Gary Sundgren

Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren (born 25 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as either a right back or a central defender. He played professionally with AIK and Zaragoza, in a 15-year career. A Swedish international for nearly a decade, he won a total of 30 caps and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2000.

Gary Sundgren
Personal information
Full name Kari Juhani Sundgren
Date of birth (1967-10-25) 25 October 1967
Place of birth Vammala, Finland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1973 Västerås SK
1974–1987 IK Franke
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1997 AIK 221 (12)
1997–2002 Real Zaragoza 111 (2)
2002–2003 AIK 24 (1)
2004 Sollentuna
2006 Djursholm
Total 356 (15)
International career
1994–2000 Sweden 30 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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, being addressed in the latter manner for the duration of his career.[1]

Sundgren started playing professionally with AIK, being an undisputed starter from an early age. He scored the winner against Malmö FF when they became Swedish champions for the first time in 55 years, in 1992.

Subsequently, Sundgren moved abroad and joined La Liga club Real Zaragoza.[2] He played 31 games in his first season, while also being instrumental in the Aragonese team's fourth place in 1999–2000.

After the 2001–02 campaign, with Zaragoza relegated, Sundgren returned to AIK, retiring from the game in 2006 after two seasons with two modest Stockholm sides, IFK Sollentuna and FC Djursholm.

International career

Sundgren represented Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000,[3] and played in the 0–0 draw against Turkey in the tournament.[4] He was capped 30 times, scoring once.[5]

Personal life

Sundgren is the father of four children. One of his sons, Daniel, has also played for AIK, while his nephew Mikael Backlund spent several years with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.[6]

Career statistics

International

International goals

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 February 1997Supachalasai, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand1–03–11997 King's Cup

Honours
AIK
Zaragoza

Sweden

References
  1. "Gary Sundgren om övergången till Svanskog" [Gary Sundgren on the transition to Svanskog]. Värmlands Folkblad (in Swedish). 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. "Sundgren, primera alta maña" [Sundgren, first maño in]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 3 June 1997. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  3. "Sweden name preliminary squad for Euro 2000". ESPN Soccernet. 18 May 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. Shaw, Phil (16 June 2000). "Larsson is unable to lift Sweden". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 July 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  5. "Gary Sundgren". ESPN Soccernet. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. "Backlund får inte kalla sig veteran: "Tränaren vill inte det"" [Backlund may not call himself a veteran: ”The coach does not want it”] (in Swedish). Viasat. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  7. "Llegó el Frente y se fue el Atlético" [The Front arrived and Atlético left]. ABC (in Spanish). 21 June 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  8. "Zaragoza, no hay quinta Copa mala" [Zaragoza, no such thing as a bad fifth Cup]. ABC (in Spanish). 1 July 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  9. "King's Cup 1997". RSSSF. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
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