Annica Maria Sjölund (born 31 March 1985) is a Finnish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker, who last played for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC of Sweden's

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

. She previously played for FC United Pietarsaari and

Åland United Åland United is a Finnish women's football club based in Lemland, Åland. They compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, the premier women's football league in Finland. In 2004 Åland's clubs Lemlands IF and IF Finströms Kamraterna decided to st ...

in Finland's

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten L ...

and Jitex BK,

Älvsjö AIK Älvsjö AIK FF is a Swedish football club located in Älvsjö within Stockholm Municipality. Background Älvsjö AIK was formed on 23 May 1915. The first and largest section of the newly formed club was football. Other sports played included ...

and AIK in Sweden.

Club career

In August 2012 Sjölund sustained an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

while playing for Jitex in a match against

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

. Sjölund left Jitex after the

2013 Damallsvenskan The 2013 Damallsvenskan, part of the 2013 Swedish football season, is the 26th season of Damallsvenskan since its establishment in 1988. The season began on 13 April 2013 and ends on 20 October 2013. Tyresö FF are the defending champions, having ...

season. She was wanted by former club Åland United, but decided to stay in Sweden with Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC.

International career

She is a member of the Finnish national team; scoring on her debut against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in May 2006. She took part in the 2009 European Championship, where she scored one goal in the quarter-finals against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 * Coac ...

Andrée Jeglertz Andrée Alexander Jeglertz (born 14 February 1972) is a Swedish football coach and former professional player who is the manager of the Denmark women's national football team. Career Playing career A defender, Jeglertz played 25 games in the Al ...

selected Sjölund in Finland's squad for

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 List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

, where she scored the team's only goal at the tournament – a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Sjölund also represented Åland at the Island Games football tournament in 2001 and 2007.

Personal life

Her brother

Daniel Sjölund Henrik Daniel "Daja" Sjölund (born 22 April 1983) is a Finnish football coach and a former footballer who played as a midfielder. Sjölund is currently working as an assistant coach of Veikkausliiga club IFK Mariehamn. He is best remembered fo ...

is also an international footballer.

References

External links

* * * 1985 births Living people People from Finström Swedish-speaking Finns Women's association football forwards Finnish women's footballers Finnish expatriate women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden Jitex BK players AIK Fotboll (women) players Damallsvenskan players Finland women's international footballers BK Häcken FF players FC United (Jakobstad) players Kansallinen Liiga players Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Åland United players Älvsjö AIK (women) players Footballers from Åland 21st-century Finnish sportswomen IF Finströms Kamraterna players FC Åland players {{Åland-bio-stub