Johnny Ekström

Johnny Douglas Ekström (born 5 March 1965) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward and a winger. He played professionally in Italy, Germany, France, and Spain but is best remembered for his time in Sweden with IFK Göteborg with which he was the 1986 Allsvenskan top scorer and won three Swedish Championships. A full international between 1986 and 1995, he won 47 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1992.

Club career

IFK Göteborg A product of the IFK Göteborg youth academy, Ekström was promoted to the first team in 1983 before making his Allsvenskan debut during the 1984 season. He quickly earned the nicknames "Kallebäcks-Expressen" (the express train from Kallebäck) and "Johnny Bråttom" (Johnny-in-a-hurry) due to his speed on the football pitch.

Bayern Munich In 1988 Ekström signed for the German Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, and helped them win the 1988–89 Bundesliga title and reach the semi-finals of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup before being eliminated by Napoli.

Reggiana Ekström returned to Serie A and Italian football in 1993, signing for Reggiana.

Loan to Real Betis Ekström spent the spring of 1994 with Real Betis on loan from Reggiana, becoming the second Swedish player to represent the Seville-based club after Torbjörn Jonsson. He played in seven Segunda División games during the 1993–94 season and scored two goals. He ended up playing one season for the club, scoring seven goals in 30 Bundesliga games.

Second return to IFK Göteborg and retirement He returned to IFK Göteborg a second time in 1997, and spent the 1997 and 1998 Allsvenskan seasons with the club before retiring from professional football in late 1998.

Senior Ekström made his full international debut in a friendly game against Greece on 1 May 1986, playing for 71 minutes alongside Dan Corneliusson at forward before being replaced by Lasse Larsson in a 0–0 draw. He scored his first international goal in a 3–1 friendly win against Finland on 6 August 1986. Despite Ekström's goals, Sweden did not manage to qualify for Euro 1988.

1990 FIFA World Cup Ekström scored two goals during the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign to help Sweden qualify for its first World Cup since 1978. He started in the third group stage game against Costa Rica, scoring the first goal in a third consecutive 1–2 loss which had Sweden eliminated from the tournament.

UEFA Euro 1992 Ekström was a part of the Sweden squad at UEFA Euro 1992 on home soil in Sweden and appeared as a substitute in all four games as Sweden reached the semi-finals of the tournament before being eliminated by Germany. He made a brief comeback on 8 March 1995 in a friendly 3–3 draw with Cyprus in which Ekström scored one of the goals.

10 September 1986 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden

Friendly

24 May 1987 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden

UEFA Euro 1988 qualifier

17 June 1987 Stade Olympique, Lausanne, Switzerland

UEFA Euro 1988 qualifier

5 November 1988 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania

1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier

25 October 1989 Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland

1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier

20 June 1990 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy

1990 FIFA World Cup

15 April 1993 Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary

Friendly

8 March 1995 Tsirion Athletic Centre, Limassol, Cyprus

Friendly Honours IFK Göteborg Allsvenskan: 1984, Årets ärkeängel: 1992