Pontus Farnerud

Hans Pontus Farnerud (born 4 June 1980) is a Swedish former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. Starting off his professional career withLandskrona BoIS in the late 1990s, he went on to representMonaco,Strasbourg,Sporting, andStabaek before finishing up his career atIFK Göteborg in 2013. He won 11caps for theSweden national team between 2002 and 2010 and was a squad player for his country at the2002 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2004.

Pontus Farnerud
Personal information
Farnerud in February 2009
Full name	Hans Pontus Farnerud
Date of birth	(1980-06-04)4 June 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Helsingborg, Sweden
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
–1996	Landskrona BoIS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1998	Landskrona BoIS	55	(14)
1998–2003	Monaco B	17	(4)
1998–2005	Monaco	94	(5)
2003–2004	→Strasbourg (loan)	30	(0)
2005–2006	Strasbourg	32	(3)
2006–2008	Sporting CP	23	(0)
2008–2011	Stabæk	88	(8)
2012–2013	IFK Göteborg	49	(5)
2014	Glumslövs FF	1	(0)
2018–2020	Öjersjö IF	3	(1)
Total		382	(40)
International career
1996–1997	Sweden U16	10	(1)
1998–1999	Sweden U18	20	(2)
2000–2001	Sweden U21	14	(6)
2002–2010	Sweden	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Farnerud was born inHelsingborg, and grew up inLandskrona. During his youth he was also a promising hockey player, playing withMalmö Redhawks. After starting professionally at 16 withLandskrona BoIS, he was acquired in 1999 byFrench clubAS Monaco FC, and appeared in 15Ligue 1 matches as the teamwon the 2000 national title; after spending the2003–04 season on loan to fellow league sideStrasbourg he returned,^[1] playingsix games in theUEFA Champions League and scoring once inthe league, after only one minute on the pitch for a 2–1 home win againstFC Nantes.

In June 2005, Farnerud was bought definitely by Strasbourg, reuniting with younger brotherAlexander.^[2] The pair (with Pontus only missing six league contests) could not prevent afinal relegation, as second from the bottom.

Afterwards, Farnerud moved toSporting CP on afree transfer,^[3] being scarcely used during his two-year stint in Portugal. He then returned north to Norway, signing a long-term contract withStabæk Fotball on 23 July 2008. He helped to anational championship inhis debut campaign, eventually being namedteam captain.

Farnerud spent his two last seasons as a professional back in his homeland, withIFK Göteborg.^[4] In late 2013, he retired from the game due to a recurrenthip injury, but returned the following year with amateurs Glumslövs FF (seventh division).^[5]

In May 2019, it was announced that Farnerud would take the position as assistantdirector of football at Göteborg.^[6]

International career

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Farnerud was aSwedish international from 13 February 2002 to 23 January 2010, making his debut in a 2–2friendly away draw againstGreece where he featured 29 minutes.^[7] He was a participant at the2002 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2004, but did not leavethe bench on either occasion.^[7]