This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Transfers beyond Sarpsborg 08 are missing. (April 2024) |
Niklas Gunnarsson (born 27 April 1991) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a defender for Yverdon-Sport. Gunnarsson has previously played for Norwegian clubs Odd, Vålerenga, Sarpsborg 08, and Strømsgodset, Swedish clubs Elfsborg, Djurgårdens IF, and IFK Norrköping, Scottish club Hibernian, and Italian club Palermo.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Tønsberg, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Yverdon-Sport | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pors | |||
| Walsall | |||
| Odd | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Odd | 48 | (3) |
| 2014–2016 | Vålerenga | 41 | (4) |
| 2015 | → Elfsborg (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2016 | → Hibernian (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Djurgårdens IF | 55 | (2) |
| 2019 | Palermo | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | Sarpsborg 08 | 10 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | Strømsgodset | 67 | (0) |
| 2023 | IFK Norrköping | 11 | (0) |
| 2023– | Yverdon-Sport | 20 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2013 | Norway U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | Norway | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024 | |||
He is the son of former football manager Ronny Geson Gunnarsson.[1] He is known for his trademark long throw-ins, good crossing ability and offensive play.
Club career
editEarly football career in Norway
editOn 25 March 2012, Gunnarsson made his senior debut for Odd BK against Sogndal in a 0–4 loss.[2] Gunnarsson's contract with expired after the 2013 season, after which he signed a three-year contract with Vålerenga and joined the club in January 2014.[3]
Gunnarsson was Vålerengas' first-choice right-back during the 2014 season, starting 29 out of 30 matches in the Eliteserien.[4] He fell out of the team in the following season, after coach Kjetil Rekdal made several changes after a poor display from the team in the Norwegian Football Cup.[5]
Abroad transfers
editGunnarsson left Norway for Swedish football club IF Elfsborg on a loan move that left Vålerengas fans disappointed after some of his good performances in the previous season.[6] He played 11 matches in the Allsvenskan, scoring one goal and assisting another.
"Niklas is an extremely professional player both on and off the pitch and he has done a great job for Elfsborg in his time here. He has been held in high esteem by his team mates and I would like to give him the best recommendations and wish him the best of luck in the future"' – Elfsborg head coach Magnus Haglund speaking about Gunnarsson leaving the club.[7]
On 5 January 2016, Gunnarsson joined Scottish Championship side Hibernian on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season.[8] He debuted on the ninth day in a Scottish Cup fourth round 2–0 win against Raith Rovers.[9] His first goal for the club was the third goal in a 3–2 win against Rangers on 20 April.[10] Gunnarsson also recorded a goal against Queen of the South on 1 May.[11] He appeared as a substitute when Hibs won the Scottish Cup for the first time since 1902 in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final.[12]
On 9 August 2016, Gunnarsson joined Allsvenskan side Djurgårdens IF on a 2+1⁄2-year contract.[13] Initially given the number 28 shirt, he changed it to number 5 ahead of the 2017 season.[citation needed] On 10 May 2018, he played as Djurgarden beat Malmö FF 3-0 in the Swedish Cup Final.[14]
On 1 March 2019, Gunnarsson signed a half-year contract with Italian club Palermo.[15] Following Palermo's exclusion from the Serie B, he was released together with all other players, without making any single appearances during his short stay at the club.[citation needed]
Return to Norway
editOn 2 September 2019, Gunnarsson joined Sarpsborg 08 on a contract until the end of the 2019 season.[16]
International career
editGunnarsson received his first international call-up from the Norway national football team for friendly matches against Portugal and Belgium in May 2016.[17] He made his only appearance against the former on the 29th day.[18]
Career statistics
edit- As of 27 April 2023
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Odd | 2012 | Tippeligaen | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 26 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | 30 | 2 | |||
| Total | 48 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 3 | ||
| Vålerenga | 2014 | Tippeligaen | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 2 | |||
| Total | 41 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 4 | ||
| Elfsborg | 2015 | Allsvenskan | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 1 | |
| Hibernian | 2015–16 | Scottish Championship | 15 | 2 | 5 | 0 | – | 15 | 2 | |
| Djurgårdens IF | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 1 | – | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 3 | ||
| Palermo | 2018–19 | Serie B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sarpsborg 08 | 2019 | Eliteserien | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Strømsgodset | 2020 | Eliteserien | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2022 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 67 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 2 | ||
| Norrköping | 2023 | Allsvenskan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 248 | 12 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 278 | 15 | ||
Honours
edit- Hibernian
- Djurgårdens IF
References
edit- ^ Enger, Erik (12 August 2012). "Som far så sønn". Porsgrunns Dagblad. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ^ "Niklas Gunnarsson". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ Berge, Grete Ingebjørg; Ekeli, Fredrik Laland; Hansen, Lars (8 October 2013). "Veldig skuffet over Niklas' avgjørelse". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ^ "2014 Vålerengas Season". Altomfotball.no. TV 2. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ Flygind, Kjetil (7 May 2015). "Viser total mangel på riktige holdninger". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Niklas Gunnarsson til Elfsborg". VPN Norway. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "Niklas Gunnarsson lämnar Elfsborg" (in Swedish). 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "Gunnarsson signs for Hibernian". Hibernian F.C. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Raith Rovers 0-2 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Hibernian 3-2 Rangers". BBC Sport.
- ^ Mullen, Scott (1 May 2016). "Hibs 2 Queen of the South 0: It's the hope that kills as road to redemption gets longer for Easter Road club". The Herald Glasgow. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Niklas Gunnarsson klar för DIF" (in Swedish). 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ "Djurgården cupmästare". Djurgårdens IF (in Swedish). 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Gunnarsson è Rosanero Oggi Alle 16.15 La Presentazione". Palermo (in Italian). 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ "Niklas Gunnarsson Klar For Sarpsborg 08". Sarpsborg 08 FF (in Norwegian). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Marshall, Alan (24 May 2016). "Hibs Scottish Cup hero Niklas Gunnarsson earns Norway call-up for Portugal clash". Daily Record UK. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ Aas, Odd Inge (29 May 2016). "Høgmo slapp ikke til spilleren "alle" ville se". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian).
Mot det fjerde best rangerte laget i Europa slapp landslagssjefen til hele fem debutanter. Anders Trondsen og Veton Berisha fra start, Iver Fossum, Alexander Sørloth og Niklas Gunnarsson fra benken.
[Against the fourth best-ranked team in Europe, national team manager [Per-Mathias Høgmo] introduced five debutants. Anders Trondsen and Veton Berisha from the start; Iver Fossum, Alexander Sørloth, and Niklas Gunnarsson from the bench.]
External links
edit- Niklas Gunnarsson at Soccerway