Hans-Jürgen Stefan Schwarz (born 18 April 1969) 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

midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Schwarz started off his career with

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 ...

in 1987 before moving on to represent Benfica, Arsenal,

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

, and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

until he retired at Sunderland in 2003. Schwarz won 69

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the Sweden national team, scoring 6 goals. He 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 ...

, and most notably 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 to a German father in the city of

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 pop ...

, Schwarz started his playing career as a midfielder with Kulladals FF's academy. Between 1985 and 1987, he spent two seasons with

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

's youth team. He made his debut as a professional footballer with his hometown club

. He then moved to Benfica for the 1990–91 season to play under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Schwarz was a regular selection for Benfica for the following four seasons and played in the side that knocked Arsenal out of the European Cup in 1991. He subsequently moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to play for Arsenal in the summer of 1994 for £1.8 million. He would grow frustrated with George Graham's tactics during the season. The fact that he earned double the money other more established Arsenal players were on, also made waves in the dressing room. The Gunners struggled in the league that season, but they reached the final of the 1995's

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

. That dramatic extra-time defeat to Real Zaragoza was Schwarz's last game for Arsenal. He left

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

after just one season at the club. He spent three seasons in Italy with

. In the summer 1998 he moved to Spain and

, where he spend a year, before joining English side Sunderland 29 July 1999 for a club record fee, £3.75 million. The club inserted a "Space Clause" in his contract, that stated that if he were to travel into space his contract would become wholly invalid. He was bestowed with the

Guldbollen Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish football award given by ''Aftonbladet'' and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year. History The award was created by Bengt Liljedahl and between 1946 to 1965 it was ...

in November 1999, Sweden's award for the year's best footballer. Schwarz was an aggressive midfielder who kept it simple on the ball, but his experience was crucial for newly promoted Sunderland, who finished an impressive 7th. place 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 ...

. They repeated the feat the following season, before an aging Schwarz was phased out of the team, and retired in March 2003.

International career

After having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Schwarz made his full international debut for Sweden on 14 February 1990 as a substitute in a

friendly game 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 ...

against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

where he replaced Pontus Kåmark in the 80th minute before also scoring his first international goal in a 1–1 draw. A few months later he appeared in his first major tournament for Sweden as he played in all three games at left back as Sweden was eliminated from the 1990 FIFA World Cup after the group stage. In 1992, Schwarz appeared in three games as Sweden progressed to the semi-finals of

before being eliminated by

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. In 1994, he played in centre midfield alongside

Jonas Thern Jonas Magnus Thern (born 20 March 1967) is a Swedish football manager who manages Allsvenskan club IFK Värnamo. He is also a former professional player who played as a midfielder. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in 1985, he went on to ...

as Sweden finished third at the

. An injury to his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

kept him out of the squad for

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament wa ...

. He declared his international retirement in August 2001 to focus on his club team after a series of injuries while with the national team. His last international appearance came in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

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

on 28 March 2001. Schwarz won a total of 69

during his career, scoring six goals.

Career statistics

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

Honours

;Malmö * Swedish Championship:

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

* Allsvenskan:

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, ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

;Benfica *

Primeira Divisão The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1993–94 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 sea ...

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

;Arsenal *

: Runner-up 1994–95 ;Fiorentina *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 1995–96 * Supercoppa Italiana: 1996 ;Valencia * UEFA Intertoto Cup:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 1998–99 ;Sweden *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

third place:

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Individual *"Man of the tournament" – Makita Tournament: 1994 *

: 1999

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Stefan 1969 births Living people 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1992 players 1994 FIFA World Cup players ACF Fiorentina players Allsvenskan players Arsenal F.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal La Liga players Malmö FF players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Serie A players Sunderland A.F.C. players Swedish footballers Footballers from Skåne County Sweden international footballers Sweden under-21 international footballers Sweden youth international footballers Swedish expatriate footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Valencia CF players Association football midfielders Swedish people of German descent