Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish former professional footballer and manager who played as a winger.
76 Facts About Freddie Ljungberg
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Freddie Ljungberg was most recently a former assistant coach, and interim head coach of Arsenal.
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Freddie Ljungberg began his career at Halmstad and went on to spend most of his career at Arsenal, where he won honours including two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, scoring in two finals including the victory in 2002.
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An international for a full decade, Ljungberg earned 75 caps and represented Sweden national team at UEFA Euro 2000,2004 and 2008, as well as at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
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Freddie Ljungberg was captain of Sweden from 2006 until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.
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Freddie Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear until 2007.
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In 1982, the Freddie Ljungberg family left Vittsjo and moved to Halmstad.
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Freddie Ljungberg argued with his parents that he did not want to live in Halmstad.
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Freddie Ljungberg's parents relented and took him to Halmstads BK, where he played on the youth team under manager Olle Eriksson.
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Eriksson's impression of the youngster was that he was remarkably talented for his age and that he was considerate of other players, noting that Freddie Ljungberg would pass the ball to his friends, so that they would have a chance to score.
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At the age of 18, Freddie Ljungberg attended university to study information technology and economics, but he struggled to balance the hectic academic timetable with the physically demanding commitments of professional football.
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In 1989, at the age of 12, Freddie Ljungberg had convinced Halmstads BK to move him from P12 to P14 which was against Halmstad's policies at the time.
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At age 14, Freddie Ljungberg joined the junior team under coach Robert Nordstrom.
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Freddie Ljungberg's perseverance paid off because three years later he was moved up to the senior team.
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Freddie Ljungberg made his senior debut on 23 October 1994 in the Allsvenskan against AIK.
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In 1995, Freddie Ljungberg played 31 games in which he scored his first goal as a professional player.
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In 1997, Halmstad won the Allsvenskan with Freddie Ljungberg netting and assisting goals that season for the club, despite picking up injuries.
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Freddie Ljungberg made 21 appearances across all competitions in his first season, and 43 in his second.
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Freddie Ljungberg missed the 2000 UEFA Cup Final due to a rib injury.
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Freddie Ljungberg had scored many important and vital goals for Arsenal throughout the season.
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Freddie Ljungberg scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Sheffield United, and then started the final as Arsenal defeated Southampton.
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Freddie Ljungberg became a regular in Arsenal's starting line-up following the departure of Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars in the summer of 2000.
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Freddie Ljungberg had to fight with constant injury problems and occasionally severe bouts with migraines; in 2005 a persistent hip injury led to fears he may have contracted cancer, which were unfounded.
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Freddie Ljungberg came back after a long injury in an FA Cup match against Bolton Wanderers, scoring a goal thirteen minutes before the end of extra time, earning Arsenal a place in the fifth round tie of the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers.
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On 23 July 2007, after nine years at Arsenal, Freddie Ljungberg joined London rivals West Ham United on a four-year contract.
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Many speculated a transfer was in the works despite Elefalk's claims that Freddie Ljungberg was to return.
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Freddie Ljungberg secretly met with Roth but did not want to make any rash decisions.
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When Freddie Ljungberg declined to join Monaco after the transfer window closed, many believed Freddie Ljungberg was finished with football.
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Shortly after, Freddie Ljungberg was seen in London with Natalie Imbruglia.
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On 17 October 2008, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Freddie Ljungberg might be a part of the new Major League Soccer franchise Seattle Sounders FC.
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The terms of his contract saw Freddie Ljungberg earn $10 million over two seasons with the Sounders.
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Much like the contract of David Beckham and as is the norm for professional sports stars in the US, Freddie Ljungberg's contract assured that he kept all of the money derived from his private endorsements.
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In December 2008, it was announced that Freddie Ljungberg would undergo surgery to repair a persistent hip injury that has plagued him throughout his later career.
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The Seattle Times reported that Freddie Ljungberg was expected to miss ten to twelve weeks of training and possibly be sidelined for the team's inaugural game, but he recovered from his hip injury sooner than expected.
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Once the Sounders returned to Seattle, Freddie Ljungberg joined in training.
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Freddie Ljungberg missed two games against FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids due to a migraine attack.
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On 30 May 2009, the Sounders drew their fifth match in a row, this time against the Columbus Crew, after Freddie Ljungberg missed a penalty kick in the 31st minute.
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Freddie Ljungberg scored his second goal for the season against the San Jose Earthquakes on 13 June 2009 as a result of beating Joe Cannon to the ball, lofting it over him and into the center of the net.
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Freddie Ljungberg did suit up for the New York Red Bulls game on 20 June 2009, but he did not play as a result of the injury.
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Freddie Ljungberg was subbed out toward the end of the game, in which he received a standing ovation.
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In July 2009, Freddie Ljungberg was selected for starting MLS' All-Stars along with teammate Kasey Keller.
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Freddie Ljungberg received the most votes among fans, a testament to his popularity in the MLS.
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Freddie Ljungberg was appointed captain of the 2009 MLS All-Star Team in their game over Everton.
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Kinnear, not fully understanding Freddie Ljungberg's condition, sent him out as the sixth kicker.
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Immediately following the game, Freddie Ljungberg was removed from the field on a stretcher.
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Later, Freddie Ljungberg told reporters that he ingested trace amount of red wine while in Utah, resulting in his second migraine within months.
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Freddie Ljungberg went on to win the US Open Cup of 2009 with Seattle in September of that year.
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Freddie Ljungberg was traded to Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire on 30 July 2010 in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.
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Freddie Ljungberg's first start for the Fire came against the New York Red Bulls in a match that featured five designated players.
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On 27 December 2010, Freddie Ljungberg joined Scottish Premier League outfit Celtic on a week-long trial.
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On 6 September 2011, Freddie Ljungberg signed for Japanese team Shimizu S-Pulse.
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Freddie Ljungberg left the club by mutual consent on 14 February 2012.
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Freddie Ljungberg participated in charitable events such as Soccer Aid 2012 and McDonald's Player Escort Program in Kyiv.
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On 24 August 2012, Freddie Ljungberg announced his retirement from football.
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On 25 July 2014, Freddie Ljungberg announced a comeback to promote the launch of the Indian Super League.
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Freddie Ljungberg's comeback was cut short due to persistent back problems.
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In 1996, Freddie Ljungberg made his debut for the Sweden national under-21 team.
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Freddie Ljungberg almost did not make it as an international player because Sweden head coach Lars Lagerback thought Ljungberg was too short.
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Freddie Ljungberg was a squad member for Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000 and played in all three group stage games against Belgium, Turkey, and Italy before Sweden was eliminated from the tournament after the group stage.
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Freddie Ljungberg pushed Mellberg right in front of the world press and Mellberg responded by grabbing at Freddie Ljungberg's jersey top at throat level before the two wrestled on the ground.
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At the time, Freddie Ljungberg was suffering from a hip injury which prevented him from playing in most of the games.
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However, Freddie Ljungberg did muster the strength to play against England on 2 June 2002 and Nigeria on 7 June 2002 despite the pain.
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Freddie Ljungberg started the next two matches against Italy and Denmark, which both ended in draws.
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Freddie Ljungberg sat out the warm-up games against Finland and Chile at Sweden's base in Bremen.
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Freddie Ljungberg received the Guldbollen award for helping Sweden advance to the next round in the World Cup by heading in the game-winning goal against Paraguay: "I am proud and humble to get this award," Freddie Ljungberg said.
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Freddie Ljungberg captained the side in eight of the nine UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers including games against Latvia, Liechtenstein, Spain, Northern Ireland, and Iceland.
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However, Freddie Ljungberg was able to participate in the Euro and played the games with a special brace to protect his healing ribs.
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On 27 June 2008, Freddie Ljungberg announced that he was ending his ten-year career for the Sweden national team.
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In May 2013, Arsenal announced that Freddie Ljungberg would be "renewing his ties with the club" by taking an ambassadorial role with the view of increasing the international awareness of the club.
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Freddie Ljungberg said that he was "honoured to take on this ambassadorial role".
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Freddie Ljungberg was at the club for six months before Jonker and his assistants were sacked in September 2017.
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On 5 June 2019, Freddie Ljungberg was promoted to Arsenal's first-team coaching squad.
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On 29 November 2019, Freddie Ljungberg was announced as interim head coach following the dismissal of Unai Emery.
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On 22 August 2020 Freddie Ljungberg announced his departure from his first team assistant coaching role at Arsenal to progress his management experiences and pursue new opportunities.
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However, Freddie Ljungberg was upset that, as a result, women persistently groped him in nightclubs.
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Freddie Ljungberg was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials.