Anders Svensson

Anders Gunnar Svensson (; 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.

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.

Early years Svensson was born on 17 July 1976 in Gothenburg to parents Bertil and Gun Svensson. Svensson has three brothers, the oldest one, Thomas, Kristoffer, and the youngest one, Marcus. His father Bertil was his coach at Guldhedens IK. He grew up watching English football on television, and when he finally played the game, he was compared with one of the best talents of English football David Beckham. In 1980, Svensson joined Guldhedens IK, where he played for ten years. In his first season in the Premier League, Svensson scored four goals in 35 appearances for the Saints, and the club finished in 11th place, missing the UEFA Cup participation by just one point. He was a key player for Southampton; although near the end of his time with the club, he was rarely selected for Gordon Strachan's starting 11.

He played an important role for Southampton in their success in the 2002–03 FA Cup. Their opening match was a 4–0 win against fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Svensson scored a goal along with other goal scorers Michael Svensson, Jo Tessem, and James Beattie, taking the club to a second consecutive victory against Tottenham, having beaten them on New Year's Day in the league. He played for Southampton in the 2003 FA Cup Final against Arsenal, which Southampton lost 1–0. Svensson also played in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup for the Saints, but the club was knocked out of the tournament in the first round.

During his time with Southampton, Svensson made 140 appearances. Despite chairman Rupert Lowe allegedly offering him a new contract, Svensson turned down the offer in order to return to his former club IF Elfsborg.

Return to IF Elfsborg

He rejoined Elfsborg in 2005 and was the captain of the team until 2014, when he gave up the title to Johan Larsson. He helped the team win the 2006 and 2012 Allsvenskan titles. After another 10 years at IF Elfsborg Svensson decided to announce his retirement from professional football in 2015.

However, he found form for the national team during the Euro 2008 qualifying stage. He played 11 games with two goals and one assist which led Sweden to the Euro 2008. Svensson played every minute of every game during Euro 2008, but did not find form. His frustration showed, conceding a few free kicks during their last game in the tournament. After Henrik Larsson retired, and Zlatan Ibrahimović declared that he was unsure about his future in the national team, Svensson was the team captain for Sweden in a friendly against Italy (0–1). After Ibrahimović returned to the national team in the summer of 2010, Svensson was named co-captain, although Ibrahimović remained official captain on the pitch.

On 6 September 2013, Svensson became the joint most capped male player in Swedish football history, equalling Thomas Ravelli's record with his 143rd cap; he would later claim the record for himself. It was to be a memorable night for Svensson, as he scored the winner as Sweden came from behind to beat Ireland 2–1. In November 2013, the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) sparked a sexism scandal at its annual awards Gala when it presented Svensson with a Volvo car for winning 146 caps. The governing body was widely criticised for failing to honour Therese Sjögran, who had 187 caps. After Sweden failed to win against Portugal in the play-offs for the World Cup 2014 in November 2013, Svensson decided to retire from international duty.

Post-playing career In 2014, Svensson, still actively playing at that time, started to work as a football commentator for Kanal 5.

Personal life Svensson was in a two-year relationship with fashion designer Anine Bing while playing for Southampton. The pair met in London where she was modelling at the time. Svensson married Emma Johansson in July 2007 at Thorberg Castle.

Career statistics

International

Anders Svensson is the most capped player for the Sweden national team and the sixth most capped outfield-player in European football history.

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Svensson goal.

Honours IF Elfsborg Allsvenskan: 2006, 2012 Svenska Cupen: 2000–01, 2013–14 Svenska Supercupen: 2007 Atlantic Cup: 2011

Southampton FA Cup runner-up: 2002–03