Erik Kenneth Edman (; born 11 November 1978) is a Swedish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a defender. Starting off his career with

Helsingborgs IF Helsingborgs IF (full name Helsingborgs Idrottsförening), commonly referred to as HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, following promotion in the 2021 Superett ...

in 1997, he went on to represent clubs in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and France before retiring at Helsingborg in 2013. A full international between 2001 and 2009, he won 57

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

, and the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

Club career

Early career

Edman played for a number of clubs during his career. He played for

until 1999, which was his first time leaving Sweden and moved abroad. In 2001, after having unremarkable spells at Italian club

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

and

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the DF ...

in Germany, Edman returned to Sweden and joined AIK for one season. After that,

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

in the Netherlands brought Edman from Sweden.

Tottenham Hotspur

In July 2004,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

signed Edman from Heerenveen. Edman quickly established himself at the club, and will probably be best remembered at Spurs for his stunning goal, which he scored from 41 yards out, in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

match against

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in April 2005. However, in the summer of 2005, the arrival of South Korean left back,

Lee Young-Pyo Lee Young-pyo ( ko, 이영표; ; born 23 April 1977) is a retired South Korean professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called hi ...

, led Edman to make the decision to leave England.

Rennes

In the last week of August, Spurs accepted an offer from French club

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departm ...

. It did not take long for Edman to impress his new manager,

László Bölöni László Bölöni ( ro, Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 2 club Metz. He is best known for his time at Sporting CP as a manager where he introduced ...

, and once again established himself as first choice at left-back.

Wigan Athletic

In January 2008, Edman was signed by

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 193 ...

for a transfer fee of £500,000. The arrival of Edman was a good deal for Wigan Athletic, since the club did not find a good replacement after the departure of

Leighton Baines Leighton John Baines (born 11 December 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left back. He is currently U-18s manager at Everton. Baines started his career with Wigan Athletic, and was part of the team that won the ...

, the previous summer. In March 2008, Edman was injured in a match against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, damaging his anterior crutiate ligament in his knee. This means he missed the rest of Wigan's season, as well as

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

. Edman made his return to the Wigan team, as a substitute in January 2009 at Old Trafford, as Wigan lost 1–0 to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. However, he has lacked playing time, due to injuries and

Maynor Figueroa Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez (born 2 May 1983) is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Wigan Athletic, where he made 179 Premier League appearances and won the 2013 FA Cup. Figueroa ...

's impressive performances throughout the season, which have earned him a spot in

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zarago ...

's starting eleven. Edman played his last game in the Latics' 9–1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur in November, where he had a torrid time against

Aaron Lennon Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...

Helsingborgs IF

On 5 February 2010,

confirmed that they had re-signed Edman. Edman signed a five-year contract with the Swedish club. In December 2012 it was announced Edman would take up a coaching position at Helsingborgs IF.

International career

Edman was a part of the Sweden national team setup from 2001 until 2009. In 2002, he was part of Sweden's

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

squad, but did not make any appearances. He then began to feature more regularly for Sweden after the 2002 World Cup, and at

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

and the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, he featured as a starting left back for the team. He scored his first and only goal, a free kick, in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

at the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43, ...

in March 2005. Edman missed

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

due to a serious knee injury. He retired from the national team the following year.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Edman goal.''

Honours

Helsingborgs IF *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football le ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, 2011 *

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams co ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 2011 *

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

: 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Individual * Swedish Defender of the Year: 2004

References

External links

*
Erik Edman Rennes profileErik Edman profile
at svenskfotboll.se {{DEFAULTSORT:Edman, Erik 1978 births Living people Swedish footballers Association football defenders Sweden international footballers Sweden youth international footballers Sweden under-21 international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Allsvenskan players 2. Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Premier League players Ligue 1 players Helsingborgs IF players Torino F.C. players Karlsruher SC players AIK Fotboll players SC Heerenveen players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Stade Rennais F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Swedish expatriate footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in France Sportspeople from Jönköping