Erik Berg (footballer)

Anders Erik Berg (né Johansson, born 30 December 1988) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Beginning his career at Falkenbergs FF in 2008, he went on to represent GAIS, Malmö FF, Gent, and Copenhagen before retiring at Djurgårdens IF in 2021. A full international between 2014 and 2016, he won 12 caps for the Sweden national team and played at UEFA Euro 2016.

For other uses, see Erik Berg and Erik Johansson.
Erik Berg
Personal information
Full name Anders Erik Berg
Date of birth (1988-12-30) 30 December 1988
Place of birth Falkenberg, Sweden
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–2008 Falkenbergs FF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Falkenbergs FF 98 (17)
2011–2012 GAIS 34 (5)
2013–2015 Malmö FF 55 (2)
2015–2016 Gent 9 (0)
2016–2018 Copenhagen 52 (3)
2018–2021 Djurgårdens IF 43 (5)
Total 291 (32)
International career
2014–2016 Sweden 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Falkenbergs FF

Berg started his career at Superettan side Falkenbergs FF in 2008 when he was promoted to the first team squad. He was a frequent used substitute for his first season at the club but also started in 10 matches out of 23 played. For the 2009 season Berg had established himself as a regular in the starting lineup as he played 27 matches out of 30, all of which he started. He also scored 4 goals in the 2009 season as he was playing as a midfielder. His goal production increased to 7 for the 2010 season when he also played 27 matches for Falkenberg. In the 2011 season Berg managed to play 21 matches and score 6 goals before transferring to Allsvenskan club GAIS.

GAIS

Berg transferred to GAIS on 1 September 2011.[1] GAIS expressed early on that they considered to play his as a defender instead as a midfielder. He played 7 matches and scored one goal for his first season in Allsvenskan. For the 2012 season he played 27 matches out of 30 and scored 4 goals. GAIS were relegated to Superettan at the end of the season. Berg was voted player of the year for GAIS in 2012.[2]

Malmö FF

On 12 December 2012, Berg was presented as a Malmö FF player. He joined the club on 1 January 2013 when the transfer window opened in Sweden. Berg signed a four-year contract lasting until the end of the 2016 season.[3] During his debut season at the club Berg played 17 matches in the league, primarily standing in for Filip Helander during the middle part of the season when he was injured. Berg scored two goals in three matches for the club during the group stage of the 2012–13 Svenska Cupen before the start of the league season. For the 2014 season Berg saw considerable more play as regular Pontus Jansson was sold during the summer transfer window. Berg made 25 appearances in the league and ten matches in the clubs 2014–15 UEFA Champions League campaign, of which five matches were in the group stage. For his performances in the league Berg was nominated for the award of Allsvenskan defender of the year.[4]

Gent

On 9 July 2015, Berg left Swedish football for the first time as he agreed to join Belgian Pro League club Gent on a four-year contract. He was assigned the number five shirt.[5] He made his Gent debut on 31 July 2015 in a 1–0 home victory against Genk.[6] He went on to make eight more appearances for Gent, all in the league, before leaving the club permanently in January 2016.[7]

Copenhagen

On 18 January 2016, Berg signed for Danish Superliga side Copenhagen for an undisclosed fee. He signed a contract until 2020 and wore the number five shirt.[8]

Djurgårdens IF and retirement

On 26 June 2018, Berg was presented by Allsvenskan side Djurgårdens IF for an undisclosed fee rumored to be in the 8-9 million SEK range.[9] He signed a 4.5 year contract keeping him at the Stockholm club through 2022 where he will wear the jersey number 21.[10] In 2019, he helped the club win the 2019 Allsvenskan title.[11]

On 11 June 2021, Berg announced his retirement from professional football after a couple of injury-plagued seasons.[12]

International career

Berg made his international debut for Sweden in 2014.[13] He was selected for Euro 2016 where he played in all three games before Sweden was eliminated in the group stage. Berg retired from the national team after the tournament at the age of 27, having played 12 international games.[14]

Personal life

Berg is married to television presenter Carina Berg. He changed from Johansson to his wife's surname in 2019 after they had married.[15]

Unlike other footballers, he had the unusual trait of being totally uninterested in watching football. He only ever watched matches when he had to prepare himself for forthcoming games, viewing the sport solely as his profession.[16][17]

Career statistics

Club
Club[7] Season League Cup Continental Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Falkenbergs FF 2008 Superettan 230——230
2009 Superettan 274——274
2010 Superettan 27710—287
2011 Superettan 21631—247
Total 981741—10218
GAIS 2011 Allsvenskan 7100—71
2012 Allsvenskan 27410—284
Total 34510—355
Malmö FF 2013 Allsvenskan 1702250242
2014 Allsvenskan 25050100400
2015 Allsvenskan 1324000172
Total 552112150814
Gent 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 90000090
Total 90000090
Copenhagen 2015–16 Danish Superliga 1303000160
2016–17 Danish Superliga 28130150461
2017–18 Danish Superliga 1120040152
Total 52360190773
Djurgårdens IF 2018 Allsvenskan 1100020130
2019 Allsvenskan 11200—112
2020 Allsvenskan 21 3 0 0 1 0 22 3
2021 Allsvenskan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4350030465
Career total 2913222337035035

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 201410
201570
201640
Total120

Honours
Malmö FF
Copenhagen
Djurgårdens IF

References
  1. "Erik Johansson klar för GAIS". gais.se. GAIS. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  2. "Erik och supportrarna årets spelare". gais.se. GAIS. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  3. "Erik Johansson klar" (in Swedish). mff.se. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  4. "Här är vinnarna i Allsvenskans stora pris". allsvenskan.se (in Swedish). Allsvenskan. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  5. "Erik Johansson tekent voor 4 seizoenen". kaagent.be (in Swedish). KAA Gent. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  6. "Gent vs. Genk - 31 July 2015". uk.soccerway.com/. Soccerway. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  7. "Erik Johansson". soccerway.com (in Swedish). Soccerway. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  8. "F.C. København køber Erik Johansson". fck.dk (in Danish). FC Copenhagen. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. "AVSLÖJAR: Djurgården mot genombrott – nära jätteaffär med FCK-stjärnan". fotbolldirekt.se (in Swedish). Fotboll Direkt. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. "Erik Johansson klar – presenteras i dag". Expresse (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. "Avslöjar: Erik Berg är nära att bryta med Djurgården". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  12. "Erik Berg avslutar karriären: "Jag har gett allt"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  14. "svenskfotboll.se". www.svenskfotboll.se.
  15. "Allsvenska stjärnan byter namn: "Blir kul att se tröjan"". Aftonbladet.
  16. "Erik Johansson - den angrebslystne forsvarer der ikke gider se fodbold". unibet.dk (in Danish). Unibet. April 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  17. "Solbakken løfter sløret for sine FCK-profiler: Sådan er de i virkeligheden". bt.dk (in Danish). BT. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  18. "Erik Berg - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-06-11.
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