Roger Ingemar Ljung (born 8 January 1966) is a Swedish former 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 ...

who played as a left back. He played for clubs in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, and Germany during a career that spanned between 1983 and 1995. He won 59

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for the Sweden national team, and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup,

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...

, as well as the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

where Sweden finished third.

Club career

Born in Lomma,

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

, Ljung started his football career at the age of six, with lowly

Lunds BK Lunds BK is a football club from Lund, Sweden founded in 1919. The club currently plays in Division 1 Södra. Despite their relative success Lunds BK has never competed in the Allsvenskan or Superettan, but has played nine seasons in the second ...

. In 1985, he was purchased by

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association ...

, being mostly used as a substitute in his early years and being on the roster as the club won five Allsvenskan championships in a row, with the player contributing regularly in the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and 1988 editions. In the summer of 1989, Ljung transferred to BSC Young Boys in Switzerland, moving in the following season to another side in the Swiss Super League,

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

. He enjoyed his best individual years in Austria with FC Admira Wacker, scoring 26

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 ...

goals in 67 games in his first two years combined, albeit without team silverware. In 1994, after some months in Turkey with

Galatasaray SK Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, Ljung signed with

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...

from Germany. After appearing in less of half of the games during the campaign and also suffering relegation from the

, he decided to retire from football at only 29.

International career

Ljung played 59 international games for Sweden, scoring three goals. He was picked for the squad that appeared in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, playing only once in an eventual group stage exit. Ljung was also selected for the team in

, in Sweden played on home soil. His contribution to the final third-place was again minimal, as he only featured in the 2–3 semifinal loss against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Ljung opened the national team's scoring account in a 2–2 group stage draw against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. This time, he was an undisputed first-choice – playing in six of seven games – and the country eventually finished third. Ljung also participated in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

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, with Sweden ousted in the quarter-finals.

Post-retirement

After retiring from professional football in 1995, Ljung became a sports agent. He started his own agency in Lomma, ''Roger Ljung Promotion AB'', being at the time one of only three licensed agents in the country;

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

'' Aftonbladet'' considered him to be Sweden's most successful agent. Ljung's most notable client was

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg (; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional footballer and manager who played as a winger. He was most recently a former assistant coach, and interim head coach of Arsenal. He began his career at Hal ...

, who played several years in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. He brokered his deal with Arsenal for a £3 million transfer fee, and the pair parted ways in December 2006 when the player signed with mega-agency Creative Artists. Other players Ljung worked for included

Marcus Allbäck Marcus Christian Allbäck (; born 5 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was known for his sharp finishing ability and represented clubs in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, England, and Germ ...

Patrik Andersson Patrik Jonas Andersson (; born 18 August 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in the late 1980s, he went on to play professionally in England, Germany, and Spain, an ...

Erik Edman Erik Kenneth Edman (; born 11 November 1978) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Starting off his career with Helsingborgs IF in 1997, he went on to represent clubs in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, ...

Andreas Isaksson Jan Andreas Isaksson (; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Isaksson began his career at local Trelleborgs FF, before briefly representing Juventus. He would later return to Sweden, where ...

Kim Källström Kim Mikael Källström (; born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was noted for his play-making ability and free-kick taking. He started his career at several clubs in Sweden, winning cons ...

and Teddy Lucic.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ljung goal''.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ljung, Roger 1966 births Living people People from Lomma Municipality Swedish footballers Men's association football defenders Allsvenskan players Lunds BK players Malmö FF players Swiss Super League players BSC Young Boys players FC Zürich players Austrian Football Bundesliga players FC Admira Wacker Mödling players Süper Lig players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Bundesliga players MSV Duisburg players Sweden men's international footballers 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1992 players 1994 FIFA World Cup players Sweden men's youth international footballers Olympic footballers for Sweden Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swedish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Austria Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Germany Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Austria Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Swedish sports agents