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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