Björn Runström

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Personal information
Björn Runström
Full name	Björn Runström
Date of birth	March 1, 1984
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	6'1" / 1.86m
Position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	10
Youth clubs
1990-1996 1996-2000	Enskede IK Hammarby IF
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
2001 - 2002 2002 - 2003 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2006 2006 - present	Bologna AC Chievo Verona ACF Fiorentina Hammarby IF Fulham Overall	00 (0) 00 (0) 00 (0) 57 (18) 01 (0) 58 (18)
National team**
? - present	Sweden U-21	0? (?)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:23, 19 October 2006 (UTC). ** National team caps and goals correct as of July 14, 2006.

Björn Sandro Runström (born 1 March 1984 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a striker for Fulham and Sweden U-21.

[edit] Club career

Björn grew up in the southern suburbs of Stockholm and went to Enskede school as a child. He started playing football for Enskede IK at the age of 6 years old, Björns time in Enskede went well and at the age of 12 years he was rewarded with a move to a bigger club, which was Hammarby IF. Björn developed at a fast speed and when he was 16 he left Hammarby for Italy and Bologna F.C. 1909. He stayed in Italy for 3 years and led Bologna F.C. 1909 to their first Italian Youth Championship in 19 years in 2001. At 17 he was part of Bolognas first team but only made the bench in Serie A and Coppa Italia. In 2002 he was transferred to Chievo Verona and after that to Fiorentina. His stay in Florece was not what he had dreamed off and when rumours spread in late 2003 that Fiorentina wanted to trade him for the Swedish international Kim Källström of Djurgårdens IF (Former club Hammarby's greatest rivals) he was outraged and declared that it was a transfer he would never except. "Me playing for Djurgarden would be like Di Canio going back to Italy to play for A.S. Roma, It wont happen, If I go back to Sweden the only club that I could think of is my old club Hammarby”. Runstrom did return to Hammarby soon after and played 3 more seasons scoring 18 goals in 57 matches, this record attracted the attention of Premier League club Fulham (he had the chance to join the Cottagers in the January transfer window but declined saying "I didn't want to go on a free transfer in January even though I had an offer from Fulham already then, Hammarby have meant much to me and I wanted them to be well paid") this loyalty as well as his work rate, stamina and heading ability have made him a perfect replacement for current Fulham star Brian McBride who is entering his final years as a player.