Hanna Ljungberg

Hanna Ljungberg

File:Hanna Ljungberg.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Hanna Carolina Ljungberg
Date of birth	(1979-01-08) January 8, 1979
Place of birth	Umeå, Sweden
Height
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Umeå IK
Number	10
Youth career
1986–1994	Mariehem SK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1998	Sunnanå SK
1998–2009	Umeå IK	227	(196)
International career
1996–2008	Sweden	130	(72)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hanna Carolina Ljungberg (born January 8, 1979 in Umeå, Västerbotten) is a Swedish former football player, who played the position of forward. She played for the club side Umeå IK and for the Swedish national football team. She debuted for Sweden, at age 17, on February 6, 1996 where Sweden won 8-0 against Spain.

She is not related to Swedish male football star Fredrik Ljungberg. Ljungberg is a fairly common Swedish surname formed by the words ljung (English: calluna) and berg (English: mountain).

Ljungberg can be seen in the Sveriges Television documentary television series The Other Sport from 2013.

Career

Hanna Ljungberg was one of several professional players in the Swedish women's league, Damallsvenskan. She was chosen as Swedish Player of the Year in 2002, winning the Diamond Ball (Diamantbollen). She also scored a record setting number of goals that season with 39 goals (roughly 1.78 goals per game). Ljungberg made altogether 227 league appearances for Umeå IK and scored 196 goals.

As a world class forward, Ljungberg was instrumental in the Swedish side that were runners up in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003 held in the United States, scoring three goals and assisting another. She was also voted 3rd best World Player of the Year by FIFA in 2003. Until October 2014 when she was surpassed by Lotta Schelin, Ljungberg was the goal leader of the Swedish national team with 72 goals. During the UEFA Women's Cup 2002-03, Ljungberg was the top goalscorer in the tournament with 10 goals. Italian men's football club Perugia contacted Ljungberg to hire her for their Serie A roster, but the deal aborted.

She debuted as a goalkeeper on May 17, 2007 for Umeå IK when they played against AIK in the Swedish Cup because of Carola Söberg's injury at the 70th minute. She ended the game with a clean sheet. Her fame in Sweden has led to stamps commemorating her and several other Swedish footballers for the Swedish Football Association's 100th year anniversary.

In August 2009 Ljungberg announced her retirement from football after a knee injury in a league match on July 5. The right anterior cruciate ligament, previously reconstructed in 2004, was again partly torn and she decided with her doctors that to continue to play presented too high a risk of permanent disability.

For two years Ljungberg helped Joakim Blomqvist, head coach of Umeå IK, and Maria Bergkvist assistant coach, in the coaching of her old team. At the same time she was studying at Umeå University to become a physiotherapist and graduated in June 2012. She then began a new career as a personal trainer.

Honours

Individual

• Diamond Ball (1):

2001-02

• Sweden: Female Forward of the Year (1):

2004-05

• Damallsvenskan Top Goalscorer (1):

2001-02 (39 goals)

• FIFA World Player of the Year:

3rd Place: 2002-03

Club

Umeå IK:

• Damallsvenskan:

Champion (7): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

• Svenska Cupen Damer:

Champion (4): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007

Runners-up (2): 2005 ,2006

• Supercupen:

Champion (2): 2007, 2008

Runners-up (1): 2009

• UEFA Women's Cup:

Champion (2): 2003, 2004 (did not play in final)

Runners-up (3): 2002, 2007, 2008

National Team

Sweden:

• FIFA Women's World Cup:

Runners-up (1): 2003

• Algarve Cup:

Champion (1): 2001

3rd Place (3): 2002, 2006, 2007

External links

• Club Profile (in Swedish)
• Ljungberg and Svensson
• National Team Profile