Emil Peter Forsberg (; born 23 October 1991) is a Swedish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club RB Leipzig and the Sweden national team. Forsberg was awarded Guldbollen in 2021 as Sweden's best footballer of the year. He has also been voted the Swedish Midfielder of the Year four times (2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021). He was a member of the Sweden squad that reached the quarter-finals of the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, and also represented his country at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, the latter of which he scored four goals in four games. He is known for his quick, effective passing style, and is a creative playmaker renowned for his ability to create chances and assists.

Club career

GIF Sundsvall

Born in

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

, Forsberg started his career with his home-town team and joined the first team squad in 2009 when the club was playing in Sweden's second tier of football,

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

. He went on to play several matches for Sundsvall in his first season. For his second season at the club he had become a regular in the starting eleven at Sundsvall and played 30 out of 30 matches for the 2010 season. Forsberg had started to produce goals during his second season at the club but raised his performance for the 2011 season when he scored 11 goals in 27 matches as Sundsvall were promoted to Sweden's first tier of football,

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

. For his first season in Allsvenskan Forsberg played 21 matches out of 30 and scored 6 goals, however Sundsvall were relegated to Superettan once again after losing the relegation play-offs against Halmstads BK.

Malmö FF

On 10 December 2012, Forsberg was presented as a

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

player. He joined the club on 1 January 2013 when the transfer window opened in Sweden. Forsberg signed a four-year contract lasting until the end of the 2016 season. His first season at the club proved to be a success as he played 28 matches out of 30 and scored five goals for the club as they won the league title. He also played all matches for the club during the qualification stage for the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevil ...

and scored two goals. During Malmö FF's successful 2014 season Forsberg made 29 league appearances, scoring 14 goals and thus being an important part in the team that defended the league title. He also participated in all of the club's matches in the

2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...

campaign in which Malmö FF qualified for the group stage. As recognition of Forsberg's feats during the season he won the award for Allsvenskan Midfielder of the year. He was also nominated for Swedish midfielder of the year at

Fotbollsgalan Fotbollsgalan is an official and annual Swedish sports awards ceremony honoring achievements in Swedish football. It is organised by Swedish Football Association and televised by TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish televi ...

RB Leipzig

In January 2015, Forsberg joined German second league side RB Leipzig on a three and a half year deal. In February 2016, he extended his contract until 2021. During the 2015–16 season Forsberg was voted the best player in

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

and in January 2016

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

were reportedly eyeing Forsberg. In round three of

2016–17 Bundesliga The 2016–17 Bundesliga was the 54th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 26 August 2016 and ended on 20 May 2017. Bayern Munich were the defending champions. Fixtures for the 2016–17 season were announ ...

Forsberg was named player of the round by '' Kicker''. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Forsberg finished off as the highest assister in the Bundesliga and top 5 leagues in Europe with 22 assists, and made the Bundesliga team of the season. On 13 September 2017, Forsberg scored RB Leipzig's first ever Champions League goal in their first match ever in a 1–1 draw against

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. In the 2019–20 season, he scored a brace in the stoppage time in a 2–2 draw against Benfica, to secure a place for RB Leipzig in the

2019–20 UEFA Champions League knockout phase The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League knockout phase began on 18 February with the round of 16 and ended on 23 August 2020 with the final at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, to decide the champions of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League. A to ...

, where they managed to reach the semi-finals. On 4 November 2020, Forsberg scored a goal in a 2–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the

2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defeat ...

International career

Early career

Having previously played for the Swedish under-19 team, Emil Forsberg made his senior international debut for the Swedish national team in a 2–1

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

win over

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

on 17 January 2014.

UEFA Euro 2016

He made his competitive debut in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

on 12 October 2014. He scored his first international goal for Sweden in the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament decided the final four teams which qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament. Eight teams, each of which finished third in their qualifying group were paired and contested in four ti ...

against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, helping Sweden beat the Danes 4–3 on aggregate and qualify for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. Forsberg played in all three games for Sweden at Euro 2016 as Sweden was eliminated in the group stage.

2018 FIFA World Cup

In May 2018, he was named in Sweden's 23 man squad for the

in Russia. On 3 July 2018 in a round of 16 tie between Sweden and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Forsberg scored the winner for Sweden to send them into the quarter finals of the World Cup for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

UEFA Euro 2020

Forsberg was included in Sweden's 26-man squad for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

. Forsberg scored four goals in the tournament, and hit both the crossbar and the post in the Round of 16 game against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

when Sweden lost 2–1 after extra-time, for his performances, he received praise as one of the best players in the tournament. He is the only Swedish player to have scored four goals in a

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

, beating Tomas Brolin's (in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

) and Henrik Larsson's (in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

) previous record of three goals.

Personal life

Emil Forsberg is the son of former

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...

player

Leif Forsberg Leif Folke Enar Forsberg (born 15 April 1963) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a forward. Career He made his professional debut with GIF Sundsvall at the age of 17, and played his last game for the club at the age of 38. He repres ...

, and grandson of

Lennart Forsberg Lennart Forsberg (28 March 1928 - 6 September 2020) was a Swedish footballer who played as a left winger. Forsberg debuted in 1945 at the age of 17 with GIF Sundsvall. He made 28 Allsvenskan appearances for Djurgården and scored 14 goals. Lenna ...

who also played for GIF Sundsvall. On 17 July 2016, Forsberg married Shanga Hussain, who is a former footballer. The couple live in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, having first met in Sundsvall. They own a dog, Roffe, who is a Golden Retriever. They had their first child in August 2018. Forsberg has named Dutch winger Ryan Babel as a player he has looked up to.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.''

Honours

Malmö FF *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Svenska Supercupen:

RB Leipzig * DFB-Pokal: 2021–22 Individual *

Midfielder of the Year:

* Swedish Midfielder of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 *

assist leader: 2016–17 *

Team of the Season: 2016–17 * Guldbollen: 2021

References

External links

Malmö FF profile
*
archive
*
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forsberg, Emil 1991 births Living people People from Sundsvall Swedish footballers Association football midfielders Association football wingers GIF Sundsvall players Malmö FF players RB Leipzig players Division 3 (Swedish football) players Superettan players Allsvenskan players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga players Sweden youth international footballers Sweden international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players Swedish expatriate footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Sportspeople from Västernorrland County