Gary Sundgren
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kari Juhani Sundgren | ||
| Date of birth | 25 October 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Vammala, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973 | Västerås SK | ||
| 1974–1987 | IK Franke | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1997 | AIK | 221 | (12) |
| 1997–2002 | Real Zaragoza | 111 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | AIK | 24 | (1) |
| 2004 | Sollentuna | ||
| 2006 | Djursholm | ||
| Total | 356 | (15) | |
| National team | |||
| 1994–2002 | Sweden | 30 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren (born 25 October 1967) is a former Swedish footballer who played as either a right back or a central defender.
He played professionally with AIK and Zaragoza, in a 15-year career. A Swedish international for nearly a decade, he represented the country at Euro 2000.
Club career
Sundgren was born in Vammala, Finland, but moved to Sweden with his parents as a toddler, being raised in Västerås. There, he was often called Gary and it caught on, being addressed in the latter manner for the duration of his career.[1]
Sundgren started playing professionally with AIK Fotboll, being an undisputed starter from an early age. He scored the winner against Malmö FF when they became Swedish champions for the first time in 55 years, in 1992.
Subsequently, Sundgren moved abroad and joined La Liga club Real Zaragoza.[2] He played 31 games in his first season, while also being instrumental in the Aragonese team's fourth place in 1999–2000.
After the 2001–02 campaign, with Zaragoza relegated, Sundgren returned to AIK, retiring from the game in 2006 after two seasons with two modest Stockholm sides, IFK Sollentuna and FC Djursholm.
International career
Sundgren represented Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000,[3] and played in the 0–0 draw against Turkey in the tournament.[4] He was capped 30 times, scoring once.[5]
International goal
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 February 1997 | Supachalasai, Bangkok, Thailand |  Thailand | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1997 King's Cup |
Personal life
Sundgren is the father of four children. One of his sons, Daniel, is also representing AIK, while his nephew Mikael Backlund spent several years with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.[6]
Honours
- AIK
- Allsvenskan: 1992
- Svenska Cupen: 1996, 1997
- Zaragoza
References
- ↑ "Gary Sundgren om övergången till Svanskog" [Gary Sundgren on the transition to Svanskog]. Värmlands Folkblad (in Swedish). 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ↑ "Sundgren, primera alta maña" [Sundgren, first maño in]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 3 June 1997. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ↑ "Sweden name preliminary squad for Euro 2000". ESPN Soccernet. 18 May 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ↑ Shaw, Phil (16 June 2000). "Larsson is unable to lift Sweden". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 July 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ↑ "Gary Sundgren". ESPN Soccernet. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ↑ "Backlund får inte kalla sig veteran: "Tränaren vill inte det"" [Backlund may not call himself a veteran: ”The coach does not want it”] (in Swedish). Viasat. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ↑ "Llegó el Frente y se fue el Atlético" [The Front arrived and Atlético left]. ABC (in Spanish). 21 June 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ↑ "Zaragoza, no hay quinta Copa mala" [Zaragoza, no such thing as a bad fifth Cup]. ABC (in Spanish). 1 July 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
External links
- Gary Sundgren profile at BDFutbol
- Gary Sundgren at National-Football-Teams.com
- Sweden stats at Eu-Football
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