Gary Sundgren
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kari Juhani Sundgren | ||
| Date of birth | 25 October 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Vammala, Finland | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973 | Västerås SK | ||
| 1974–1987 | IK Franke | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988–1997 | AIK | 202 | (11) |
| 1997–2002 | Zaragoza | 111 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | AIK | 25 | (1) |
| 2004 | Sollentuna | ||
| 2006 | FC Djursholm | ||
| National team | |||
| 1994–2002 | Sweden | 31 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren (born 25 October 1967) is a Swedish retired footballer who played mostly for AIK, as a defender (right or central).
He also represented Zaragoza in Spain for five years. A Swedish international during nearly one decade, he represented the country at Euro 2000.
Club career
Sundgren was born in Vammala, Finland, but moved to Sweden with his parents as a toddler, being raised in Västerås. There he was often called Gary and it caught on; for the duration of his career he was always called by it, instead of his birthname.
Sundgren started playing professionally with AIK Fotboll, being an undisputed starter from an early age. He scored the winner against Malmö FF when AIK became Swedish champions for the first time in 55 years, in 1992.
Subsequently Sundgren moved abroad, joining La Liga side Real Zaragoza. He played 31 games in his first season, while also being instrumental in the Aragonese side's fourth place in 1999–2000.
After 2001–02, with Zaragoza relegated, Sundgren returned to AIK, retiring from the game in 2006 after two seasons with two modest Stockholm outfits, IFK Sollentuna and FC Djursholm.
International career
Sundgren represented Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000, and played in the 0–0 draw against Turkey in the tournament. He collected a total of 31 caps.
Honours
- AIK
- Swedish League: 1992
- Swedish Cup: 1996, 1997
- Zaragoza
Personal
Sundgren is the father of three children and one of his sons (Daniel Sundgren) are currently playing for Degerfors IF in the "Superettan" (2nd highest league in Sweden). His nephew, Mikael Backlund, played ice hockey for the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL and the Calgary Flames of the NHL.
External links
- AIK profile (Swedish)
- Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
- BDFutbol profile
- Gary Sundgren at National-Football-Teams.com
| |||||||
