Abu Dhabi: Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg, who has signed up as a marquee player for the inaugural Indian Super League and will promote Indian football to a worldwide audience, hopes he can add value to the tournament with his immense experience.
“Even though I am retired, when this opportunity came up I was really excited to be involved. Indian football is such a growing market and this is a great opportunity for me to take my knowledge of the English Premier League over to India to help launch the league,” Ljungberg said.
The former Swedish international midfielder, who won 75 caps for his country, is best known for his nine years at Arsenal, where he scored 72 goals, won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Jeff Slack, Senior Vice President Global Football at IMG, welcomed Ljungberg to the league. “It is a moment of great joy for us at Indian Super League to have Freddie Ljungberg join us as a marquee player,” Slack said.
“We are all elated and are confident that Freddie’s inclusion will be a landmark achievement for the team he will be eventually picked up by. We are sure that his unmatchable track record and top flight experience will take the League to a completely different level.”
In 2003, Ljungberg, now 37, became only the third player in history to score in two successive FA Cup finals. He was also one of “The Invincibles” — a squad that won the 2003/04 Premier League without losing a match and eventually went unbeaten for 49 league games.
On leaving Arsenal in 2007, he moved to West Ham United and later to Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire in the USA, before also turning out for Scotland’s Celtic and Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. He retired from football in 2012.
