Simon Sandberg
{{short description|Swedish footballer (born 1994)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Simon Sandberg
| fullname = Simon Christer Sandberg
| image = File:Hammarby IF - Mjällby AIF 20210417 Simon Sandberg.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Sandberg with Hammarby IF in 2021
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|03|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Partille, Sweden
| position = Right back
| currentclub = Sirius
| clubnumber = 15
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–2009 | youthclubs1 = Björndammens BK
| youthyears2 = 2010–2012 | youthclubs2 = BK Häcken
| years1 = 2013–2016 | clubs1 = BK Häcken | caps1 = 61 | goals1 = 1
| years2 = 2016–2017 | clubs2 = Levski Sofia | caps2 = 5 | goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2018–2022 | clubs3 = Hammarby IF | caps3 = 122 | goals3 = 1
| years4 = 2023–2024 | clubs4 = BK Häcken | caps4 = 26 | goals4 = 1
| years5 = 2024–2025 | clubs5 = Lamia | caps5 = 5 | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2025– | clubs6 = Sirius | caps6 = 4 | goals6 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2011 | nationalteam1 = Sweden U17 | nationalcaps1 = 4 | nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2012–2013 | nationalteam2 = Sweden U19 | nationalcaps2 = 15 | nationalgoals2 = 0
| nationalyears3 = 2015–2016 | nationalteam3 = Sweden U21| nationalcaps3 = 5 | nationalgoals3 = 0
| nationalyears4 = 2020 | nationalteam4 = Sweden | nationalcaps4 = 1 | nationalgoals4 = 0
| club-update = 7 May 2025
| nationalteam-update = 01:18, 16 January 2022 (UTC)
}}
Simon Christer Sandberg (born 25 March 1994) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a right back for Allsvenskan club Sirius.{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/spelarfakta/simon-sandberg/480998/|title=Simon Sandberg|publisher=Swedish Football Association|access-date=9 May 2019|language=Swedish}}
Early life
Sandberg grew up in Partille and played both football, with the local club Björndammens BK, and handball during his youth. His father Dennis Sandberg is a professional handball coach.{{cite web|url=https://www.partilletidning.se/2013/06/hcken-r-nummer-ett-fr-simon/|title=Häcken är nummer ett för Simon|date=27 June 2013|publisher=Partille Tidning|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} In 2009, at age 15, he was invited to train with Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, the Swedish top tier, but was not offered a contract.{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/sport/fotboll/simon-sandberg-hittade-tillbaka-till-hammarby/|title=Sandberg hittade tillbaka till Hammarby
|date=9 January 2018|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} Instead, he signed with BK Häcken the same year and joined their youth academy.
Club career
File:Simon Sandberg.jpg in 2014]]
=BK Häcken=
Sandberg signed his first professional contract with BK Häcken in 2012, and made his competitive debut in Allsvenskan on 23 May 2013 in a 3–0 win against Syrianska FC. He soon established himself as a starter at Häcken,{{cite web|url=https://bkhacken.se/2015/03/en-pratstund-med-simon-sandberg/|title=En pratstund med Simon Sandberg|work=BK Häcken |date=15 March 2013|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} playing both as a central defender and full back.{{cite web|url=https://bkhacken.se/2016/07/simon-sandberg-till-levski-sofia/|title=Simon Sandberg till Levski Sofia|work=BK Häcken |date=9 July 2016|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} Sandberg would move on to make a total of 61 league appearances for Häcken, scoring once, between 2013 and 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/simon-sandberg-klar-for-hammarby/|title=Simon Sandberg klar för Hammarby|date=30 November 2017|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|access-date=30 November 2017|language=Swedish}}
Most notably, Sandberg scored the decisive penalty when Häcken won the 2015–16 Svenska Cupen, the club's first ever domestic title, beating Malmö FF in the final after a 2–2 draw (5–6 on penalties).{{cite web|url=https://bkhacken.se/historia/|title=Historia|work=BK Häcken |date=17 January 2017|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}}
=Levski Sofia=
On 9 July 2016, Sandberg was sold to Levski Sofia in the Bulgarian First League, signing a three-year deal. A transfer fee of around 2 million Swedish kronor (approximately £0,12 million) was suggested, as he only had six months left on his contract with the Swedish club.{{cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/article23145379.ab|title=Simon Sandberg nära att lämna Häcken|date=9 July 2016|publisher=Aftonbladet|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}}
Sandberg saw his playing time limited at Levski Sofia, with his stint at the club being plagued by several serious injuries. He also fell out of favour with manager Elin Topuzakov soon after his arrival.{{cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/4d07AR/simon-sandberg-jag-var-livradd|title=Simon Sandberg: "Jag var livrädd"|date=10 April 2018|publisher=Aftonbladet|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} Sandberg left the club in November 2017 by mutual consent, after only making five league appearances for Levski Sofia.{{cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/sport/hammarby-nara-snuva-rivalerna-pa-forsvararen/|title=Hammarby nära snuva rivalerna på försvararen|date=28 November 2017|publisher=Expressen|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}}
=Hammarby IF=
On 30 November 2017, ahead of the 2018 Allsvenskan, Sandberg returned to Sweden, signing a two-year contract with Hammarby IF. He made his debut for the club in a 3–1 home win against IK Sirius on 1 April.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/matcher-lagen/herr/matcher/hammarby-ik-sirius-2/|title=Hammarby-IK Sirius, Allsvenskan, 2018-04-01|date=1 April 2018|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|access-date=2 May 2018|language=Swedish}} During the season, Sandberg played 23 league games for Hammarby as the club finished 4th in the table.
On 4 May 2019, Sandberg signed a three-and-a-half-year extension with Hammarby, running until 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/hammarby-overens-med-simon-om-forlangning/|title=Hammarby överens med Simon om förlängning|date=4 May 2019|access-date=9 May 2019|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish}} Throughout the 2019 season, Sandberg played 28 league games and provided seven assists as Hammarby finished 3rd in the table, after eight straight wins at the end of the campaign. After the season, he was nominated as Defender of the Year in Allsvenskan, but eventually lost out on the award.{{cite web|url=https://www.allsvenskan.se/nyheter/nyheter-fran-allsvenskan.se/de-nominerade-till-allsvenskans-stora-pris-2019|title=De nominerade till Allsvenskans Stora Pris 2019|publisher=Allsvenskan|date=1 November 2019|access-date=17 January 2020|language=Swedish}}
In 2020, a season postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandberg was plagued by a hip injury and only featured in 20 games, as the side disappointedly finished 8th in the table.{{cite web|url=https://htv.solidtango.com/video/simon-ett-tufft-ar-men-nu-mar-kroppen-bra|title=Simon - "Ett tufft år - men nu mår kroppen bra"|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish|date=6 November 2020|access-date=23 January 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://fotbollsthlm.se/hammarby/sandberg-om-tuffa-skadan-saknat-kanslan-att-kunna-bidra/|title=Sandberg om tuffa skadan: "Saknat känslan att kunna bidra"|publisher=Fotboll STHLM|language=Swedish|date=23 November 2020|access-date=18 March 2021}}
On 30 May 2021, Sandberg won the 2020–21 Svenska Cupen with Hammarby through a 5–4 win on penalties (0–0 after full-time) against his former club BK Häcken in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/cuper/2021/05/hammarby-cupvinnare-efter-straffdrama/|title=Hammarby cupvinnare efter straffdrama|publisher=Swedish Football Association|date=30 May 2021|access-date=30 May 2021|language=sv}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/historisk-och-dramatisk-cupfinalseger-mot-hacken/|title=Historisk och dramatisk cupfinalseger mot Häcken|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|date=30 May 2021|access-date=30 May 2021|language=sv}} Sandberg featured in both legs as the club was knocked out in the play-off round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League by Basel (4–4 on aggregate) on penalties, where he scored his attempt.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/match/2033148--hammarby-vs-basel/|title=Hammarby 3 – 1 Basel|date=|access-date=30 August 2021|publisher=UEFA|language=English}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/ett-slut-att-glomma-efter-210-minnesvarda-minuter/|title=Ett slut att glömma efter 210 minnesvärda minuter|date=26 August 2021|accessdate=30 August 2021|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish}} On 7 November 2021, Sandberg scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 3–2 Allsvenskan home win against Örebro SK.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/ny-sen-hemmavandning-gav-vinst-mot-osk/|title=Ny sen hemmavändning gav vinst mot ÖSK|date=7 November 2021|accessdate=7 November 2021|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish}}
Sandberg featured in the final of the 2021–22 Svenska Cupen, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to Malmö FF after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.{{cite web|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/cuper/2022/05/svcherr-hammarby-mff/|title=Straffar gav MFF första cupguldet på 33 år|date=26 May 2022|accessdate=26 May 2022|publisher=Swedish Football Association|language=Swedish}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/bajen-golvat-fran-elva-meter-i-titelmatchen/|title=Bajen golvat från elva meter i titelmatchen|date=26 May 2022|accessdate=26 May 2022|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish}} On 31 December 2022, Sandberg left Hammarby at the expiration of his contract. In total, he made 122 Allsvenskan appearances for the club.{{cite web|url=https://www.gamlahammarbyfotboll.se/aktuellt/nyheter/ingen-fortsattning-for-simon-sandberg/|title=Ingen fortsättning för Simon Sandberg|date=31 December 2022|accessdate=1 January 2023|publisher=Hammarby Fotboll|language=Swedish}}
=Return to Häcken=
On 21 February 2023, Sandberg returned to his former club BK Häcken, signing a three-year contract.{{cite web|url=https://bkhacken.se/nyhet/simon-sandberg-atervander-till-bk-hacken|title=Simon Sandberg återvänder till BK Häcken|date=21 February 2023|accessdate=8 March 2023|publisher=BK Häcken|language=Swedish}}
=Lamia=
On 27 July 2024, Sandberg joined Super League Greece club Lamia.{{cite web|url=https://www.lamia1964.gr/%ce%ad%ce%bd%ce%b1%cf%81%ce%be%ce%b7-%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%b3%ce%b1%cf%83%ce%af%ce%b1%cf%82-%ce%bc%ce%b5-simon-sandberg/|trans-title=Start working with Simon Sandberg|title=Έναρξη συνεργασίας με Simon Sandberg|language=Greek|website=www.lamia1964.gr|date=27 July 2024|accessdate=28 July 2024}}
International career
Sandberg was called up to the Swedish senior squad for the training tour in early 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/landslag/2019/12/jannejt/|title=Truppen till januariturnén|publisher=Swedish FA|language=Swedish|access-date=9 January 2020|date=9 December 2019}} He made his debut in a 1–0 friendly win against Kosovo on 12 January.{{Cite web|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/nyheter/landslag/2020/1/startelva-kosovo/|title=Andra 1-0-segern på turnén|publisher=Swedish FA|language=Swedish|access-date=23 January 2020|date=12 December 2019}}
Career statistics
=Club=
{{Updated|6 November 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/simon-sandberg/238387/|title=Simon Sandberg|publisher=Soccerway|accessdate=1 August 2021|language=English}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="5"|BK Häcken
|2013 |rowspan="4"|Allsvenskan |11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2014
|15 | 0 | 4 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2015
|23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2016
|12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 14 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!61 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 2 | |
| rowspan="3"|Levski Sofia
|rowspan="2"|First League |5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| rowspan="6"|Hammarby IF
|2018 |rowspan="5"|Allsvenskan |23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2019
|28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2020
|20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2021
|24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League|name=CON}} | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2022
|27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 33 | 0 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!122 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 1 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!188 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 219 | 3 |
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{col-end}}
Honours
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{SvFF player|id=35976862-73cf-4bba-966b-6f11e271718e}}
- [https://en.levskisofia.info/player/simon-sandberg/ Profile at Levskisofia.info]
{{IK Sirius Fotboll squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandberg, Simon}}
Category:Swedish men's footballers
Category:Sweden men's youth international footballers
Category:Sweden men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Sweden men's international footballers
Category:PFC Levski Sofia players
Category:Hammarby Fotboll players
Category:PAS Lamia 1964 players
Category:IK Sirius Fotboll players
Category:First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
Category:Swedish expatriate men's footballers
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria
Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Greece