Emil Forsberg

Emil Peter Forsberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈěːmɪl ˈfɔ̂ʂːbærj]; born 23 October 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for RB Leipzig as a winger, and the Sweden national team. He was voted the Swedish Midfielder of the Year in 2016 and 2017. He was a member of the Sweden squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup. He is known for his quick, effective passing style, and is a creative playmaker renowned for his ability to create chances and assists.

Emil Forsberg
Forsberg with Sweden at the 2018 World Cup
Personal information
Full name Emil Peter Forsberg
Date of birth (1991-10-23) 23 October 1991
Place of birth Sundsvall, Sweden
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 RB Leipzig
Number 10
Youth career
0000–2008 GIF Sundsvall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 GIF Sundsvall 97 (24)
2013–2015 Malmö FF 57 (19)
2015– RB Leipzig 155 (30)
National team‡
2009–2010 Sweden U19 8 (0)
2014– Sweden 54 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:06, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

Club career
Forsberg playing for GIF Sundsvall in 2011.

GIF Sundsvall

Born in Sundsvall, Forsberg started his career with his home-town team and joined the first team squad in 2009 when the club was playing in Sweden's second tier of football, Superettan. He went on to play several matches for Sundsvall in his first season. For his second season at the club he had become a regular in the starting eleven at Sundsvall and played 30 out of 30 matches for the 2010 season. Forsberg had started to produce goals during his second season at the club but raised his performance for the 2011 season when he scored 11 goals in 27 matches as Sundsvall were promoted to Sweden's first tier of football, Allsvenskan. For his first season in Allsvenskan Forsberg played 21 matches out of 30 and scored 6 goals, however Sundsvall were relegated to Superettan once again after losing the relegation play-offs against Halmstads BK.

Malmö FF
Forsberg playing for Sweden.

On 10 December 2012, Forsberg was presented as a Malmö player. He joined the club on 1 January 2013 when the transfer window opened in Sweden. Forsberg signed a four-year contract lasting until the end of the 2016 season.[2] His first season at the club proved to be a success as he played 28 matches out of 30 and scored five goals for the club as they won the league title. He also played all matches for the club during the qualification stage for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League and scored two goals. During Malmö FF's successful 2014 season Forsberg made 29 league appearances, scoring 14 goals and thus being an important part in the team that defended the league title. He also participated in all of the club's matches in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League campaign in which Malmö FF qualified for the group stage. As recognition of Forsberg's feats during the season he won the award for Allsvenskan Midfielder of the year.[3] He was also nominated for Swedish midfielder of the year at Fotbollsgalan.[4]

RB Leipzig

In January 2015, Forsberg joined German second league side RB Leipzig on a three and a half year deal.[5] In February 2016, he extended his contract until 2021.[6] During the 2015–16 season Forsberg was voted the best player in 2. Bundesliga and in January 2016 Liverpool were reportedly eyeing Forsberg.[7] In round three of 2016–17 Bundesliga Forsberg was named player of the round by Kicker. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Forsberg finished off as the highest assister in the Bundesliga and top 5 leagues in Europe with 22 assists,[8] and made the Bundesliga team of the season.[9] On 13 September 2017, Forsberg scored RB Leipzig's first ever Champions League goal in their first match ever in a 1–1 draw against Monaco.[10]

In the 2019–20 season, he scored a brace in the stoppage time in a 2–2 draw against Benfica, to secure a place for RB Leipzig in the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League knockout phase,[11] where they managed to reach the semi-finals. On 4 November 2020, Forsberg scored a goal in a 2–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League.[12]

International career
Forsberg playing for Sweden in 2015.

Having previously played for the Swedish under-19 team, Emil Forsberg made his senior international debut for the Swedish national team in a 2–1 friendly win over Moldova on 17 January 2014.[13] He made his competitive debut in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Liechtenstein on 12 October 2014.[14] He scored his first international goal for Sweden in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs against Denmark, helping Sweden beat the Danes 4-3 on aggregate and qualify for Euro 2016.[15] Forsberg played in all three games for Sweden at Euro 2016 as Sweden was eliminated in the group stage.[16]

In May 2018, he was named in Sweden's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[17] On the 3rd of July 2018 in a round of 16 tie between Sweden and Switzerland Forsberg scored the winner for Sweden to send them into the quarter finals of the World Cup for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 16 January 2021.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club[19]Season[19]LeagueCup1Continental2Other3TotalRef.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GIF Sundsvall2009Superettan19110——201[19][20]
20103062020346[19][20]
2011271123—2914[19][20]
2012Allsvenskan2161010236[19][20]
Totals972463—3010627—
Malmö FF2013Allsvenskan285406212399[19][20]
2014291452122114719[19][20]
Totals571992184238628—
RB Leipzig2014–152. Bundesliga14010—150[21]
2015–1632810338[22]
2016–17Bundesliga30810318[23]
2017–1821211112—335[24]
2018–192044251297[25]
2019–2022511843110[26]
2020–211632061244[27]
Totals15530114308—19642—
Career totals3057426948125339498—

International
As of 11 October 2020.[20]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 201450
201581
2016112
201793
201891
201971
202030
Total528

International goals
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.[28]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 November 2015Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Denmark1–02–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
2.5 June 2016Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Wales1–03–0Friendly
3.11 November 2016Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France France1–01–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.25 March 2017Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Belarus1–04–0
5.2–0
6.3 September 2017Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus1–04–0
7.3 July 2018Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia  Switzerland1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup
8.8 September 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Norway1–11–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Personal life

Emil Forsberg is the son of former GIF Sundsvall player Leif Forsberg, and grandson of Lennart Forsberg who also played for GIF Sundsvall.[29] On 17 July 2016, Forsberg married Shanga Hussain, who is a former footballer. The couple live in Leipzig,[30][31] having first met in Sundsvall.[31] They own a dog, Roffe, who is a Golden Retriever.[31] They had their first child in August 2018.[32]

Forsberg has named Dutch winger Ryan Babel as a player he has looked up to.[33]

Honours
Forsberg playing for Malmö FF in 2013.

Club
Malmö FF

Individual

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. "Emil Forsberg klar för MFF". mff.se. Malmö FF. 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  3. "Här är vinnarna i Allsvenskans stora pris". allsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  4. "Nomineringarna till Fotbollsgalan 2014". fogis.se (in Swedish). The Swedish Football Association. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  5. "Erster Winterneuzugang! Emil Forsberg stürmt für die Roten Bullen!". dierotenbullen.com (in German). RB Leipzig. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  6. "VERTRAGSVERLÄNGERUNG! EMIL FORSBERG BLEIBT BIS 2021!" (in German). Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. "Liverpool eye £6.6m transfer bid for Red Bull Leipzig star Emil Forsberg – report". Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  8. "Forsberg har slagit assistrekord: Kolla var jag är nu".
  9. "BUNDESLIGA TEAM OF THE SEASON - FIFA 17 ULTIMATE TEAM". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website.
  10. "Leipzig 1–1 Monaco". UEFA. 13 September 2017.
  11. "Leipzig 2–2 Benfica". UEFA. 27 November 2019.
  12. "RB Leipzig 2–1 Paris Saint Germain". BBC Sport. 4 November 2020.
  13. "Herrar A Landskamp Matchinformation: Moldavien mot Sverige 2014-01-17 (1-2) — svenskfotboll.se". svenskfotboll.se.
  14. uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 2016 - History - Matches – UEFA.com". Uefa.com.
  15. Hill, Tim (14 November 2015). "Sweden 2-1 Denmark: Euro 2016 qualifying – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  16. Futaa. "| Futaa.com Uganda". futaa.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  17. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists - Goal.com".
  18. Stadium, David Hytner at the St Petersburg (3 July 2018). "Emil Forsberg ousts Switzerland and sends Sweden into World Cup last eight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  19. "Emil Forsberg » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. "Emil Forsberg". soccerway.com (in Swedish). Soccerway. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  21. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  22. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  23. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  24. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  25. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  26. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  27. "Emil Forsberg". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  28. "Forsberg, Emil Hải". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  29. Elofsson, Sven (25 March 2013). "MFF-Emil är tredje generationen allsvenskar i släkten Forsberg - Smålandsposten".
  30. "Fyra från SDFF i landslag" [Four from SDFF in national team]. Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  31. Lewenhagen, Jan (13 December 2015). ""Vildsvinet" hittar EM-formen i Tysklands mest hatade klubb" ["The Wild Boar" finds his European Championship form in Germany's most hated club]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  32. "Forsbergs babylycka: "Ni är mitt allt"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  33. "Arsenal target turns out to be a massive Liverpool fan". 101greatgoals.com. React to WordPress. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  34. "Football". Bundesliga.com. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  35. "Team of the Season 16/17 Results". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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