Sam Larsson

Sam Andreas Larsson (born 10 April 1993) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a winger for Dalian Professional in the Chinese Super League. He is the younger brother of fellow professional footballer Daniel Larsson.

Sam Larsson
Larsson playing for IFK Göteborg
Personal information
Full name Sam Andreas Larsson
Date of birth (1993-04-10) 10 April 1993
Place of birth Gothenburg, Sweden
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Dalian Professional
Number 10
Youth career
0000–2009 IK Zenith
2010–2012 IFK Göteborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 IFK Göteborg 49 (6)
2014–2017 Heerenveen 86 (23)
2017–2020 Feyenoord 72 (14)
2020– Dalian Professional 17 (3)
National team‡
2012 Sweden U19 3 (0)
2013–2015 Sweden U21 10 (1)
2016– Sweden 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04:17, 31 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2018

Club career

IFK Göteborg

Born in Gothenburg, Sam Larsson made his first start in the Swedish top-flight, Allsvenskan for IFK Göteborg in March 2013, in a game against local rivals BK Häcken.[1] By scoring once and assisting two more in a 3–0 win, Larsson quickly made his way to the headlines, with manager Mikael Stahre describing him as a "Swedish Brazilian", he furthermore earned himself the nickname "Samba-Sam", due to his impressive skills on the ball and unpredictable moves.

After a successful first season, Larsson made further progress during the following year, gaining much praise for his creative play and taking on a larger role in leading his team on the attack.[2]

2014–15 season

On 12 August 2014, IFK Göteborg announced the transfer of Larsson to Dutch side Heerenveen.[3] On 23 August, Larsson played his first league game for his new club, a game in which he scored once to settle a 2–0 win over SBV Excelsior. After an injury-plagued first period, Larsson started to achieve much praise for his performances, including comparisons being drawn by Heerenveen manager Dwight Lodeweges between Larsson and Argentinian star Lionel Messi.[4] Heerenveen ended the season in 7th place in the Eredevisie, with Larsson scoring eight and assisting to four goals in 25 games.[5]

2015–16 season

In his second season with Heerenveen the club experienced a struggling period, finding themselves in the lower half of the table. Larsson's goal-scoring was less frequent than the previous spring, although he was recognised as the one player creating the most goal-scoring opportunities in the Eredivisie,[6] while also being hailed by Heerenveen technical director Hans Vonk as the best dribbler in the league.[7] Heerenveen finished the season in 12th[8] while Larsson scored six goals and assisted another eight.[5] At the end of the year, Larsson was awarded a place in the team of the season by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.[9]

Feyenoord

On 21 August 2017, Larsson joined Feyenoord on a four-year contract.[10][11] On 9 September, Larsson made his debut for Feyenoord in an away game against Heracles Almelo, in which he also scored Feyenoord's 4th goal.[12] On 25 October, Larsson scored his first hat-trick in his career in the second round of the KNVB Cup against AVV Swift.[13] He won the KNVB Cup with Feyenoord scoring a total of 4 goals.

On 8 August 2018, Feyenoord won the Johan Cruyff Shield against PSV Eindhoven. The game ended in 0–0, resulting in a penalty shootout that ended 5–6. Larsson missed his penalty.

Dalian Professional

On 28 February 2020, Larsson joined Dalian Professional on a three-year contract.[14][15]

International career
Larsson playing for Sweden U21 in 2013

Larsson got his first call up to the senior Sweden side for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Bulgaria in October 2016, however he later withdrew from the squad through injury.[16] In the 30th minute of his debut for Sweden away against Hungary on 15 November 2016, Larsson scored from a free kick.

In 2018, Larsson was called up to the senior Sweden side again, ahead of the friendly match against Austria on 6 September 2018 and the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League match against Turkey on 10 September 2018.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of 31 December 2020[18][19]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IFK Göteborg 2012 2000—20
2013 2947120385
2014 1824160283
Total 49611280688
Heerenveen 2014–15 21800—218
2015–16 34630—376
2016–17 31930—349
Total 862360009223
Feyenoord 2017–18 1944460298
2018–19 3264120387
2019–20 21430102346
Total 721411518210121
Dalian Professional 2020 17300—173
Total 1730000173
Career total 2244628726227855

International
As of 6 September 2018.[18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 201611
201720
201810
Total41

International goals
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 November 2016Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary Hungary1–02–0Friendly

Honours

Club
IFK Göteborg
Feyenoord

International
Sweden U21

References
  1. Wagner, Michael (31 March 2013). "Glöm brorsan - här bjuds på Samba". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. Jönsson, Fredrik (25 May 2014). "Nytt vackert förarbete från Sam Larsson". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  3. "Sam på väg till Heerenveen". IFK Göteborg. 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. Jongmans, Robin (3 April 2015). "'Sam Larsson snel als Messi'". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  5. "Sam Larsson - History". WhoScored. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  6. Tivemo, Joel (29 January 2016). "Sam Larsson – mest kreativ i Eredivisie". Göteborgs Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  7. Ivanovski, Alexander (15 December 2015). "Sam Larsson hyllas av Heerenveens sportchef". Silly Season (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  8. "Eredivisie Table & Standings". SkySports. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  9. "PSV troeft Ajax ook in Elftal van het Jaar af". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 9 May 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  10. "Feyenoord sign winger Larsson from Heerenveen". FourFourTwo. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  11. "Sam Larsson voor vier jaar naar Feyenoord" (in Dutch). 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  12. "Feyenoord haalt opgelucht adem in Almelo" (in Dutch). 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  13. "Larsson schiet Feyenoord naar volgende ronde bekertoernooi" (in Dutch). 25 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  14. "'Larsson tekent driejarig contract en gaat samenwerken met Benítez en Hamsik'". www.voetbalprimeur.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  15. "Sam Larsson naar China". www.feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  16. "Oktobertruppen uttagen". svenskfotboll.se. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  17. "Omstart för herrarna i Nations League" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  18. "Sweden - S. Larsson - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  19. "S. Larsson - Voetbal International". Voetbal International. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  20. Feyenoord wint KNVB-beker mede dankzij prachtgoal Van Persie - AD (in Dutch)
  21. "Soccerway Match Report". Soccerway. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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