Erik Friberg (footballer)

Erik Friberg (born 10 February 1986) is a Swedish footballer who plays for BK Häcken in Allsvenskan.

This article is about the footballer. For poker player, see Erik Friberg (poker player).

Erik Friberg

Friberg with the Seattle Sounders in 2011
Personal information
Full name	John Erik Gunnar Friberg
Date of birth	(1986-02-10) 10 February 1986
Place of birth	Lindome, Sweden
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	BK Häcken
Number	8
Youth career
2003–2004	Västra Frölunda IF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	Västra Frölunda IF	32	(3)
2007–2010	BK Häcken	94	(5)
2011	Seattle Sounders	28	(1)
2012–2013	Malmö FF	51	(6)
2014–2015	Bologna	7	(0)
2015	Esbjerg fB	13	(1)
2015–2016	Seattle Sounders	46	(1)
2017–	BK Häcken	88	(5)
National team^‡
2012	Sweden	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 July 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 January 2012

Club career

Early career

Friberg began his career with Västra Frölunda IF before moving to BK Häcken in January 2007. He made his UEFA Europa League debut on 2 August 2007 against KR Reykjavíkur. The game ended 0–1 for Häcken.[1] He played 20 minutes in two games against Spartak Moscow during the first round of the UEFA Cup.[2]

Seattle Sounders

On 16 December 2010, it was announced that Friberg had signed a deal with Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.[3] He made his debut for the Sounders in their opening game of the 2011 MLS season against Los Angeles Galaxy.

Malmö FF

On 12 December 2011, Seattle Sounders confirmed that Friberg would move to Malmö FF for the 2012 season.[4] Malmö FF announced the day after that Friberg had signed a contract until the end of the 2014 season. He joined Malmö FF when the transfer window opened on 1 January 2012.[5] Friberg was applauded by media for his play during the 2012 pre-season.[6] Friberg later played 24 out of 30 matches during his first season at the club.

For the club's league title winning 2013 season Friberg played 27 matches and scored 6 goals. He also played all six matches of the club's participation in the qualifying stages for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. During the season Friberg earned the nickname Mr. 100% after scoring six goals in six shots on goal during the entire season.[7] His most important goal of the season was when he scored the only goal of the game at home against Mjällby AIF in the 26th round of the league with just a couple of minutes to go of the game.

Bologna

On 30 January 2014, Friberg signed with Italian Serie A club Bologna.[8]

Return to Seattle Sounders

Friberg returned to Seattle Sounders FC on 29 June 2015.[9]

International career

Friberg was selected for the annual training camp for the Sweden national team in January 2012 after Malmö teammates Mathias Ranégie and Ivo Pękalski had to withdraw from the squad. The squad selection for the camp traditionally feature the best Swedish players in domestic and other Scandinavian leagues.[10] He made his debut for Sweden in the friendly against Bahrain on 18 January 2012.[11]

Personal life

He is the cousin of CS:GO player Adam Friberg.[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of 9 November 2019.[13]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
BK Häcken	2007	14	0	—		3	0	17	0
	2008	25	2	—		—		25	2
	2009	28	3	3	0	—		31	3
	2010	27	0	2	0	—		29	0
	Total	94	5	5	0	3	0	102	5
Seattle Sounders	2011	26	1	2	0	4	0	34	1
	Total	26	1	2	0	4	0	34	1
Malmö FF	2012	24	0	0	0	—		24	0
	2013	27	6	4	0	6	0	37	6
	Total	51	6	4	0	6	0	61	6
Bologna	2013–14	7	0	0	0	—		7	0
	Total	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Esbjerg fB	2014–15	13	1	3	0	—		16	1
	Total	13	1	3	0	0	0	16	1
Seattle Sounders	2015	16	1	0	0	3	1	19	2
	2016	30	0	2	0	2	0	34	0
	Total	46	1	2	0	5	1	53	2
BK Häcken	2017	27	1	5	0	—		32	1
	2018	26	1	4	1	4	0	34	2
	2019	24	2	6	1	2	0	32	3
	Total	77	4	15	2	4	0	98	6
Career total		314	18	29	2	24	1	370	21

International

As of 18 January 2012.[13]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Sweden	2012	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Club

Malmö FF

• Allsvenskan: 2013
• Svenska Supercupen: 2013

Seattle Sounders

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2011
• MLS Cup (1): 2016

References

1. UEFA.com Erik Friberg
2. Erik Friberg-Europa League
3. Signing of midfielder Erik Friberg finally made official
4. Friberg transferred to Sweden's Malmö
5. "Malmö FF värvar Erik Friberg från Seattle Sounders" (in Swedish). mff.se. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
6. "MFF:s Friberg kan bli årets kap". sydsvenskan.se. Sydsvenskan. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
7. "Årets: Året i bilder, guldhalvåret". svenskafans.com (in Swedish). Svenska Fans. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
8. "Erik Friberg lämnar Malmö FF". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
9. "Sounders FC signs midfielder Erik Friberg". SoundersFC Communications. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
10. "Landslaget blir himmelsblågult: "Vi är stolta"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
11. "Herr: 2–0 mot Bahrain i Doha" (in Swedish). svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
12. "Twitter conversation between Adam and Erik Friberg". twitter.com. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
13. "Erik Friberg". soccerway.com (in Swedish). Soccerway. Retrieved 28 November 2018.

External links

• Malmö FF profile (in Swedish)
• Erik Friberg at SvFF (in Swedish)
• Erik Friberg at Soccerway