Tomas Antonelius

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Tomas Antonelius
Personal information
Full name Tomas Emil Rune Antonelius
Birth name Tomas Gustafsson[1]
Date of birth (1973-05-07) 7 May 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991 Winnipeg Fury[2][3] 14 (0)
1991–1996 Brommapojkarna 102 (4[2])
1996–1999 AIK 75 (2)
1999–2002 Coventry City[4] 15 (0)
2002–2003 Copenhagen[5] 27 (2)
Total 234 (6)
International career
1999–2002 Sweden 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tomas Emil Rune Antonelius (born Tomas Gustafsson; 7 May 1973) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played professionally in Sweden, Canada, England, and Denmark, before injuries cut his career short. He won eight caps for the Sweden national team between 1999 and 2002, and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Antonelius had a brief stint with Canadian side Winnipeg Fury, during a year in college in North America.[6] Whilst at AIK, he played against Arsenal in the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League.[7][8] At the time, Arsenal were playing their home European games at Wembley Stadium, giving Antonelius a run out at the famous ground.

Coventry City[edit]

In December 1999, Antonelius joined Coventry City for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[9][10] He made his debut against Arsenal, coming on as a late substitute for Youssef Chippo, as Coventry won 3–2.[11][12]

Copenhagen[edit]

In February 2002, he joined Danish Superliga side Copenhagen.[13] However, he suffered a serious knee injury, 1,5 years after joining the club and never played football again. He announced his retirement in September 2003, due to this failure to recover from the injury.[14]

International career[edit]

Antonelius made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 18 August 1999, in a friendly 0–0 draw with Austria. He made his competitive international debut for Sweden against Italy at UEFA Euro 2000, playing for 75 minutes before being replaced by Kennet Andersson in a 1–2 loss.[15] He was also selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but did not play.[16][17] He won his eight and final cap on 12 October 2002 in a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against Hungary, playing for 67 minutes before being replaced by Mattias Jonson.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Antonelius began his career playing as "Tomas Gustafsson", before changing his name in 2001. The reason for this change was that "Gustafsson" is a very common name in Sweden, and he chose "Antonelius" as it was the married name of his older sister.[19]

Career statistics[edit]

International[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[20]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1999 2 0
2000 3 0
2001 0 0
2002 3 0
Total 8 0

Honours[edit]

AIK

Copenhagen

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FOOTBALL: NEW NAME IN CITY SQUAD; Familiar face makes unusual switch. – Free Online Library".
  2. ^ a b "Tomas Antonelius".
  3. ^ "De skapade vår historia – Tomas Gustafsson (Antonelius)".
  4. ^ "Thomas Antonelius career stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Thomas Antonelius". Nipserstat (in Danish). Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Exilgnagare – AIK:are som spelat utomlands". AIK Fotboll official website (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Arsenal break Wembley hoodoo". BBC News. 23 September 1999. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Gunners sink battling Swedes". BBC News. 2 November 1999. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Swede with Coventry". New Straits Times. Reuters. 9 December 1999. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  10. ^ Harris, Nick (7 December 1999). "Football: Guilty Forest fined pounds 25,000 over payments". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Coventry City 3–2 Arsenal". BBC News. 26 December 1999. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  12. ^ Moore, Glenn (27 December 1999). "Football: Arsenal's ambition checked by Keane". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  13. ^ Winther-Rasmussen, Michael (4 February 2002). "Antonelius til FCK". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). JP/Politikens Hus A/S. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Tomas Antonelius karriär är över". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 17 September 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Italien – Sverige – Matchfakta – Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Sweden squad". BBC Sport. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  17. ^ "Squad Profiles – Sweden". BBC Sport. 3 May 2002. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  18. ^ "Sverige – Ungern – Matchfakta – Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  19. ^ Turner, Andy (24 July 2001). "Football: New name in City squad; Familiar face makes unusual switch". Coventry Evening Telegraph. The Free Library. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  20. ^ "Tomas Antonelius – Spelarstatistik – Svensk fotboll" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
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