Patrik Andersson

Patrik Andersson

Personal information
Full name	Patrik Jonas Andersson
Position(s)	Defender
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:00, 10 December 2006

Patrik "Bjärred" Andersson (born August 18 1971 in Borgeby) is a former Swedish footballer. Both his father, Roy Andersson, as well as his younger brother, Daniel Andersson, have played professional football.

As of early 2005, Andersson has a total of 96 caps for the Swedish national team, scoring 3 goals. He won a bronze medal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Andersson also played in the team which reached the semi-finals in the 1992 European Championship, Euro 2000, 2002 FIFA World Cup and was a member of the Swedish squad that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Starting his career in the local club, Bjärreds IF, from which he also got his nickname, he moved on to Malmö FF, a team playing in the top national league. In 1992 he went professional as he moved to Blackburn Rovers, where he stayed until 1993, and his next step was to go to Germany and play for Borussia Mönchengladbach. There he won the German Cup with the team in 1995, but left the team as its performance deteriorated, in 1999. The famous Bayern Munich became his next club. His time with Bayern resulted in two Bundesliga championships (in the last one he scored the final and decisive goal) as well as a German Cup and victory in the Champions League. Andersson moved to Spanish giants FC Barcelona in 2001 and spent three injury-plagued seasons there.

For the 2004 season, Andersson came back to Malmö FF to play in the Swedish league again after 10 years. He has twice been awarded Guldbollen as the Swedish footballer of the year, in 1995 and 2001. After suffering yet another knee injury during a Champions League qualifier against Swiss team FC Thun on August 10, 2005, Andersson announced his retirement from top level football on August 12.