Martin Bengtsson (footballer)

Martin Oskar Johan Bengtsson (born 14 March 1986) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

This article is about the footballer. For the metal musician, see Martin Bengtsson (musician).

Martin Bengtsson
Personal information
Full name Martin Oskar Johan Bengtsson
Date of birth (1986-03-14) 14 March 1986
Place of birth Örebro, Sweden
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
–2002 IK Sturehov
2002–2003 Örebro SK
2004 Inter Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 Örebro SK 1 (0)
2005 ÖSK Ungdom
International career
2002–2003 Sweden U17 20 (3)
2004 Sweden U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Bengtsson started playing football for IK Sturehov as a child and stayed with the club until he was signed by Örebro SK as a 15-year-old in 2002.[1] He made his Allsvenskan debut at 17 years old for Örebro SK during the 2003 season in a game against Enköpings SK when he came on as a substitute for Mirza Jelecak.[2] After the 2003 season, Bengtsson left Örebro SK to sign for the Serie A club Inter Milan.[3] However, he left the Italian club after only nine months after suffering from depression.[1]

In 2005, he signed for Örebro SK Ungdom in Division 2 Norra Svealand but only played for one season before retiring from professional football at the age of 19.[4]

International career

Bengtsson appeared 20 times for the Sweden U17 team, scoring three goals.[5] He also appeared twice for the Sweden U19 team.[5]

Personal life

In 2007, he wrote the autobiography I skuggan av San Siro (English: In the shadow of San Siro) about his experiences as a young footballer at Inter Milan.[6] In 2020, the book was adapted into a movie called Tigers directed by Ronnie Sandahl.[7]

After quitting football, Bengtsson took up careers in journalism and music.[8]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2]
Club Season League Svenska Cupen Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Örebro SK 2003 Allsvenskan 1 0 —
ÖSK Ungdom 2005 Division 2 Norra Svealand —
Career total 0 0

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[5]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden U17 2002 12 3
2003 8 0
Total 20 3
Sweden U19 2004 2 0
Total 2 0
Career total 22 3

References
  1. "Martin Bengtsson: "Man ska inte prata om såna här saker"". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. "SvenskaFans". www.svenskafans.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. "Örebros 17-årige talang klar för Inter". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  4. Bengtsson, Martin (2007). I skuggan av San Siro. Norstedts. ISBN 9789113100708.
  5. "Martin Bengtsson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. "Pojkdrömmen kunde ha kostat honom livet". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 23 April 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  7. "Ronnie Sandahls "Tigrar" får världspremiär i Busan". MovieZine. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  8. "Martin Bengtsson exclusive interview: Inter Milan, depression and seeing his lowest moments play out in a movie".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.