Sara Kristina Thunebro (born 26 April 1979) is a Swedish former

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 was a defender for the Sweden women's national team. At club level Thunebro played for

Eskilstuna United DFF Eskilstuna United DFF is a football club from Eskilstuna, in Södermanland County, Sweden. The club was established in 2002 and was promoted into the Women's Premier Division ( Damallsvenskan) for the first time in 2014. The club play their home ...

Tyresö FF Tyresö Fotbollsförening is a Sweden, Swedish association football, football club in Tyresö, a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Stockholm County. The club was founded in 1971 and is primarily known for its main women's team, which compe ...

and

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Name The club is name ...

of the

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

, as well as FFC Frankfurt of the Frauen-Bundesliga. Making her international debut in 2004, Thunebro won 132

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 ...

and represented her country at the 2009 and

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editions of the

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

. She also played at the 2007, 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups, as well as the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

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Olympic football tournaments. An attacking

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, her trademark on the field was her white headband.

Club career

Thunebro began playing at the age of six, eventually rising to the youth club Viljan IK. She advanced through the

to one of the top-tier teams

. With Thunebro on the team, Djurgården won the Swedish Championship in 2003 and 2004. Djurgården also won the Swedish Cup in both 2004 and 2005, securing qualification for the

UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. T ...

. In 2005 Djurgården reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

but were beaten by

Turbine Potsdam 1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...

. After twice being voted the best defender in Sweden, Thunebro joined FFC Frankfurt in 2009. She extended her contract with the German club for another two years in April 2011. After playing only three games in the first half of the season she left Frankfurt in March 2013 to join

in Sweden. She aimed to get more match practice ahead of the

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the mos ...

in her home country. After one season at Tyresö she moved on again, to newly promoted Damallsvenskan club

. In announcing the

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

in December 2013, Thunebro admitted she moved to be based closer to her family. After the 2015 season in which Eskilstuna finished as runners-up to

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård, formerly Malmö FF Dam (1970–2007) and LdB FC Malmö (2007–2013), is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons in th ...

, Thunebro made the difficult decision to retire from playing. Coach Viktor Eriksson thanked Thunebro for her part in establishing the club in the top league and described it as an honour to have worked with her for two years.

International career

A 3–0 defeat to 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 ...

in January 2004 was Thunebro's first appearance for the senior Swedish national team. She had already collected 32 caps at Under-23 level, eight at Under-19 and 10 at Under-17. She remained on the fringes of the squad but was left out of the selection for

UEFA Women's Euro 2005 The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2005, was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire, England and Cheshire, England. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tourname ...

. Thunebro travelled to China for the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

but made just one appearance during Sweden's exit at the group stage. Returning to China for the following year's

Olympic football tournament Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wo ...

, Thunebro had become a regular starter in the team which reached the quarter finals. 06 Thunebro 130406 Sve-Isl 2-0 171457 9327

By 2009 Thunebro was an important part of an in–form Swedish team who were enjoying victories over

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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and the United States. "Each year I've taken small steps forward," she explained. "I feel in great form now, but I haven't reached my peak yet." At

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

Sweden reached the quarter finals only to be eliminated by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany Thunebro won a bronze medal with Sweden, who were beaten by eventual winners Japan in the semi final. Third place secured Sweden's qualification for the 2012 Olympic football tournament in

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 ...

. In September 2011 Thunebro announced her intention to retire from international football after the

tournament in her home country. After the tournament, Thunebro relented and was selected by national

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...

for Sweden's 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification campaign. In May 2015, Thunebro and Eskilstuna team-mates Olivia Schough and Malin Diaz were confirmed in Sundhage's Sweden squad for the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

in Canada. Following Sweden's second round elimination in Canada Thunebro quit international football. She had received only 15 minutes of playing time as the team failed to win any of their four matches at the tournament. Thunebro felt that she no longer had coach Sundhage's confidence and did not want to sit on the substitute's bench to make up the numbers.

Matches and goals scored at World Cup & Olympic tournaments

Matches and goals scored at European Championship tournaments

Personal life

Thunebro enjoys playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and rides a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

. Throughout her career she did not employ an

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

. Part of the reason she wore her trademark headband was to allow her

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

to easily identify her while watching on the television.

Honours

Club

; Djurgården/Älvsjö: *

(2): 2003, 2004 *

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 ...

(3): 1999–00, 2004, 2005 ; FFC Frankfurt *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

(1): 2011

Country

; Sweden *

: Group stage * 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup: Third place *

: Round of 16 * 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens: Fourth place * 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing: Quarter-final *

2012 Summer Olympics in London The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

: Quarter-final *

: Semi-finals *

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

(Participated from 2004 to 2015): Winner 2009 ; Sweden U19 *

UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is a competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belong to the ...

: Semi-Finalists 1998

Individual

* Swedish Defender of the Year:

, 2009

Footnotes

References

;Match reports

External links

* *
Profile
at

SvFF The Swedish Football Association ( sv, Svenska Fotbollförbundet, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women – and the men's and women's nat ...

*
Player domestic stats
at

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Club Statistics

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thunebro, Sara 1979 births Living people Swedish women's footballers Olympic footballers of Sweden Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sweden women's international footballers 1. FFC Frankfurt players Expatriate women's footballers in Germany Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Century Club Tyresö FF players Eskilstuna United DFF players Damallsvenskan players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (women) players People from Eskilstuna Women's association football defenders Frauen-Bundesliga players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Sportspeople from Södermanland County Gideonsbergs IF players