Glenn Hysén

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Glenn Hysén
Personal information
Full name	Glenn Hysén
Date of birth	30 October 1959
Place of birth	Göteborg, Sweden
Playing position	Defender
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
19??-19?? 19??-19?? 19??-1989 1989-1992	IFK Göteborg PSV Eindhoven AC Fiorentina Liverpool F.C.	72 (2)
National team
	Sweden
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Glenn Ingvar Hysén (born October 30, 1959 in Gothenburg, Sweden) was an outstanding defender who played for leading Dutch, Italian and English clubs and won 68 caps for Sweden.

Hysén started his career with IFK Göteborg and quickly established himself as a tough and composed defender. He was Sweden's Footballer Of The Year in 1983 and his form earned him his first international caps and a move to PSV Eindhoven in Holland.

Hysén then moved to Fiorentina and earned continental plaudits with his displays against England in two World Cup qualification matches during the campaign for the forthcoming 1990 tournament. As a result, English clubs became interested in him. He became Sweden's Footballer Of The Year again in 1988, with Swedish rules not barring their countrymen from receiving the award even if playing in a different nation.

Hysén seemed set to sign for Manchester United in the summer of 1989 but then Liverpool stepped in and, as the club with a better success record at that stage, Hysén chose to move to Anfield.

Hysén settled in immediately, scoring his first Liverpool goal in their club record 9-0 mauling of Crystal Palace in late 1989. Alongside veteran club captain Alan Hansen and, in Hansen's injury-enforced absence, the young defender Gary Ablett, Hysén was a major part of Liverpool's success in the League championship of 1990. He later captained Sweden in a disappointing World Cup campaign in Italy, when they lost all three of their first round matches and went home surprisingly early.

It went slightly downhill for Hysén thereafter, with Hansen out with a long-term injury (which led to his retirement), as the big Swede started to struggle with the pace of the English game. Manager Kenny Dalglish's resignation heralded the beginning of Hysén's end, with new manager Graeme Souness less keen to keep him. He returned to Sweden in 1992, playing his last years for GAIS. He is still remembered for his near-perfect intercepting tackle on Gary Lineker at Wembley Stadium.

His son, Tobias Hysén, currently plays for English Championship side Sunderland, having moved from Swedish champions Djurgårdens IF.

Glenn Hysén was the focus of a joke in a Swedish TV commercial when it was said that if actress Glenn Close married him, they would both be called Glenn Hysén.

He is currently the coach of FCZ.

Preceded by Stig Fredriksson

Sweden football captain 1988–1991

Succeeded by Jonas Thern

	Sweden squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup
1 Andersson | 2 J. Eriksson | 3 Hysén | 4 Larsson | 5 Ljung | 6 R. Nilsson | 7 Nyhlen | 8 Schwarz | 9 Engkvist | 10 Ingesson | 11 Jansson | 12 L. Eriksson | 13 Limpar | 14 J. Nilsson | 15 Strömberg | 16 Thern | 17 Brolin | 18 Ekström | 19 Gren | 20 Magnusson | 21 Pettersson | 22 T. Ravelli | Coach: Nordin