Sebastian Larsson facts for kids
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Larsson playing for Sweden in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 June 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Eskilstuna, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.78 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sweden (assistant manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2001 | IFK Eskilstuna | ||
| 2001–2004 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2007 | Arsenal | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Birmingham City (loan) | 27 | (1) |
| 2007–2011 | Birmingham City | 157 | (18) |
| 2011–2017 | Sunderland | 176 | (12) |
| 2017–2018 | Hull City | 40 | (2) |
| 2018–2022 | AIK | 123 | (21) |
| Total | 526 | (54) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2002 | Sweden U17 | 23 | (6) |
| 2003 | Sweden U19 | 9 | (4) |
| 2004–2006 | Sweden U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 2008–2021 | Sweden | 133 | (10) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2024– | Sweden (assistant) | ||
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Sebastian Larsson is a Swedish former professional footballer. He was born on June 6, 1985. He played as a midfielder and was known for his amazing skills with set-pieces, like free kicks and corners.
Larsson started his football journey at his hometown club, IFK Eskilstuna. He then moved to England to play for Arsenal. After playing a few games for Arsenal, he joined Birmingham City. He spent five years there, helping them get promoted to the Premier League twice.
Later, he played for Sunderland and Hull City. In 2018, he returned to Sweden to play for AIK. He helped AIK win the Swedish league title in 2018 before he stopped playing football in 2022.
Sebastian also played for the Swedish national team for many years. He played in several big tournaments, including the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup. He played 133 games for Sweden and scored 10 goals.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Early Days and Arsenal
Sebastian Larsson was born in Eskilstuna, Sweden. He started playing football for his local team, IFK Eskilstuna. When he was 16, he moved to England to join the famous club Arsenal in 2001.
He made his first team debut for Arsenal in a League Cup game in October 2004. He also played in the Premier League for Arsenal.
Loan to Birmingham City
In August 2006, Larsson joined Birmingham City on loan. This meant he played for Birmingham for a season while still belonging to Arsenal. He quickly made a big impact, scoring important goals in his first few games. He even scored two goals in an FA Cup match against Newcastle United.
Playing for Birmingham City
In January 2007, Larsson officially joined Birmingham City permanently. He signed a four-year contract. He scored a fantastic goal against Sheffield Wednesday in April 2007, running with the ball from far away before scoring.
He often played on the right side of the midfield. He was very good at taking direct free kicks. He scored half of his six goals in one season from free kicks, including one from about 30 yards away against Liverpool.
In the 2010-11 season, Larsson helped Birmingham reach the League Cup Final. He scored a penalty in the quarter-final against local rivals Aston Villa. In the final, Birmingham played against his old club, Arsenal, at Wembley. Larsson's corner kick led to Birmingham's first goal, and they went on to win the trophy! This was a huge win for the club.
He left Birmingham City at the end of that season when his contract ended.
Time at Sunderland
On July 1, 2011, Larsson joined Sunderland for free. He scored a great goal in his very first game for Sunderland against Liverpool. He also scored many goals directly from free kicks, which made his former Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, call him "maybe the best in the league as a free-kick-taker."
He scored twice in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Manchester City in March 2012. In the 2013-14 season, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester United at their home stadium, Old Trafford. This was Sunderland's first win there since 1968! After helping Sunderland avoid relegation, he signed a new contract.
In the 2014-15 season, Larsson continued to score important goals, including more free kicks. He was named Sunderland's Supporters' Player of the Year for that season, which means the fans thought he was their best player.
Playing for Hull City
After leaving Sunderland, Larsson signed a one-year contract with Hull City in August 2017. He scored his first goal for Hull City in a big 6-1 win against his old team, Birmingham City.
Return to Sweden with AIK
In June 2018, Larsson moved back to Sweden to play for AIK. His first season with AIK was very successful. He helped the team win the Swedish Championship for the first time in many years. Larsson stopped playing professional football after the 2022 season.
International Career for Sweden
Larsson was first called up to the Swedish national team in October 2007. He made his first appearance for Sweden in February 2008 in a friendly game against Turkey. He soon became a regular player for his country.
He scored his first goal for Sweden in March 2011 during a Euro 2012 qualifying match. He scored two more goals in the qualifiers that year, including a penalty against the Netherlands.
Larsson was part of Sweden's squad for Euro 2012. He played in all three of their group games and scored a goal against France.
He also played for Sweden in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Before the tournament, he played his 100th game for Sweden. At the World Cup, he helped Sweden reach the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by England. He scored his ninth international goal in March 2021 in a World Cup qualifying win against Kosovo.
Larsson played in all four of Sweden's matches at Euro 2020, even serving as captain in some games. After this tournament, he announced that he was retiring from playing for the national team.
Personal Life
Sebastian Larsson lives in Eskilstuna, Sweden, with his wife, Tina. They have two daughters.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2004–05 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Birmingham City | 2006–07 | Championship | 43 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 50 | 9 | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 6 | |||
| 2008–09 | Championship | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 33 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 5 | |||
| Total | 184 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 3 | — | — | 205 | 25 | ||||
| Sunderland | 2011–12 | Premier League | 32 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 8 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 36 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 3 | |||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 176 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 10 | 1 | — | — | 203 | 14 | ||||
| Sunderland U23 | 2016–17 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Hull City | 2017–18 | Championship | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 2 | ||
| AIK | 2018 | Allsvenskan | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2019 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 6 | 6 | 2 | — | 8 | 3 | — | 42 | 11 | |||
| 2020 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 5 | ||||
| 2021 | Allsvenskan | 25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | 10 | 4 | ||||
| 2022 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 38 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 123 | 21 | 20 | 7 | — | 16 | 4 | — | 159 | 32 | ||||
| Career total | 526 | 54 | 47 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 620 | 73 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2008 | 9 | 0 |
| 2009 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 12 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 133 | 10 | |
- Sweden score listed first, score column indicates score after each Larsson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 March 2011 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | 29 |  Moldova |
2–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying | |
| 2 | 7 October 2011 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | 35 |  Finland |
1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying | |
| 3 | 11 October 2011 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | 36 |  Netherlands |
2–2 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying | |
| 4 | 29 February 2012 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia | 39 |  Croatia |
2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 3–1 | |||||||
| 6 | 19 June 2012 | Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kyiv, Ukraine | 44 |  France |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 | |
| 7 | 12 October 2019 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 116 |  Malta |
2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | |
| 8 | 4–0 | |||||||
| 9 | 28 March 2021 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo | 127 |  Kosovo |
3–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 10 | 29 May 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden | 128 | Finland |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Birmingham City
- Football League Cup: 2010–11
Sunderland
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2013–14
AIK
- Allsvenskan: 2018
Individual Awards
- Birmingham City Player of the Year: 2007–08
- Birmingham City Players' Player of the Year: 2007–08
- Birmingham City Goal of the Season: 2007–08
- Sunderland Supporters' Player of the Year: 2014–15
See also
In Spanish: Sebastian Larsson para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more caps
