Bernt Ljung

Bernt Ljung
Personal information
Full name Bernt Åke Ljung
Date of birth (1958-05-08) 8 May 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Borlänge, Sweden
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1968 Forsa BK
1969–1975 IK Brage
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1980 IK Brage
1981–1987 AIK 134 (0)
1988–1990 Vasalunds IF
1991–1992 AIK 19 (0)
1993 IK Brage
International career
1978–1981 Sweden U21 7 (0)
1982–1984 Sweden 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bernt Åke Ljung (born 8 May 1958) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented IK Brage, AIK, and Vasalunds IF during a career that spanned between 1976 and 1993. A full international between 1982 and 1984, he won seven caps for the Sweden national team.

Club career

IK Brage

Ljung started his career as a 17-year-old in 1976 at IK Brage under manager Rolf Zetterlund, and helped the club advance from Division 3 to Allsvenskan in only four seasons in the late 1970s.[1] During the 1980 Allsvenskan season, the team only conceded 18 goals as it finished fourth in the table as newcomers.[1]

AIK

Ahead of the 1981 season, Ljung and Zetterlund both signed with fellow Allsvenskan club AIK.[1] In early 1982, Ljung suffered a serious knee that would keep him out of the entire 1982 season.[1] In 1983, Ljung played in 21 league games as AIK finished first in Allsvenskan, before being eliminated in the semifinals of the 1983 Allsvenskan play-offs by the eventual Swedish Champions IFK Göteborg.[1] Ljung saved three penalty kicks in the penalty kick shootout in the 1985 Svenska Cupen final against Östers IF as AIK won the 1984–85 Svenska Cupen title.[1]

Vasalunds IF, return to AIK

Ljung had a short stint at Vasalunds IF before returning to AIK again in 1991.[1] In 1992, Ljung helped the team become Swedish Champions for the first time in 55 years.[1]

Return to IK Brage and retirement

Ljung returned to his boyhood club IK Brage ahead of the 1993 Allsvenskan season and played for one year before announcing his retirement from professional football.[1]

International career

Ljung represented the Sweden U21 team a total of seven times between 1978 and 1981.[2] He made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 21 February 1982 in a friendly 1–2 loss against Finland.[3] He played his first and only competitive game for Sweden on 12 September 1984 in a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Portugal, which Sweden lost 0–1.[4] He won his seventh and last cap on 26 September 1984 in a friendly 0–1 loss to Italy.[5]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[2][6]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1982 1 0
1983 3 0
1984 3 0
Total 7 0

Honours

AIK[1][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "500 AIK:are - Bernt Ljung". www.aik.se. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Bernt Ljung, Spelarstatistik SvFF". Svensk Fotboll.
  3. ^ "Finland - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Sverige - Portugal - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Italien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Bernt Ljung - Overall international matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Bernt Ljung: "Någon hade grävt ner en bomb i gräsmattan"". Fotboll Sthlm (in Swedish). 9 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2021.