Josefine Öqvist

Josefine Öqvist

Öqvist in 2013
Personal information
Full name Anna Lenita Josefine Öqvist[1]
Date of birth (1983-07-23) 23 July 1983
Place of birth Uppsala, Sweden
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Winger
Youth career
Storvreta IK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1998 Danmarks IF
1999–2004 Bälinge IF
2005–2010 Linköpings FC
2011 Tyresö FF 19 (7)
2013 Kristianstads DFF 10 (4)
2013–2014 Montpellier 22 (18)
National team‡
2002–2013 Sweden 80 (20)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:11, 7 June 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:11, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

Anna Lenita Josefine Öqvist (born 23 July 1983) is a Swedish former footballer who played for Montpellier of the French Division 1 Féminine and the Swedish national team.[2] She scored a critical goal at the 86' minute in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup semifinals against Canada to put Sweden through to the final.[3] Nicknamed Jossan, she was named the Swedish Rookie of the Year in 2003.[4]

While her primary position is a forward, she was named as a midfielder for the 2008 Summer Olympics. During the tournament she was injured and replaced with Maria Aronsson.[5] Along with Caroline Jönsson, Öqvist tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) before the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and was consequently removed from the roster to recover.[6]

Pin-up girl Öqvist attracted attention for a bikini photoshoot in the magazine, Slitz, in the Spring of 2004.[7] She was also filmed swapping jerseys with a male supporter at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.[8]

Club career

After the 2008 season, Swedish giants Umeå IK wanted Öqvist. Instead she signed a new two-year contract with Linköping. Öqvist suffered a tragedy in her personal life in November 2009 when her 29-year-old sister Caroline had a fatal epileptic seizure.[9] In 2011 Öqvist signed with the top attendance team in Sweden, Tyresö FF. Tyresö boasted three members of the Swedish national team along with players from the Brazilian and Dutch national teams.

In January 2012 it was revealed that Öqvist was pregnant and would miss the entire season, including the 2012 London Olympics.[10] After the birth of daughter Stella, Öqvist returned to play in 2013, but decided to join Kristianstads DFF instead of Tyresö. She lived in nearby Malmö with her partner Stefan Lassen, the Danish professional ice hockey player who was playing for Malmö Redhawks.[11]

After featuring for hosts Sweden at UEFA Women's Euro 2013, Öqvist signed a contract with French club Montpellier.[12] She performed well in France but soon became unsettled because Lassen had moved to Austria to play for Graz 99ers. He described living so far apart from Öqvist and Stella as "unsustainable".[13] In May 2014 Öqvist announced her retirement from football, stating that she wanted to stop while still playing at the top level.[14]

International career

Öqvist playing for Sweden in the 2011 World Cup

On 18 August 2002, coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors gave Öqvist her senior Sweden women's national football team debut in a 1–0 win over North Korea.

Öqvist was a member of the Sweden team that won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Cup and played in all the matches. On 16 July 2011, she received a red card in the 3rd place game against France after clashing with Sonia Bompastor, but Sweden went on to win 2–1 despite being a player down.[15] Öqvist had scored in the semi final against eventual winners Japan, but Sweden were beaten 3–1.[16]

In February 2014, Öqvist retired from international football after 12 years of playing for Sweden. She had scored 20 goals in her 80 caps.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Josefine Öqvist". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Josefine Öqvist player profile". soccerway.com. December 2012.
  3. ↑ "Budding Swedish star walks on the wild side". FIFA.com. 8 October 2003. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Övriga utmärkelser" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Sillén, Jakob (12 August 2008). "Slut i förtid för Josefine Öqvist". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Öqvist injury shocks Sweden". UEFA.com. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Laul, Robert (23 March 2004). "Öqvist viker ut sig i Slitz". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Female Sweden pin-up Josefine Oqvist swaps shirts with Germany fan: Video". Metro. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Rylander, Johan (30 March 2010). "Jossan: "Jag gråter varje dag"". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Larsson, Johan (13 January 2012). "Öqvist gravid – missar London-OS i sommar". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Wall, Johan (7 January 2013). "Därför valde Öqvist bort mästarlaget". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  12. ↑ Lindbäck, Elisabeth (4 August 2013). "Bomben: Josefine Öqvist lämnar KDFF". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Dahlkvist, Jens (24 April 2014). "Dilemmat för Lassen och Josefin Öqvist". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Falk, Fredrik (24 May 2014). "Öqvist lägger av". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Sweden beats France for third place". ESPN.com. 16 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "Japan sink Sweden, reach first final". FIFA.com. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Josefine Öqvist slutar i landslaget" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

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