Stefan Lövgren

Stefan Lövgren
Personal information
Full nameLars Stefan Lövgren
Date of birthDecember 21, 1970
Place of birthPartille, Sweden
Height1.92 m (6 ft 3 12 in)
Playing positionMiddle Back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1990-1998Redbergslids IK?(?)
1998-1999TV Niederwürzbach29(152)
1999-2009THW Kiel313(1176)
National team
1993-2006Sweden268(1138)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
Olympic medalist

Lövgren in 2007
Medal record
Men's Handball
Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
Silver 2000 Sydney Team Competition
Stefan Lövgren
Medal record
Men's handball
Competitor for  Sweden
World Championships
Gold 1999 Egypt Team competition
Silver 1997 Japan Team competition
Silver 2001 France Team competition
Bronze 1995 Iceland Team competition
European Championships
Gold 1994 Portugal Team competition
Gold 1998 Italy Team competition
Gold 2000 Croatia Team competition
Gold 2002 Sweden Team competition

Lars Stefan Lövgren (born December 21, 1970) is a former Swedish handball player. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. Making his debut in the national team in 1993, he played a total of 268 games and scored 1138 goals. During his adult career he played for Redbergslids IK (in Gothenburg, Sweden), and German sides TV Niederwürzbach and Champions League- and Bundesliga-winning team THW Kiel. He was the captain of the national team during the period 1996-2006 and for THW Kiel 2001-2009. He is a five-time Swedish league champion with Redbergslid, and a seven-time Bundesliga champion with THW. He won the German cup four times, and he helped lead Kiel to the European Champions League title in 2007 (being a losing finalist in 2000, 2008 and 2009).

Lövgren was World Champion in 1999 with the national team and is one of the few players to have participated in all the gold medal-winning Swedish sides in the European Championships (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002). As an individual player, he was named Most Valuable Player in both the 1999 and 2001 World Championships, was top scorer in the Olympic Games in 2000 (51 goals, same as Rafael Guijosa, ESP) as well as in the European Championships in 2002 (57 goals, same as Ólafur Stefánsson, ISL), and provided the most assists during the 2005 World Men's Handball Championships. He is a former member of the IHF Athletes Commission, and is one of the most respected players in team handball (with, among others, Nikola Karabatić citing him as a role model both as a person, player and captain).

Lövgren is a two-time Olympic silver medalist. In the 1996 Atlanta games, the Swedish team won the silver medal with Lövgren playing all seven matches and scoring a total of 17 goals. Four years later in Sydney Sweden again won silver. Lövgren played all eight matches and scored 51 goals.

In January 2010, Lövgren returned to the US to play in the Big Apple Team Handball Tournament where he competed with a group of European all-stars against the reigning US club champions, New York City THC. Lövgren and the all-stars won 39-27.[1]

Lövgren lives in Kungälv outside Gothenburg with his wife and their two children. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends, watching sports and cooking.

World championships

European Championships

Olympic Games

References

  1. "Team Stuttgart wins the Big Apple Tournament". USA Team Handball.org. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

External links

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