Niklas Gunnarsson
Niklas Gunnarsson (born 27 April 1991) is a Norwegian footballer, who plays as a defender for Strømsgodset. Gunnarsson has previously played for Odd, Swedish clubs Elfsborg and Djurgårdens IF, Scottish club Hibernian, Italian club Palermo, Norwegian club Vålerenga and Sarpsborg 08.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Tønsberg, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Strømsgodset | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| 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– | Strømsgodset | 0 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2013 | Norway U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | Norway | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 February 2020 | |||
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.
Career
Gunnarsson made his senior debut on 25 March 2012 against Sogndal, they lost the game 0–4.[2]
His contract with Odd expired after the 2013 season, and in October 2013 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 Norwegian Premier League.[4] Gunnarsson 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] Gunnarsson later left for Swedish side IF Elfsborg on a loan, a move that left several of Vålerengas fans dismayed after his several good performances in the previous season.[6]
In Sweden Gunnarsson 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, he joined Scottish Championship side Hibernian on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season.[8] He made his debut on 9 January 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, he joined Allsvenskan side Djurgårdens IF on a 2 1⁄2-year deal. He was given number 28.[13] Ahead of 2017 Gunnarsson had his shirt number changed from 28 to 5. On 10 May 2018 he played as Djurgarden beat Malmo FF 3-0 in the Swedish Cup Final.[14]
On 1 March 2019, Gunnarsson signed a 1.5-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.
On 2 September 2019, Gunnarsson joined Sarpsborg 08 on a contract until the end of the 2019 season.[16]
International career
Gunnarsson received his first international call-up from the Norway national football team for friendlies against Portugal and Belgium in May 2016, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute against Portugal.[17][18]
Career statistics
- As of 4 December 2019
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 180 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 204 | 13 | ||
References
- 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.
- "Altomfotball". Altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). 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. 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". Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "Raith Rovers 0-2 Hibernian". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35684231
- 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 Scotland. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- "Scottish Cup final: Rangers 2-3 Hibernian - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 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.
- http://dif.se/djurgarden-cupmastare-malmo-kordes-over/
- "GUNNARSSON È ROSANERO OGGI ALLE 16.15 LA PRESENTAZIONE" (in Italian). Palermo. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- "NIKLAS GUNNARSSON KLAR FOR SARPSBORG 08". sarpsborg08.no/ (in Norwegian). Sarpsborg 08 FF. 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". dailyrecord. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- SANDBERG, FREDRIK ØKSTAD (30 May 2016). "Reagerer på Portugals skitne triks: - Det undergraver fotballen". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
External links
- Niklas Gunnarsson at Soccerway