Anders Erik Limpár (; born 24 September 1965) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
A full international between 1987 and 1996, Limpar was capped 58 times by Sweden, scoring 6 goals altogether. He represented Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, as well as the 1994 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third.
In 1991, he was awarded Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year.
Club career
Early career
Born in Solna with Hungarian roots, Limpar started playing football in Brommapojkarna, famous for its production of footballing talent. He then played for Örgryte, joining in the wake of its sensational Swedish championship title in 1985. Limpar quickly became one of the hottest properties in Swedish football, and as so he was offered the chance to journey to Switzerland with Bern club Young Boys. He followed this up in a one-season spell in Italy with Cremonese during the 1989–90 season. That season Limpar was named Serie A's third best foreign player behind Diego Maradona and Lothar Matthäus.
Arsenal
His club career peaked when he signed for Arsenal on 8 July 1990 from Cremonese for £1m. Limpar quickly impressed in the Makita Tournament at Wembley and made his League debut in the 3–0 win at Wimbledon 25 August 1990. He went on to win the league title in the 1990–91 season. Limpar was also involved in the brawl against Manchester United 20 October 1990 and scored the only goal of the game. He played a particularly notable part in the 1990–91 season, scoring some important goals, and impressing in his first season with exciting wing play and crowd-pleasing displays. These included a hat-trick against Coventry City in a 6–1 win on the final day of the league season, by which time Arsenal were already champions. He managed a total of 13 goals that season, with 11 of them coming in the league. A succession of knocks hampered him the following season, and he sat on the sidelines injured for Arsenal's 1993 wins in both the League and the FA Cups. He and manager George Graham eventually fell out and with his contract due to come to an end in May 1994, Limpar, who was seeking a new deal at the club, was not offered one by Graham. Limpar played his last match with Arsenal against Southampton 19 March 1994. Limpar scored 20 goals from 116 appearances for Arsenal where he was popular with the fans, particularly for his performances in the title winning season.
Everton
On transfer deadline day in March 1994, Limpar transferred to Everton for £1.6 million.
He made his debut for Everton in a home defeat (1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur) on 26 March 1994. Limpar won a crucial penalty for Everton in the final day victory over Wimbledon in 1994, which preserved Everton's Premiership status.
Whilst playing for the Toffees he won the FA Cup for the first time in 1995. He also won the 1995 FA Charity Shield with Everton, He made his league debut on 1 February 1997, in a 2–1 away defeat against Bolton Wanderers. After two years in Stockholm, he signed for Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids in February 1999 where he stayed until November 2000. He then returned to Sweden to sign for Djurgårdens IF. However he failed to make an appearance for them and shortly went on to IF Brommapojkarna, where he started his club career. He eventually retired from the game in March 2001 at the age of 35, due to persistent injuries.
International career
In total, Limpar won 58 caps for Sweden, scoring 6 goals between 1987 and 1996. He was a member of one of the most successful Sweden squads ever, the team that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Limpar was assumed to be a starting player for Sweden before the tournament, but manager Tommy Svensson preferred the more defensive-minded Jesper Blomqvist in the opening game against Cameroon, and later moved Tomas Brolin into Limpar’s preferred left wing position. Limpar did not play a large role during the tournament, making just one substitute appearance, in the 3rd-place match. He also represented Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1990 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 1992.
Personal life
After retiring from football in 2001, Limpar opened a bar, The Limp Bar, in central Stockholm, although it has since closed. In 2012 Limpar, together with colleague Mikael Crona, founded Swedish company Super Lock which produces plastic boxes. He currently is the CEO of betting site BestBetToday.com.
!National team
!Year
!Apps
!Goals
|-
| rowspan="10" |Sweden
|1987
|8
|1
|-
|1988
|4
|0
|-
|1989
|6
|0
|-
|1990
|6
|1
|-
|1991
|5
|2
|-
|1992
|10
|1
|-
|1993
|5
|0
|-
|1994
|8
|0
|-
|1995
|1
|0
|-
|1996
|5
|1
|-
! colspan="2" |Total
!58
!6
|}
: Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Limpar goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+List of international goals scored by Anders Limpar
! scope="col" |No.
! scope="col" |Date
! scope="col" |Venue
! scope="col" |Opponent
! scope="col" |Score
! scope="col" |Result
! scope="col" |Competition
! class="unsortable" scope="col" |
|-
| align="center" |1
|18 April 1987
|Central Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union
|
| align="center" |1–0
| align="center" |3–1
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |2
|27 June 1990
|Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
|
| align="center" |2–0
| align="center" |6–0
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |3
|8 August 1991
|Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway
|
| align="center" |2–1
| style="text-align:center" |2–1
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |4
|4 September 1991
|Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden
|
| align="center" |2–1
| align="center" |4–3
|Friendly
|
|-
| align="center" |5
|11 November 1992
|Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
|
| align="center" |1–0
| align="center" |3–1
|1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|
|-
| align="center" |6
|16 May 1996
|Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea
|
| align="center" |2–0
| align="center" |2–0
|Friendly
|
|}
Honours
thumb|upright|Limpar in 2017Arsenal
- First Division: 1990–91
- IF Brommapojkarna Hall of Fame: 2014
References
External links
- Anders Limpar on Twitter