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	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position	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	Djursholm
Total		356	(15)
International career
1994–2000	Sweden	30	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kari Juhani "Gary" Sundgren (born 25 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as either a right back or a central defender. He played professionally with AIK and Zaragoza between 1988 and 2003. A Swedish international for nearly a decade, he won a total of 30 caps and represented his country at UEFA 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, being addressed in the latter manner for the duration of his career.

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

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

After the 2001–02 campaign, with Zaragoza relegated, Sundgren returned to AIK, retiring from the game in 2006 after two seasons with two modest Stockholm sides, 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.

Personal life

Sundgren is the father of four children. One of his sons, Daniel, has also played for AIK, while his nephew Mikael Backlund is captain of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	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

International goals

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.

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

Honours

AIK

• Allsvenskan: 1992
• Svenska Cupen: 1995–96, 1996–97

Zaragoza

• Copa del Rey: 2000–01

Sweden

• King's Cup: 1997

External links

• Gary Sundgren at BDFutbol
• Gary Sundgren at National-Football-Teams.com
• Gary Sundgren at EU-Football.info