Andreas Granqvist


Andreas Granqvist is a Swedish footballer who plays as a centre-back for Helsingborgs IF and captains the Sweden national football team.
He was awarded Guldbollen, given to the Swedish player of the year, in 2017.

Club career

Born in Påarp, Granqvist started his career with his local club, Påarps GIF. He later transferred to Helsingborgs IF and he made his debut in Allsvenskan, 2004. Two years later he was team captain, when the club won its third Swedish Cup title, beating Gefle with 2–0. The victorious Helsingborg side also contained Swedish internationals Henrik Larsson and Andreas Jakobsson as well as former Hibernian goalkeeper Daniel Andersson.
In January 2007, he completed a loan move to Wigan Athletic with a view to a permanent deal in the summer. On 19 June 2007, he signed a two-year deal with Wigan, for a fee reported to be around £750,000. On 12 March 2008, he returned to Helsingborg on a loan deal until the end of the English season in June.
On 9 July 2008, Granqvist signed a four-year contract with Dutch club, Groningen, with Wigan receiving a fee of around £600,000. On 13 September 2008, he scored after a 65-metre solo run, a remarkable feat, which he again managed to accomplish in the last match of the regular season on 10 May 2009.
On 15 June 2011, Groningen sold Granqvist to Genoa for €2 million. The Swedish international has signed a four-year contract with the Italian club.
On 16 August 2013, Granqvist moved from Genoa to Russian Premier League side Krasnodar.
On 28 January 2018, it was announced that Granqvist would return to Helsingborgs IF after the World Cup. He would join the club on a 3.5-year player contract that would be followed by a three-year term as the director of sports for the club. He officially played his farewell game for Krasnodar on 13 May 2018.

International career

Granqvist has played for the Swedish national team, and, in May 2008, he was included in Sweden's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2008.
However, he was an unused substitute in all three of Sweden's games. In 2011, played in the finals of Cyprus International Football Tournaments, but Sweden lost to Ukraine. On 6 July 2016 Granqvist was appointed captain of Sweden by the new manager Janne Andersson. Granqvist succeeded Zlatan Ibrahimović after the latter's retirement from the national team following UEFA Euro 2016.
In May 2018 he was named in the 23-man Sweden squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He captained the team for their opening World Cup fixture against South Korea on 18 June 2018. Over the course of the match he provided several long balls over the top which posed a threat to the South Korean defenders. In the 65th minute he scored the only goal of the game, calmly slotting home from the penalty spot. He was given the Player of the match award. Nine days later he scored another penalty, the second goal in a 3–0 win over Mexico which meant Sweden qualified for the next round and topped the group. Overall, Granqvist played a full 90 minutes in all games for Sweden in the tournament as they were eliminated by England in the quarter final.

Personal life

Granqvist goes by the nickname "Granen", originating from his last name which means "spruce twig".
Granqvist became a father for a second time after his wife Sofie gave birth in Helsingborg on 6 July 2018, while he was with the Sweden team at the World Cup in Russia.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 September 2010Swedbank Stadion, Malmö, Sweden74–06–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
212 October 2010Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands81–41–4UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
324 March 2016New Antalya Stadium, Antalya, Turkey491–11–2Friendly
43 September 2017Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus654–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
57 October 2017Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden661–08–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
67 October 2017Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden666–08–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
718 June 2018Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia731–01–02018 FIFA World Cup
827 June 2018Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia752–03–02018 FIFA World Cup
917 November 2018Konya Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya, Turkey801–01–02018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Club

Helsingborgs IF