7 | ||
| Guangzhou City | 2021 | Chinese Super League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| IFK Göteborg | 2021 | Allsvenskan | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 341 | 13 | 44 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 418 | 16 | ||
- ^ MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage.
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2009 | 2 | 0 |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 0 | |
Honours
editIFK Göteborg
Seattle Sounders FC
Individual
- Årets Ärkeängel: 2023[20]
References
edit- ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 30 June 2018. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Bursaspor'a İsveçli orta saha". NTV Spor. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ "Ofitsial'no: Gustav Svensson — igrok Tavrii". Football. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ (in Ukrainian) The Russians forced me to flee the Crimea - a football player of the Swedish national team, Lb.ua (29 June 2021)
- ^ "Gustav tillbaka i Blåvitt". IFK Göteborg. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "Gustav till Guangzhou". IFK Göteborg. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ Krasnoo, Ryan (30 January 2017). "Seattle Sounders sign Gustav Svensson, strengthen midfield crop". soundersfc.com. Seattle Sounders FC. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ Sounders FC Communications (4 March 2017). "Sounders FC falls 2–1 in Houston to open 2017 MLS season". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Taking a deep dive into Sounders organizational depth chart". sounderatheart.com. Vox Media. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "官方：瑞典球员斯文森回归加盟广州城，双方签约一年" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Göteborg, I. F. K. (22 July 2021). "Välkommen hem igen!". IFK Göteborg – Hela stadens lag (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". goal.com. Goal. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Teams - Sweden". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ "Sweden, Gustav Svensson advance to quarterfinals with win over Switzerland".
- ^ "Här är situationerna som ledde till Svenssons utvisning". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 8 September 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Ny - och stolt - kapten för Blågult: "Inte ens försökt tänka tanken på det här"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Gustav Svensson slutar i landslaget". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ "Gustav Svensson". National Football Teams. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ "Alla 47 ärkeänglar | ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
External links
edit- Gustav Svensson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- Gustav Svensson at National-Football-Teams.com
- Gustav Svensson at Soccerway
- #13 Gustav Svensson at ifkdb.com
