Joachim Björklund

Thumb

Image Source: Unknown report

User Rating

(0 users)
Data Complete 70%

15%

Born
1971 (54 years old)
Shiny National flag

Växjö, Sweden

Position
Assistant Coach

Status
Coaching

Ethnicity

Team Number

Height
186 cm

Outfitter

Kit
Wage Year

Player Cutout
No Cutout thumb

Archive

Full Body Render
No Render Icon

Sport

Soccer

Team
IFK Gothenburg

League
Swedish Allsvenskan

Creative Commons Artwork
No

Description

Joachim Björklund (Swedish pronunciation: ; born 15 March 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He is currently assistant coach for Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg.

Beginning his playing career with Östers IF and SK Brann, Björklund went on to win three Swedish championships with IFK Göteborg before representing clubs in the Scottish Premiership, Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League. A full international between 1992 and 2000, Björklund won 78 caps for the Sweden national team and was a part of the teams that competed at Euro 1992, Euro 2000, and finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Taking the leap from junior team obscurity at Östers IF 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 which ultimately helped them win Group A ahead of FC Barcelona, Manchester United, and Galatasaray before being eliminated in the quarter-finals by FC Bayern Munich. At the end of the following season, he was transferred to Vicenza in Serie A, and the following year to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, 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. While at Valencia, he helped the team reach the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 UEFA Champions League finals.

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.

For many years he formed a successful central defensive partnership with Patrik Andersson for the Sweden national team. Björklund was selected for the UEFA Euro 1992, 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he helped the team finish third behind Brazil and Italy. He was also a member of the Sweden squad that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Due to lack of playing time at his club Valencia, Björklund was dropped from the Sweden 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.

He is the son of Sweden national team coach Karl-Gunnar Björklund, and the father of footballers Kalle Björklund who represented Hammarby IF, Västerås SK and Falkenberg FF and William Björklund who belonged to the Hammarby youth teams and now play for United IK Nordic. His maternal uncle is Tommy Svensson, the Sweden men's national football team manager from 1991 to 1997.

0 goals scored in the current 2025 Season

Trophies

Milestones

Former Youth Teams