Anders Andersson (footballer)

Per Anders Andersson (born 15 March 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in the early 1990s, Andersson went on to play professionally in England, Denmark, and Portugal before returning to Malmö in 2005 to finish up his career. A full international between 1994 and 2005, Andersson won 27 caps for the Sweden national team and represented them at UEFA Euro 2000 and 2004. He was also a squad player for the Sweden Olympic football team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Anders Andersson
Personal information
Full name Anders Andersson
Date of birth (1974-03-15) 15 March 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Tomelilla, Sweden
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1997 Malmö FF 126 (19)
1997–1999 Blackburn Rovers 4 (0)
1999–2001 AaB 70 (8)
2001–2004 Benfica 49 (1)
2004–2005 Belenenses (loan) 36 (0)
2005–2008 Malmö FF 56 (0)
Total 341 (28)
International career
1989–1991 Sweden U17 30 (1)
1991 Sweden U19 1 (0)
1992–1995 Sweden U21/O 25 (3)
1995–1997 Sweden B 2 (0)
1994–2005 Sweden 27 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Born in Tomelilla, Andersson played for Svenstorps IF as a child, but joined Malmö FF in 1990. He gradually became a star in the Allsvenskan, and was bought by English Premier League outfit Blackburn Rovers. There, he played four league matches, and scored once against Preston North End in the League Cup.[1] He went on to play in Denmark and Portugal for Benfica, and returned to Malmö FF in July 2005. He remained in the club until the end of the 2008 season, when the team decided not to extend Anders contract. The news was received with dismay among Malmö supporters, and Anders himself has written about the situation at his blog at local newspaper Skånska Dagbladet.[2] He later decided to retire from football, ending speculation that he might've been heading to local rivals Trelleborg.

International career

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Youth

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After having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Andersson was selected to represent the Sweden Olympic football team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[3]

Senior

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Andersson made his senior debut for the Sweden national team in a friendly game against Mexico on 24 February 1994.[3] He scored his first international goal in a 1–0 King's Cup win against Japan on 13 February 1997.[3] He was a squad player for Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000, and came in from the bench in a group stage 0–0 draw against Turkey before Sweden failed to advance to the second round.[3] Four years later, he was a squad player for Sweden at UEFA Euro 2004 and started in the final group stage game against Denmark, before Sweden was eliminated in the quarter finals by the Netherlands.[3]

Andersson made his last international appearance on 9 February 2005 in a 1–1 draw with France.[3] He won a total of 27 caps, scoring 3 goals.[3]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[3]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1994 1 0
1995 0 0
1996 1 0
1997 7 1
1998 0 0
1999 0 0
2000 7 1
2001 0 0
2002 0 0
2003 4 0
2004 6 1
2005 1 0
Total 27 3
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Andersson goal.[3]
List of international goals scored by Anders Andersson
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 February 1997 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand   Japan 1–0 1–0 1997 King's Cup
2 4 February 2000 La Manga Club Football Stadium, La Manga, Spain   Norway 1–1 1–1 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship
3 28 May 2004 Ratina Stadium, Tampere, Finland   Finland 1–1 3–1 Friendly

Honours

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AaB

Benfica

Sweden

References

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  1. ^ "Different class as Blackburn show Premiership pedigree". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 17 September 1997. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Varför kan inte en spelare älska en klubb? - Anderssons MFF-blogg - Skånskan.se". www.skanskan.se. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Anders Andersson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. ^ "2003–04 Taça de Portugal 5th Round Académica vs. Benfica". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. ^ "King's Cup 1997". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
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