Stefan Schwarz - TheSportsDB.com

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Name
Stefan Schwarz

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Born
1969 (55 years old)

Birth Place

Malmö, Sweden

Position
Central Midfield

Status

Ethnicity

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Height
179 cm

Outfitter

Kit

Side

Agent

Wage Year

Player Cutout

Player Action Render

Sport

Soccer

Team
_Retired Soccer

2nd Team

League
_No League Soccer

Creative Commons Artwork
No

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Hans-Jürgen Stefan Schwarz (born 18 April 1969) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Schwarz started off his career with Malmö FF in 1987 before moving on to represent Benfica, Arsenal, Fiorentina, and Valencia until he retired at Sunderland in 2003. Schwarz won 69 caps for the Sweden national team, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, and most notably the 1994 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third.

Born to a German father in the city of Malmö, Schwarz started his playing career as a midfielder with Kulladals FF's academy. Between 1985 and 1987, he spent two seasons with Bayer Leverkusen's youth team. He made his debut as a professional footballer with his hometown club Malmö FF. He then moved to Benfica for the 1990–91 season to play under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Schwarz was a regular selection for Benfica for the following four seasons and played in the side that knocked Arsenal out of the European Cup in 1991.

He subsequently moved to London to play for Arsenal in the summer of 1994 for £1.8 million. He would grow frustrated with George Graham's tactics during the season. The fact that he earned double the money other more established Arsenal players were on, also made waves in the dressing room. The Gunners struggled in the league that season, but they reached the final of the 1995's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. That dramatic extra-time defeat to Real Zaragoza was Schwarz's last game for Arsenal. He left Highbury after just one season at the club.

He spent three seasons in Italy with Fiorentina. In the summer 1998 he moved to Spain and Valencia, where he spend a year, before joining English side Sunderland 29 July 1999 for a club record fee, £3.75 million. The club inserted a "Space Clause" in his contract, that stated that if he were to travel into space his contract would become wholly invalid.

He was bestowed with the Guldbollen in November 1999, Sweden's award for the year's best footballer. Schwarz was an aggressive midfielder who kept it simple on the ball, but his experience was crucial for newly promoted Sunderland, who finished an impressive 7th. place in the Premier League. They repeated the feat the following season, before an aging Schwarz was phased out of the team, and retired in March 2003.

After having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Schwarz made his full international debut for Sweden on 14 February 1990 as a substitute in a friendly game against the United Arab Emirates where he replaced Pontus Kåmark in the 80th minute before also scoring his first international goal in a 1–1 draw. A few months later he appeared in his first major tournament for Sweden as he played in all three games at left back as Sweden was eliminated from the 1990 FIFA World Cup after the group stage.

In 1992, Schwarz appeared in three games as Sweden progressed to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 1992 before being eliminated by West Germany. In 1994, he played in centre midfield alongside Jonas Thern as Sweden finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. An injury to his Achilles tendon kept him out of the squad for UEFA Euro 2000.

He declared his international retirement in August 2001 to focus on his club team after a series of injuries while with the national team. His last international appearance came in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova on 28 March 2001.

Schwarz won a total of 69 caps during his career, scoring six goals.