Pontus Wernbloom

Pontus Anders Mikael Wernbloom (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈpɔ̌nːtɵs ˈvæ̂ːɳblʊm]; born 25 June 1986) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Beginning his professional career with IFK Göteborg in 2005, he went on to represent AZ, CSKA Moscow, and PAOK before retiring at IFK Göteborg in 2021. A full international between 2007 and 2016, he won 51 caps for the Sweden national team and was a squad player at UEFA Euro 2012 and 2016.

Pontus Wernbloom
Wernbloom playing for CSKA Moscow in 2017
Personal information
Full name Pontus Anders Mikael Wernbloom[1]
Date of birth (1986-06-25) 25 June 1986
Place of birth Kungälv, Sweden
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1993–2001 IK Kongahälla
2004–2005 IFK Göteborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 IK Kongahälla
2005–2009 IFK Göteborg 92 (26)
2009–2012 AZ 67 (7)
2012–2018 CSKA Moscow 167 (17)
2018–2020 PAOK 11 (0)
2020–2021 IFK Göteborg 19 (2)
Total 356 (52)
International career
2006–2009 Sweden U21 24 (6)
2007–2016 Sweden 51 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

IFK Göteborg

After playing for local club IK Kongahälla, he joined the youth team of IFK Göteborg in 2004, before being promoted to the senior team in 2005.[3] He quickly made a name for himself with his hard tackles, fighting spirit and generally fearless playing style. When Håkan Mild retired after the 2005 season, Wernbloom secured a place in the starting line-up. However, during the following season he struggled to retain his place as the club changed its playing style under new management. When striker Marcus Berg left to play for FC Groningen in the summer of 2007, Wernbloom switched to forward and was able to be a starter once again.

AZ

In April 2009, he signed a contract with Dutch club AZ. He made his Eredivisie debut against Heracles Almelo on 2 August 2009 and scored his first goal in a 3–3 draw away to VVV on 20 February 2010.[4] Wernbloom scored a goal in both play-off round legs against Kazakh side FC Aktobe, helping his team to qualify for the group stage of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.

CSKA Moscow

In January 2012, Wernbloom left AZ for signing a long-term contract with the Russian top club CSKA Moscow.[5] Plagued by injuries, Wernbloom was plunged into the deep end against a highly favored Real Madrid side in the knockout stages of the Champions League. In the game against his alleged favorite club, he scored a dramatic half-volley in the dying minutes to equalize 1–1.

After the final game of the 2017–18 season, CSKA Moscow announced that Wernbloom would be leaving the club at the end of his contract for family reasons.[6]

Wernbloom left CSKA Moscow after a successful six-year spell with the Russian team.[7][8]

PAOK

On 16 August 2018, Wernbloom arrived in Thessaloniki to agree on personal terms with Greek club PAOK FC. Eventually he signed a three–year contract worth €1.1 million per year.[9] On 17 December 2018, Wernbloom was unlucky in the away game against Levadiakos, as he suffered a ruptured achilles tendon and would stay out of the action for several months, meaning PAOK will be without a key player as they look to win their first league title since 1985.[10] On 20 August 2020 his contract with PAOK was terminated.[11]

Return to IFK Göteborg and retirement

On 21 August 2020, Wernbloom signed a contract with IFK Göteborg until the end of the 2021 Allsvenskan season.[12] He announced his immediate retirement from professional football on 14 July 2021, citing injury problems.[13]

International career

He debuted for the Sweden under-21 side in 2006, scoring a goal in the 12th minute of the match. On 7 January 2007, he was picked for the Swedish national team's January Tour in South America, and he made his debut on 18 January against Ecuador.[14] He won his 50th cap for Sweden on 29 March 2016, a 1–1 draw with the Czech Republic.[15][16] Pontus Wernbloom retired from international duty following UEFA Euro 2016.[17] Wernbloom won 51 caps for Sweden, representing his country at UEFA Euro 2012 and 2016.

Personal life

Wernbloom married girlfriend Nina in 2010 who gave birth to their son Mille the following year.[18] He openly took a stance against Sweden Democrats prior to the 2010 Swedish general election, and stated his support for social democracy in Aftonbladet.[19]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[20][21][22][23]
Club Season League Cup1 Continental2 Other3 Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
IFK Göteborg 2005 Allsvenskan 7130– 101
2006 Allsvenskan 24620– 266
2007 Allsvenskan 246– – 246
2008 Allsvenskan 26832103010
2009 Allsvenskan 11510– 10135
Total 922610822010328
AZ 2009–10 Eredivisie 231224010283
2010–11 Eredivisie 29431102– 427
2011–12 Eredivisie 1522194– 267
Total 67774236109817
CSKA Moscow 2011–12 Russian Premier League 1100021– 131
2012–13 Russian Premier League 2644020– 324
2013–14 Russian Premier League 281106010361
2014–15 Russian Premier League 252412011324
2015–16 Russian Premier League 27440100– 414
2016–17 Russian Premier League 271005010331
2017–18 Russian Premier League 23500143– 378
Total 167171314143122423
PAOK 2018–19 Super League Greece 1102130– 161
2019–20 Superleague Greece 000000– 00
Total 110213000161
IFK Göteborg 2020 Allsvenskan 13 2 3 1 1 0 – 17 3
2021 Allsvenskan 6 0 – – – 6 0
Total 192311000233
Career total 3565226776126146472

1Includes Svenska Cupen, KNVB Cup and Russian Cup.

2Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

3Includes Svenska Supercupen, Johan Cruijff Shield and Russian Super Cup.

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[24]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2007 1 0
2008 1 0
2009 2 0
2010 8 2
2011 8 0
2012 10 0
2013 7 0
2014 6 0
2015 5 0
2016 3 0
Career total 51 2
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wernbloom goal.
List of international goals scored by Pontus Wernbloom
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 3 September 2010 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Hungary 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying [25]
2. 2–0

Honours
IFK Göteborg[20]
AZ Alkmaar[20]
CSKA Moscow[20]
PAOK Salonika

Sweden U21

Individual

References
  1. Holm, Stefan (2 June 2012). "Jag lät honom alltid vinna, annars grät han". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  2. "Pontus Wernbloom profile". CSKA Moscow official website. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  3. Pontus Wernbloom: "Svenska spelare är för tråkiga" on ifkgoetborg.blogspot.com
  4. "Puike voetbalshow tussen VVV en AZ kent geen winnaar". vi.nl (in Dutch). 20 February 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  5. "Official: CSKA Moscow snap up Pontus Wernbloom from AZ". Goal. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  6. "Спасибо за всё, Понтус!". pfc-cska.com (in Russian). CSKA Moscow. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  7. ""Υπέγραψε προσύμφωνο με ΠΑΟΚ ο Βέρνμπλουμ"" (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. 15 August 2018.
  8. "Uppgifter: Wernbloom klar för Paok – får över 60 miljoner för tre år" (in Swedish). fotbollskanalen.se. 15 August 2018.
  9. "Υπέγραψε και προπονείται ο Βέρνμπλουμ" (in Greek). sport24.gr. 16 August 2018.
  10. "Βέρνμπλουμ: "Κομμάτι του ποδοσφαίρου οι τραυματισμοί, ας μη γινόμαστε δραματικοί"" (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. 17 December 2018.
  11. "Τέλος ο Βέρνμπλουμ!" (in Greek). inpaok.com. 20 August 2020.
  12. Tivemo, Andreas Johnsson,Linus Petersson,Jonathan Larsson,Joel (21 August 2020). "Officiellt: Pontus Wernbloom tillbaka i Blåvitt". gp.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. Göteborg, I. F. K. (14 July 2021). "Pontus tackar för sig". IFK Göteborg – Hela stadens lag (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  14. "Jag är en maträtt med mycket krydda i" on www.recept.nu
  15. "Today in Pictures – Zimbio".
  16. "Sweden vs Czech Republic, 29 March 2016".
  17. "Pontus Wernbloom slutar i landslaget – fokus på CSKA Moskva".
  18. "Nina Wernbloom's blog" (in Swedish). Behindeveryman.se. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  19. "Bodström: Gör Wernbloom till minister" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  20. "P. Wernbloom". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  21. "Pontus Wernbloom". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  22. "Pontus Wernbloom" (in Swedish). svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  23. "Pontus Wernbloom » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  24. "Pontus Wernbloom – Spelarstatistik – Svensk fotboll". svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. "Sverige – Ungern – Matchfakta – Svensk fotboll". svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  26. "England-Sweden | Under-21".
  27. http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19078.pdf
  28. "Stora Grabbars Märke – Svensk fotboll". svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 September 2021.
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