Joachim Björklund


Joachim Björklund is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He is assistant manager at Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan.

Playing career

Club

Taking the leap from junior team obscurity to becoming a star in Brann, Björklund was later sold to IFK Göteborg. There, his side achieved a surprise 3–1 victory over Manchester United in the group stage of the 1994–95 Champions League. At the end of the following season, he was transferred to Vicenza, and the following year to Rangers, for £2.2 million. where he won a Scottish league championship medal. He moved to Valencia for £2.5 million on 20 June 1998 and spent three years at Valencia before joining Venezia in Italy, where he played for just one season.
Björklund joined Sunderland in January 2002 for £1.5 million, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated in the following 2002–03 season. However the 2003–04 season was better, as he helped Sunderland finish third in Division One and reach the FA Cup semi finals yet his services were deemed to be no longer required by manager Mick McCarthy so he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. He left the club and retired after just one injury-hampered season that restricted him to just five appearances in total as the club failed to win an immediate return to the top flight.

International

For many years he formed a successful central defensive partnership with Patrik Andersson for the Swedish national team. Björklund was selected for the UEFA Euro 1992, 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. He was also a member of the Swedish squad that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. His maternal uncle is Tommy Svensson, the Sweden national football team manager from 1991 to 1997.
Due to lack of playing time at his club Valencia, Björklund was dropped from the Swedish squad during the early stages of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Disappointed, he decided to retire from the national team at the age of 30.

Post-playing career

Having finished his playing career, he worked as a scout for Valencia, mainly targeting the Nordic countries. He also worked as a pundit for Swedish Canal+, covering La Liga football, for several years.
On 28 January 2018, Björklund was appointed assistant manager of Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan. He signed a one year-deal with the club.

Personal life

He is the son of Swedish football coach Karl-Gunnar Björklund, and the father of footballer Kalle Björklund who represents Hammarby IF.

Honours

Rangers
Valencia