Gustav Svensson: The Sounders Swedish superstar!

The life of a soccer journeyman is 1 of the most interesting in the world. Going from country to country learning a new language and new culture. All to pursue a lifelong passion and to be adored by thousands at a time. 1 of the few advantages of the MLS not being 1 of the top leagues in the world is that frequently these players will appear on our doorstep and finally find a home and become superstars for our club, like Gustav Svensson did for our Sounders. Coming from a athletic family Gustav Svensson played multiple sports as a kid. And looked as if he was going to pick tennis for his career, he had a passion for the sport with his childhood coming right after Swede Björn Borg dominated the men's tennis game from the mid 70s to the early 80s. And he was pretty great being ranked top 20 in his age group.

But soccer always fit him much better. The constant energy, teamwork and the thrill of competing for spots in a team he all liked better. Though he always carried that tennis side of him as his playing style on the courts translated to the pitch perfectly. With him focusing on how to make his opponents worse and get them pissed at him so they would be thrown of his game how he played tennis then as a defender in soccer. That competitiveness and dedication saw him improve rapidly and it was only a matter of time that he would go pro even if that wasn't always on his mind.

A journey that included his family making the tough sacrifice to move to France for a year so he could play for a team called Rocheville to further his development and career prospects. And made him a lot better. Then Svensson's impressive resume took him next to 1 of Sweden's biggest clubs IFK Göteborg where he stayed in the youth ranks for a couple of years before making his pro debut. In 2005. And he quickly impressed as he helped IFK Goteborg win the Swedish Championship with the club in 2007. In the same year Gustav was nominated as the Newcomer of the year in Swedish football the same season but lost out to Johan Oremo who went on to win 2 senior caps for Sweden.

His time at IFK Göteborg went very smoothly with coaches loving his doing everything at 110% attitude and energetic and competitive style of play. And his full embrace of that do everything for the team Swedish mentality only made him more beloved in the club and he even started to get caps with the Swedish senior national team starting in 2009. But all that love couldn't keep him in his home nation for long though. As on September, 1st, 2010, he signed a three-year contract with 2009–10 Süper Lig champions Bursaspor.

His time in Turkey was brief only lasting a year though he did get a chance to play against Manchester United which is awesome. And was constantly in awe of the passion and fanaticism of the Turkish fans. But quickly things took another left turn in his career, man was taking so many left turns so quickly you'd swear he was a NASCAR driver. As he next went to another nation with a great passion for the sport but little national team success, Ukraine. When he he signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian club Tavriya Simferopol in the summer of 2012. Before he even step foot in the league he fell in love with the mentality of many of the teams in Ukraine. Seeing many similarities between them and the Swedish mentality of that team 1st never give up style of play. And when he did play he was impressed with the quality of soccer there after heavy investment had recently come into the league.

His time in Ukraine would be cut short however and this time not of his own will. As in 2014 he was forced to flee the country by bus because of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. And proceeded to return to his childhood club of IFK Göteborg. But it wasn't long before he was out of Sweden yet again. As now during the CSL boom which Martins, former Sounders striker would also get caught up in. As he On January, 14th, 2016, he signed a three-year contract with Chinese club Guangzhou R&F. But it only lasted a year after he missed the 2016 Euro's despite helping Sweden qualify for them due to his status as a CSL player. Then CSL changing the rules from being allowed 5 foreigners to 4 meant that he was the 1 cut.

So a year later that's how he ends up in Seattle with the Sounders. Mainly due to another Swede the Sounders had on their roster at the time in midfielder Erik Friberg who had 2 stints with the Sounders and the fact they shared the same agent that convinced him to come state side to the Emerald City. Despite his original interest being to be go back to Europe. Svensson made his Sounders debut in the opening game of the 2017 season, starting at right back in a 2–1 loss to Houston.

He was also back on the Swedish National Team due to being in a better league and even helped Sweden knockout Italy to help Sweden qualify for their 2nd straight major tournament this time the 2018 World Cup. With it being such a upset even the Swedish team thought they'd get blown out when they won in the San Siro. He came off the bench and helped Sweden achieve a 0-0 draw to clench that qualification for the World Cup in Russia. And he's always found it to be a great honor to represent the national team and this was his best moment in the yellow and blue.

As for his time in Seattle those same qualities that made him so beloved among his coaches in his youth in his homeland. Made him a hero in his older years in Seattle as he was 1 of the best most competitive defenders the Sounders ever had and certainly in the MLS during that time. His 1st season with Sounders FC, the Swedish journeyman made 30 starts in 32 regular season appearances at many positions, including right back, center back and defensive midfield. Svensson quickly earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors as a central defender in Week 5 after a scoreless home draw with Atlanta United FC on March 31st. Across all competitions, Svensson scored two goals the most important goal though was the game-winner in Seattle’s 2-0 leg one victory over the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference Championship and added 4 assists throughout the year. After coming off the bench in both matches of the opening series of the Sounders playoffs run, he played every remaining minute of Sounders FC run to a MLS Cup loss to Toronto FC. Including the playoffs, Svensson logged a hefty 2,971 minutes in his debut season with the club.

In 2018 Svensson built upon his first season in Seattle with another domination campaign with the Sounders starting 23 matches during the regular season and again impressing fans and pundits alike with his quality of play. Especially with his long range ability which he was keen to show off this season. scored his first goal of the year in a 3-1 win over Minnesota United with a long-range rocket from 30-yards out. He followed that up with another goal from distance in Seattle’s 3-1 win over New York City FC. After he returned from the 2018 Russia World Cup, the Sounders rattled off a 14-2-1 record with Svensson back in the lineup. He was a critical component in Seattle finishing 2018 with the 2nd-best defensive record in the league that season. He started both postseason matches against the Portland Timbers, Svensson played every single minute of the Western Conference Semifinals as the Sounders narrowly missed out on a 3rd consecutive trip to the Conference Finals.

In his 3rd season in Seattle, Svensson started 21 of his 22 appearances, recording 1,813 minutes this time. But his lessened playing time in the off-season led to him playing a lot more in the playoffs. With him played every minute of the club’s 4 playoff matches, recording 1 goal and 3 total assists. With the peak of his career being when he helped the Sounders beat Toronto in the MLS Cup in 2019. With his energy and determination allowing him to give a great performance in the final and helping us achieve glory with 2 assists in the 3-1 victory enough to help us clench it.

He left the Sounders in 2021 with a brief return to Guangzhou with Guangzhou City then for the 3rd time returned to his childhood club IFK Göteborg where he plays to this today. Thanks a bunch for reading!