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Personal
Fullname: Karl Fredrik Ljungberg
aka: Freddie Ljungberg
Born: 16 April 1977
Birthplace: Vittsjö, Sweden
Signed: 30 December 2010 (after trial started on 27 Dec 2010)
Left: June 2011
Position: Midfielder (Central, Attacking)
Debut: Berwick Rangers 0 Celtic 2 (Scottish Cup 3rd Round) 09/01/2011
Squad No.: 7
Internationals: Sweden
International Caps: 75 (none whilst with Celtic)
International Goals: 14
Biog
Former Arsenal and Sweden hero Freddie Ljungberg was a surprise arrival at Celtic in December 2010. He was a great player for Arsenal, but was to be more famous for his Calvin Klein underwear ads (giant billboards) and scurrilous rumours on his personal life (not for discussion on here).
The midfielder was a free agent when he landed at Parkhead just after Christmas and after a few training sessions with the Bhoys he signed a six months contract on 30th December 2010. The veteran had spent the last two years of his career in the MLS with Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire but his arrival in Glasgow still sparked significant interest in the Scottish media.
Being a former Calvin Klein model, Freddie certainly promised to bring a bit of glamour to the Scottish game but for the Celtic fans his arrival meant the addition of much needed experience to their young team. After a steady but uninspiring start to the season, Celtic were stuttering and it was hoped the signing of Ljungberg would provide a mid-season boost.
An expected debut against Rangers at Ibrox on 2nd January 2011 didn’t materialise when the midfielder was hit by a sickness bug but the player finally made his Hoops bow in the 2-0 Scottish Cup win at Berwick a week later in what was a slightly more difficult match than should have been.
However, Ljungberg failed to make an impact at Celtic, making only 8 appearances with only 1 of these being a start. He was brought in to bolster the squad but with Beram Kayal returning (and being a revelation) and the over-abundance of midfielders in the squad meant he wasn’t needed. The belief that an old experienced head was needed in the team became secondary in practise, and the midfield seemed to sort itself out and be the least of the issues on the pitch.
In fairness, in his short appearances, Freddie didn’t do anything wrong, so it’s hard to know now if he’d have made a difference if the midfield was otherwise in trouble. Ridiculously, the media tried to paint his spell as a flop/failure but it wasn’t meant to be a significant transfer, more a squad addition and he did fine enough (although admittedly maybe the manager could have used him more often and thus got more usage from him).
Possibly having him around for training helped the squad players, as he is likely a person who might have generated some respect amongst the younger players. Maybe his presence was what helped to sort out the midfield. Who knows?
In June 2011, it was confirmed that his contract would not be renewed, but we still hoped him the best. No problems at all in his short spell.
Post-Celtic
In 2015, Scott Brown mentioned that Freddie Ljungberg would wear Arsenal gloves to training, as a reminder to everyone else of his heyday and previous club, and you can maybe take from it that he hadn’t got over leaving them. In any case, the good news therefore for him was a return to his old club firstly as an ambassador for the club in 2013 and then in 2018 as a coach with the development U23 youth teams.
In between he had a very brief and unsuccessful spell as an assistant manager/coach in 2017 with VfL Wolfsburg, the management team sacked after six months.
On 5 June 2019, Ljungberg was promoted to Arsenal’s first-team coaching squad, and then soon in November 2019, Ljungberg was announced as interim head coach following the dismissal of Unai Emery effectively giving him (briefly) his dream manager position at Arsenal. He was retained as the first-team assistant coach when the permanent manager was brought in.
[…]
Quotes
“F Ljungberg coming to Celtic reminds me of A Kanchelskis arriving at Rangers ‘98: a has-been at 60% of his original talent.”
Graham Speirs (Twitter, Dec 2010)
“For a guy that hadn’t played a lot of football in the past few years, all he talked about was Arsenal. I was like, ‘Freddie, you haven’t been at Arsenal for four years!’ But he just kept talking about them. He wore Arsenal gloves just to make sure we knew he had played for Arsenal. He would talk about how good things were at Arsenal compared to Lennoxtown or Celtic Park.”
Scott Brown on Freddie Ljungberg (Nov 2015 from Brown’s biog)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2011 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Cup
Pictures
KDS
Articles
Ljungberg agrees deal with Celtic (BBC)
Former Arsenal forward Freddie Ljungberg has passed a medical and agreed a deal with Celtic until the end of the season.
The Swedish midfielder is now in line to make his debut at Ibrox in Sunday’s Old Firm Derby against Rangers. The 33-year-old has been training with Celtic and boss Neil Lennon said: “He’s done very well in the two days we’ve seen him. I’ve been very impressed. “I’ve seen more than enough to know he would be a good addition.”
Celtic have called a 1000 GMT media conference for New Year’s Eve to unveil the player ahead of the crucial derby with their Glasgow rivals on 2 January. Ljungberg, who made his name at Arsenal, is leaving Chicago Fire after an 18-month spell in the United States.
“There’s a bit of hunger about Freddie,” added Lennon. “He’s a consistent player and has been for a long time.
“He had horrendous injury problems at West Ham but he went to America and got sorted out medically. He’s in very good condition.” Speaking earlier this week midfielder Niall McGinn, whose place in the team would be under threat from Ljungberg, said he had also been impressed by the Swede. “He is a player I looked up to when I was younger and he looked sharp in training,” said the Northern Irishman.
“He’s a versatile player, he can play on either side and play in the hole as well. “But I’m in the team and it’s up to me to stay in the team. The manager has shown faith in me. “You are playing for a massive club and, if the manager brings in players, you have to work around that.
“I’ve been here for two years and I’ve seen a lot of players leave and a lot of players come in. “I have to make the most of any opportunity I get, but the manager seems to trust me. “I’ve had a few injuries, but when I’ve come back, he has shown faith in me and I’ve done well.”
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/9325012.stm
Published: 2010/12/30 19:22:13 GMT
© BBC MMX
Ljungberg:fans were the key
Herald Newspaper
Martin McMillan
25 Jan 2011
Freddie Ljungberg insists Celtic’s worldwide fanbase tempted him to sign for the club, writes Martin McMillan.
The former Arsenal player finally made his Parkhead bow as a substitute in the weekend win over Aberdeen and the Swede pointed immediately to the Celtic support as the main reason why he opted to move to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
He said: “The Celtic fans are just great. I remember well the Tony Adams testimonial match at Highbury seven years ago. The Celtic fans took up a whole side of the stadium. To travel all that way for a friendly was really impressive. “I was in America for two years and there were European clubs trying to sign me last winter.
“To be honest, I missed the passion of the game in Europe and there were a few options to consider but I felt that Celtic was the best option for me. There are few clubs in the world that share the same passion as Celtic supporters. They have been amazing and that was important to me.
“I spoke with [assistant manager] Johan Mjallby before I signed and he explained to me how big a club Celtic is and how much it means to the community. That made a massive difference for me and it is good to have Daniel Majstorovic at the club, as well.”
Ljungberg has been impressed by his team-mates and is relieved to see there is no kick-and-rush football. He added: “My team-mates are quality players who want to get the ball down and play football and that is a big plus as I am not very effective when the team launches the ball up the park and then play a second ball.
“We have a young, talented squad who are technically very good and want to pass the ball.Sometimes we need to pass the ball at a higher tempo and that would allow us to kill off other teams quicker. Rangers and Celtic perhaps dominate most of the league games whereas some of the other teams try to hit the ball long and hope for a counterattack.”
The 33-year-old admits he is still rusty after a three-month absence from competitive action but Ljungberg reckons it will not be long before he reaches peak fitness.
He said: “The way Celtic play suits me very well and I just need to improve my fitness. I think I’ve turned a corner now and am feeling pretty good.”
Ljungberg: I could have been a Celtic star
STV.com
The Swedish midfielder says he hasn’t had a chance to show his value at Parkhead.
Freddie Ljungberg has said that he has been disappointed by his spell at Celtic and insists he didn’t get a chance to show what he is capable of.
The former Arsenal star joined Neil Lennon’s squad at the end of December after leaving Seattle Sounders but failed to win a regular starting slot. The attacking midfielder agreed a deal until the end of the season, with an option for Celtic to sign him for another year, but now seems set to leave the club.
“People might say I’ve been a failure at Celtic and I would agree with that if I had played six games in a row and been absolutely s*** in each game,” he told the Scottish Sun. “But that’s not happened. I haven’t been able to show people what I can do.
“I haven’t been able to play and that’s the frustrating thing for me because I know how well I can play.
“If you could see me in training you’d see I can still play pretty well.”
Ljungberg made only eight appearances in a Celtic jersey, but only started in two matches. The Swede said he is mystified as to why he was not selected more regularly.
“I don’t know why I didn’t play much football, that’s something only Neil or Johan Mjallby can answer,” he said. “Every time we finished training sessions they were really complimentary, telling me I was doing amazing.
“I worked as hard as I could. I had some injury problems to begin with, but was fit for the last three months.
“Of course, it would have been nice to play more in front of the amazing Celtic fans, but this is how it is.”
The midfielder insists he is still capable of playing at a higher level and confirmed that he had several other offers before opting to move to Glasgow. He is now likely to explore those options again to find a new club for next season.