Lars Jesper Blomqvist (; born 5 February 1974) is a Swedish former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
er who played as a
left midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Most recently he was the playing assistant manager of
Superettan
Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...
side
Hammarby from December 2009 to November 2010. He played at
IFK Göteborg, where he won four straight
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 lea ...
league titles between 1993 and 1996, and
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 ...
, where he was part of the team that won the
treble
Treble may refer to:
In music:
*Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass
*Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range
*Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands
*T ...
in 1999, consisting of the
Premier League,
FA Cup and
UEFA Champions League. He returned to Swedish football in 2003 with
Djurgården, where he won his final Allsvenskan title, before initially retiring in 2005. An injury crisis prompted a playing return for
Enköping in 2008.
A full international between 1994 and 2002, Blomqvist won 30
caps for the
Sweden national team and helped them to third place at the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
in the United States.
Club career
Swedish football

After an early spell at Tavelsjö IK, Blomqvist signed for then recently formed
Umeå FC in 1992. In the spring portion of his first season for the club, he helped them to the
Division 2 Norra Norrland title, promoting the club to
Division 1 Norra
Ettan Fotboll, or simply Ettan ( en, the one), which also is its common name in everyday speech, is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 32 Swedish football teams. It was formerly simply known as ''Division 1''. ...
for the autumn. At the time this was the second tier of Swedish football. Subsequently, he signed for
IFK Göteborg on 11 September 1993. Blomqvist played a part in the club's
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 lea ...
win that year. He scored eight goals in 24 league appearances en route to the league title in 1994.
Furthermore, he played a part in
Sweden's advance to the semi finals of the
World Cup and scored in the club's 3–1 win over Manchester United in the
Champions League, knocking them out of the competition. This performance caught the eye of United manager
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
and helped the team qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament. Another title followed in 1995, with Blomqvist's goal against
Helsingborgs IF, when he performed a variant of the
Pelé runaround move, voted goal of the season.
In his last season for Göteborg, he played against former club Umeå, who had reached the Allsvenskan for the first time in their history. In 1996, Blomqvist was voted Fan's Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year.
At the end of the 1996 season, he signed for newly crowned
Serie A champions
Milan.
Serie A
In his first season of Italian football, Milan failed to win a trophy, and Blomqvist often sat on the bench. He nearly decided against going to
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
because he did not want a repeat of this season. The defending champions had an equally disappointing season, finishing
11th in Serie A and failing to qualify for European football. Blomqvist was subsequently sold to Serie A runners up
Parma in the summer of 1997. Blomqvist enjoyed more regular football, although the club finished 6th in the league and missed out on the knockout stages of the
Champions League. The Swede's sole league goal for the club was scored in a 4–0 win over
Napoli at
Stadio San Paolo.
Premier League
Manchester United purchased Blomqvist as a backup to
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...
in the early stages of the
1998-99 season, for a fee of £4.4 million, three years after manager
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
had first attempted to sign him for United from IFK Gothenburg. He featured in enough games to win a
Premier League winner's medal in
the 1999 season, scoring his only goal for the club in a 4–1 away win against Everton.
He received an
FA Cup winners medal despite being an unused substitute in the
final. He did, however, start against
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
in the
Champions League final
The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...
. He came close to scoring before eventually being replaced by
Teddy Sheringham, who later scored a late equaliser after Bayern's early goal. United went on to win the match 2–1.
Due to a serious knee injury suffered soon after the Champions League final, Blomqvist did not play football in the next two seasons, which resulted in Manchester United deciding not to renew his contract (During his time out, due to this injury, he did media work for MUTV, United's in-house television channel, and presented his own cookery show called "Cooking With Jesper"). He remained on a week-to-week deal at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
before finally leaving when Ferguson persuaded Everton manager
Walter Smith to offer the Swedish international a short term contract at
Goodison Park, from November 2001 until the end of the season. Blomqvist played on the
wings opposite compatriot
Niclas Alexandersson, and scored his first goal for Everton against Sunderland in January 2002. Injury problems persisted, however, and new manager
David Moyes
David William Moyes ( ; born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club West Ham United. He was previously the manager of Preston North End, Everton, Manches ...
allowed him to leave the club in June 2002. He had a trial at
Middlesbrough, but was unhappy with the club's handling of the situation, labelling it "a bit unprofessional". Instead he signed for
Alan Curbishley's
Charlton Athletic on a free transfer. His spell at
The Valley was even briefer, and he made just three league appearances for the
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
side before calling time on an injury-hit five seasons in England.
Return to Sweden
Again struggling with injury, Blomqvist returned to his native Sweden after only four games with Charlton. He signed on a short term deal with
Djurgårdens IF. This proved unpopular among supporters of IFK Göteborg, who labelled him "Judas". Göteborg fans considered the decision to join Djurgården instead of them a betrayal. Blomqvist played a part as the side became Swedish champions that year. Injury problems, however, restricted him to only nine league appearances. As during the stint with Manchester United, he remained at the club for another two seasons, before finally deciding to retire due to injury in 2005.
Blomqvist joined
Enköpings SK as a coach in 2008 and went on to make a playing return in the
Superettan
Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...
, the second tier of Swedish football. A shortage of players at the club due to injury forced Blomqvist's playing return. The player shortage was highlighted when Blomqvist was sent off in his second game for the club. This resulted in a suspension for Blomqvist, and Enköping only having fifteen players available for the following match. On 15 September 2008, he scored his first professional goal in five years in a 1–0 win against
IK Sirius. In total, he made 10 Superettan appearances, but was unable to save Enköping from relegation to
Division 1 for the
2009 season. He left Enköping after the season and later signed a contract with newly relegated
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
as assistant manager to
Michael Borgqvist
Michael Borgqvist (born 17 December 1967 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish football manager and former football player. He is currently without a club after most recently leaving Hammarby Fotboll, Hammarby IF in Superettan.
Borgqvist was a nota ...
.
In 2010 Blomqvist played again, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute for Hammarby against Trelleborg FF in the Swedish Cup, being one of very few coaches actually playing a game for their team. After a rough period at the club, he left Hammarby in a mutual consent in November 2010.
In 2012, Blomqvist effectively retired as a footballer by focusing on his
civilian career. He did this by initiating studies in
commerce.
International career
Blomqvist was part of the bronze medal-winning
Swedish national team
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
at the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
. He gained his first international cap against
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in 1994. His only World Cup match in the starting eleven came against Cameroon, although he also replaced
Henrik Larsson
Edward Henrik Larsson (born 20 September 1971) is a Swedish professional football coach and former player, formerly an assistant manager of Barcelona. Playing as a striker, Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. In 1992, he moved to Hels ...
in the second half of a draw against eventual champions Brazil. Each member of the squad was awarded a
Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
The Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal ( sv, Svenska Dagbladets guldmedalj, but usually simply called ''Bragdguldet'', "The Feat Gold") is an annual award "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury le ...
in recognition of their third place in the tournament. Blomqvist was also considered for the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
squad. In total, Blomqvist has made 30
appearances
Appearance may refer to:
* Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light
* Human physical appearance, what someone looks like
* ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp
* Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
for his country, without scoring.
Personal life
Blomqvist was born and raised in
Tavelsjö, in the
Umeå Municipality of Sweden. He currently resides in Sweden, although he has also purchased property in
Croatia. After officially retiring in 2005, he became a
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
(football expert) for Swedish television station
TV4. Blomqvist was the victim of an assault during a visit to his hometown
Umeå in September 2006, when he was struck twice across the face. His attacker was prosecuted for the incident.
Blomqvist and his ex-wife Pauline have a son named Casper (born in 2012). They had divorced in 2016 but remain friends and share custody of their son.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Umeå
*
Division 2 Norra Norrland:
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
IFK Göteborg
*
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 lea ...
:
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
,
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
Manchester United
*
Premier League:
1998–99
*
FA Cup:
1998–99
*
UEFA Champions League:
1998–99
Djurgården
*Allsvenskan:
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Sweden
*
FIFA World Cup third place:
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
Individual
*Årets komet: 1994
*
Swedish Goal of the Year
Fotbollsgalan is an official and annual Swedish sports awards ceremony honoring achievements in Swedish football. It is organised by Swedish Football Association and televised by TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to:
*TV4 (Poland), a private Polish televi ...
: 1995
*
Folkets lirare: 1996
*
Swedish Midfielder of the Year
Fotbollsgalan is an official and annual Swedish sports awards ceremony honoring achievements in Swedish football. It is organised by Swedish Football Association and televised by TV4.
Merit categories
Current categories
Discontinued categorie ...
: 1996
References
External links
*
*
archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blomqvist, Jesper
1974 births
Living people
1994 FIFA World Cup players
A.C. Milan players
Allsvenskan players
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players
Everton F.C. players
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Italy
IFK Göteborg players
Manchester United F.C. players
Parma Calcio 1913 players
Sportspeople from Umeå
Premier League players
Serie A players
Superettan players
Sweden international footballers
Sweden youth international footballers
Swedish expatriate footballers
Swedish footballers
Umeå FC players
Hammarby Fotboll players
Enköpings SK players
Association football midfielders
UEFA Champions League winning players
Hammarby Fotboll non-playing staff