Oskar Rönningberg

Oskar Rönningberg
Personal information
Full name	Oskar Mikael Rönningberg
Date of birth	2 April 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Lund, Sweden
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1992–2001	Torns IF
2001–2006	Helsingborgs IF
Senior career*
Years	Team
2006–2008	Helsingborgs IF
International career
2001–2003	Sweden U17
2004	Sweden U19
2006–2007	Sweden U21
2008	Sweden
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Oskar Mikael Rönningberg (born 2 April 1986) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Helsingborgs IF between 2006 and 2008 before his career was cut short because of an injury. He won two caps for the Sweden national team in 2008.

Club career

Early career

Rönningberg started off his career with Torns IF in Lund, helping his youth team finish fourth in the 2001 season of Pojkallsvenskan.^[1] In 2002, Rönningberg left Torns IF to sign with the Allsvenskan club Helsingborgs IF.^[1] In 2006 he became the first ever former Torns IF player to play in Allsvenskan.^[1]

Helsingborgs IF

2006 season

Rönningberg made his Allsvenskan debut for Helsingborg on 2 May 2006 in a home game against Östers IF, which Helsingborg won 4–0.^[1] During his first senior season with the club, he played in 11 Allsvenskan games and was an unused substitute in the 2006 Svenska Cupen final as Helsingborg won the 2006 Svenska Cupen title.^[2]^[3]

2007 season

In 2007, Rönningberg made another 11 Allsvenskan appearances and was a part of the Helsingborg team that competed in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup.^[2] On 8 November 2007, he played in all 90 minutes as Helsingborg beat Galatasaray 3–2 away.^[2] He played in all four UEFA Cup group stage games as Helsingborgs IF advanced to the Round of 32 before being eliminated by PSV Eindhoven.^[4]^[5]

Injury and retirement

In a pre-season friendly game in March 2008 against SK Brann, Rönningberg suffered a severe knee injury with 15 minutes left of the game.^[6] The injury made Rönningberg miss the entire 2008 season, and ultimately forced him to announce his retirement from professional football in September 2008 at the age of 22.^[2]^[7]

International career

After having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Rönningberg made his full international debut for Sweden on 13 January 2008 in a friendly game against Costa Rica, replacing Behrang Safari in the 68th minute in game that Sweden won 1–0.^[8] He won his second and final international cap six days later in a friendly game against the United States, playing for 61 minutes before being replaced by Safari in a game that Sweden lost 2–0.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[10]^[11]
Club	Season	League			Svenska Cupen		UEFA Cup		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Helsingborgs IF	2006	Allsvenskan	11	0	4	0	0	0	15	0
	2007	Alllsvenskan	11	0	3	0	7	0	21	0
	2008	Allsvenskan	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Career total			22	0	7	0	7	0	36	0