Behrang Safari

Behrang Safari (Persian: بهرنگ صفری, Persian pronunciation: [behræŋɡ sæfæriː]; born 9 February 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender.[1] Starting off his professional career with Malmö FF in 2004, he went on to represent FC Basel and RSC Anderlecht before retiring at Malmö in 2020. A full international between 2008 and 2013, he won 31 caps for the Sweden national team and was named in their UEFA Euro 2012 squad.

Behrang Safari
Safari warming up for Basel in 2011
Personal information
Full name Behrang Safari
Date of birth (1985-02-09) 9 February 1985
Place of birth Tehran, Iran
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Left-back, centre-back
Youth career
1992–2001 Lunds SK
2001–2004 Malmö FF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Malmö FF 59 (2)
2008–2011 FC Basel 94 (1)
2011–2013 Anderlecht 44 (0)
2013–2016 FC Basel 64 (0)
2016–2020 Malmö FF 82 (1)
2021 Lunds SK 6 (1)
Total 349 (5)
International career
2008–2013 Sweden 31 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 June 2022

Early life

Behrang Safari emigrated to Sweden as a two-year-old from Tehran, Iran, with his family. They settled in the small town of Höganäs, and later moved to Lund when he was five.[2]

Club career

Malmö FF

Safari came through the ranks at Malmö FF and played his first game in the Allsvenskan in July 2004 when he came on as a substitute. He made his UEFA debut in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup on 19 June 2004 against Cork City F.C.[3] He won the Allsvenskan in his first season and became a first-team regular the following season.[4]

FC Basel

On 15 June 2008, Malmö announced that Safari had been sold to FC Basel in Switzerland.[5] This was confirmed one day later by FCB Online and they stated that he signed a three-year contract..[6][7] He joined Basel's first team for their 2008–09 season under head coach Christian Gross. To the beginning of the season Safari was member of the Basel team that won the Uhrencup. They beat Legia Warsaw 6–1 and played a 2–2 draw with Borussia Dortmund to end the table on top slot above Dortmund and Luzern.[8] After playing in seven test games, Safari played his domestic league debut for the club in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park on 23 July 2008 as Basel won 1–0 against Grasshopper Club Zürich.[9]

Basel joined the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round. Safari played his first European game in a Basel shirt on 30 July 2008 in a 1–1 Champions League qualifying match draw against IFK Göteborg at Ullevi. With an aggregate score of 5–3 they eliminated Göteborg. In the next round they played against Vitória de Guimarães. The first leg ended in a goalless draw, but with a 2–1 win in the second leg they eliminated Vitória and advanced to the group stage. Here Basel were matched with Barcelona, Sporting CP and Shakhtar Donetsk, but ended the group in last position winning just one point after a 1–1 draw in Camp Nou.[10] At the end of the 2008–09 Super League season Basel were third in the table, seven points behind new champions Zürich and one adrift of runners-up Young Boys.[11] In the 2008–09 Swiss Cup Basel advanced via Schötz, Bulle, Thun and Zurich to the semi-finals. But here they were stopped by Young Boys. After a goalless 90 minutes and extra time YB decided the penalty shoot-out 3–2 and advanced to the final to become runners-up, as Sion became cup winners.[12]

For their 2009–10 season Basel appointed Thorsten Fink as their new head coach. Safari scored his first goal for the club on 7 February 2010 in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 4–0 against BSC Young Boys.[13] Basel joined the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round. Basel advanced to the group stage, in which despite winning three of the six games the ended in third position and were eliminated. They finished four points behind group winners Roma and one behind Fulham, against whom they lost 3–2 in the last game of the stage.[14] At the end of the 2009–10 season he won the Double with his club. They won the League Championship title with 3 points advantage over second placed Young Boys.[15] The team won the Swiss Cup, winning the final 6–0 against Lausanne-Sport.[16]

Basel started in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and advanced to the group stage, but ended the group in third position. Therefore they dropped to the 2010–11 Europa League knockout phase, but here they were eliminated by Spartak Moscow due to a last minute goal against them. Safari played in all 12 matches.[17] With Basel, Safari won the Swiss Championship for the second time at the end of the 2010–11 season, topping the table just one point clear of rivals Zürich.[18]

On 30 May 2011 it was announced that Safari would leave the club. Safari played 94 league games for Basel during his three-year contract.[19]

Anderlecht

On 30 May 2011, Behrang signed a contract for the Belgian club Anderlecht. He had his debut for Anderlecht on 29 July 2011 in the 2–1 away defeat against Oud-Heverlee Leuven. He played his first European game for the team in the Europa League qualifying away win against Bursaspor in the Bursa Atatürk Stadium on 18 August 2011.[20] He won the league in his first season with Anderlecht.

Return to Basel

After Safari's return to Basel, he featured in their 2013-14 Champions League campaign.[21] At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Safari won his third league championship with Basel.[22] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals.

The next season, Safari started for Basel as a left-back where they made it to the knockout stages of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League.[23] He also won the 2014–15 Swiss Super League, his sixth consecutive league title and seventh overall. Safari and his Basel teammates attended a charity event in June 2015.[24] He continued in the left back position the following season in the Champions League, Europa League and Swiss Super League.

The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Safari and for his club Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row that season[25] and in the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.[26] But then Basel lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, six Swiss Cup, eight Champions League and 15 test matches). Under trainer Paulo Sousa, Safari totaled 41 appearances, 24 League, two Cup, seven Champions League, as well as 13 in test games. Safari scored one goal in these matches during a friendly game against FC Schaffhausen.[27]

Under trainer Urs Fischer Safari won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season for the fifth time with Basel. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total.[28]

During the 2015–16 FC Basel season Safari decided to return to Sweden due to family reasons at the end of the season. He signed for Malmö FF.[29] Between the years 2008 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2016_ Safari played a total of 291 games for Basel scoring a total of 3 goals. 157 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, 14 in the Swiss Cup, 59 were in a UEFA European-competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 61 were friendly games. He scored one goal in the domestic league, the other two were scored during the test games. During his six seasons with FCB Safari won the Swiss championship five times and the domestic cup once.[30]

Return to Malmö FF

On 18 January 2016 it was announced that Safari would return to Malmö FF when his contract with FC Basel expired at the end of the 2015–16 season. Safari signed a contract with Malmö that extends over the 2020 season and allows him to join the team halfway through the 2016 season.[31] He scored a goal in the Allsvenskan on 11 April 2017 against GIF Sundsvall and was named vice-captain after Markus Rosenberg. He won his tenth league title after winning the 2017 Allsvenskan, making Zlatan Ibrahimović the only Swede with more league titles.[32] Safari became a regular starter for MFF as they qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League on 30 August 2018.[33] On 28 September 2020, Safari announced that he would retire from professional football after the 2020 season.[34] On 8 November 2020, Safari and Malmö won the 2020 Allsvenskan.[35] Safari played his final professional match on 6 December 2020 in a 4–0 win over Östersund, raising the Lennart Johansson Trophy afterwards and receiving a tribute from the likes of Walter Samuel and Roger Federer.[36]

Return to Lunds SK

On 13 December 2020, Safari returned to his boyhood club Lunds SK in the Swedish Division 5 for their 2021 season.[37][38][39] Safari and Lunds SK became champions of Division 5 Skåne sydvästra by the end of the 2021 season.[40]

International career

Safari was called up to the Sweden national team for their friendly match tour in January 2008.[41] He played in all of the matches, which were a 1–0 win over Costa Rica, a 2–0 defeat to the United States, and a 0–0 draw with Turkey. During his debut game against Costa Rica, Safari set up the only goal of the game with a cross to Samuel Holmén, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net.[42]

Safari featured in Sweden's Euro 2012 qualifiers and was called up to their UEFA Euro 2012 squad by manager Erik Hamrén.[43]

Style of play

Safari has been praised for his crosses and ability to adapt to both defensive and attacking roles on the left side of play.[44][45]

Outside football

Personal life

Safari is the main character of a children's book that intends to promote autism awareness after his sons Emiliano and Leon were diagnosed.[46][47] The book has been ordered by some teachers and schools in Sweden.[48]

During his professional playing career, Safari's agent was Martin Dahlin.[49]

Sponsorship

Safari is outfitted by German sportswear manufacturer Puma.[50][51]

Post-professional career

Football agent

After retiring from playing professional football with Malmö FF, Safari announced in December 2020 that he would begin his career as a football agent along with former teammate Markus Rosenberg, with their agency being called Full Potential Agency.[52][53][40]

Broadcasting career

In 2022, Safari joined Swedish television broadcaster C More as a studio analyst during the UEFA Champions League.[54][55]

Career statistics

Club
Safari playing for Sweden in 2010.
As of 19 April 2022[56][57]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Malmö FF 2004 Allsvenskan 30001040
2005 Allsvenskan 30101050
2006 Allsvenskan 18220—202
2007 Allsvenskan 24010—250
2008 Allsvenskan 11010—120
Total 5925020662
FC Basel 2008–09 Swiss Super League 3405090480
2009–10 Swiss Super League 32130100451
2010–11 Swiss Super League 28000120400
Total 941803101331
Anderlecht 2011–12 Belgian Pro League 2401090340
2012–13 Belgian Pro League 2004050290
Total 44050140630
FC Basel 2013–14 Swiss Super League 21030100340
2014–15 Swiss Super League 2502070340
2015–16 Swiss Super League 18010110300
Total 64060280980
Malmö FF 2016 Allsvenskan 11000—110
2017 Allsvenskan 2111000221
2018 Allsvenskan 21060130400
2019 Allsvenskan 16020161341
2020 Allsvenskan 1303030190
Total 8211203211262
Lunds SK 2021 Division 5 Skåne sydvästra 1 — — 6 1
Career total 349536010714926

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[56]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 200850
200970
201080
201130
201260
201320
Total310

Honours

Malmö FF

Basel

Anderlecht

Lunds SK

See also

References
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  2. Malmström, Håkan (15 June 2008). "Behrang Safari går till schweiziska Basel" [Behrang Safari goes to Basel]. Sport. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  3. "Behrang Safari – UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  4. "Malmö säljer Behrang Safari till Schweiz". Expressen.se. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. "Behrang Safari lämnar Malmö FF". Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  6. "FCB verpflichtet mit Gelabert und Safari zwei neue Spieler" (in German). FC Basel 1893. 2008. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  7. (red) (16 June 2008). "Gelabert und Safari zu Basel" [Gelabert and Safari to Basel] (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
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  10. Hunter, Graham (4 November 2008). "FC Barcelona - FC Basel 1:1 (0:0)". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
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  35. "Safari SM-guldmedaljör igen - pikar nu tränaren: "Hade kanske inte kommit in"". Fotbollskanalen.se. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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  50. "Alleen Safari kiest voor Puma bij Anderlecht" [Only Safari chooses Puma for Anderlecht]. News. VoetbalNieuws (in Dutch). 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  51. "Pumas guldgossar". Resume.se. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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  54. "TV: Tomori visades ut – domaren sågas: "Fruktansvärt billig"".
  55. "TV: Experterna tolkar bilderna på Salah: "Ingen munter herre"".
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