Gary Sundgren

Gary Sundgren

Personal information
Full name	Kari Juhani Sundgren
Date of birth	(1967-10-25) 25 October 1967
Place of birth	Vammala, Finland
Height
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1973	Västerås SK
1974–1987	IK Franke
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1997	AIK	221	(12)
1997–2002	Real Zaragoza	111	(2)
2002–2003	AIK	24	(1)
2004	Sollentuna
2006	FC Djursholm
International career
1994–2002	Sweden	30	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren (born 25 October 1967) is a former Swedish footballer who played mostly for AIK, as a defender (right or central).

He also represented Zaragoza in Spain for five years. A Swedish international during nearly one decade, he represented the country at Euro 2000.

Club career

Sundgren was born in Vammala, Finland, but moved to Sweden with his parents as a toddler, being raised in Västerås. There he was often called Gary and it caught on; for the duration of his career he was always called by it, instead of his birthname.

Sundgren started playing professionally with AIK Fotboll, being an undisputed starter from an early age. He scored the winner against Malmö FF when AIK became Swedish champions for the first time in 55 years, in 1992.

Subsequently Sundgren moved abroad, joining La Liga side Real Zaragoza. He played 31 games in his first season, while also being instrumental in the Aragonese side's fourth place in 1999–2000.

After 2001–02, with Zaragoza relegated, Sundgren returned to AIK, retiring from the game in 2006 after two seasons with two modest Stockholm outfits, IFK Sollentuna and FC Djursholm.

International career

Sundgren represented Sweden at UEFA Euro 2000, and played in the 0–0 draw against Turkey in the tournament. He was capped 30 times, scoring once.

International goal

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 February 1997	Supachalasai Stadium, Bangkok	Thailand	1–0	3–1	1997 King's Cup

Career statistics

International

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Sweden	1994	1	0
	1995	3	0
	1996	7	0
	1997	11	1
	1998	2	0
	1999	2	0
	2000	4	0
Total		30	1

Honours

AIK

• Swedish League: 1992
• Swedish Cup: 1996, 1997

Real Zaragoza

• Spanish Cup: 2000–01

Personal life

Sundgren is the father of four children and one of his sons (Daniel Sundgren) are currently playing for Degerfors IF in the "Superettan" (2nd highest league in Sweden). His nephew, Mikael Backlund, played ice hockey for the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL and the Calgary Flames of the NHL.

External links

• AIK profile (Swedish)
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• Gary Sundgren at National-Football-Teams.com