Bernt Åke Ljung (born 8 May 1958) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented IK Brage, AIK, and Vasalunds IF during a career that spanned between 1976 and 1993. A full international between 1982 and 1984, he won seven caps for the Sweden national team.

Bernt Ljung
Personal information
Full name Bernt Åke Ljung
Date of birth (1958-05-08) 8 May 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Borlänge, Sweden
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1968 Forsa BK
1969–1975 IK Brage
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1980 IK Brage
1981–1987 AIK 134 (0)
1988–1990 Vasalunds IF
1991–1992 AIK 19 (0)
1993 IK Brage
International career
1978–1981 Sweden U21 7 (0)
1982–1984 Sweden 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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IK Brage

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Ljung started his career as a 17-year-old in 1976 at IK Brage under manager Rolf Zetterlund, and helped the club advance from Division 3 to Allsvenskan in only four seasons in the late 1970s.[1] During the 1980 Allsvenskan season, the team only conceded 18 goals as it finished fourth in the table as newcomers.[1]

Ahead of the 1981 season, Ljung and Zetterlund both signed with fellow Allsvenskan club AIK.[1] In early 1982, Ljung suffered a serious knee that would keep him out of the entire 1982 season.[1] In 1983, Ljung played in 21 league games as AIK finished first in Allsvenskan, before being eliminated in the semifinals of the 1983 Allsvenskan play-offs by the eventual Swedish Champions IFK Göteborg.[1] Ljung saved three penalty kicks in the penalty kick shootout in the 1985 Svenska Cupen final against Östers IF as AIK won the 1984–85 Svenska Cupen title.[1]

Vasalunds IF, return to AIK

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Ljung had a short stint at Vasalunds IF before returning to AIK again in 1991.[1] In 1992, Ljung helped the team become Swedish Champions for the first time in 55 years.[1]

Return to IK Brage and retirement

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Ljung returned to his boyhood club IK Brage ahead of the 1993 Allsvenskan season and played for one year before announcing his retirement from professional football.[1]

International career

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Ljung represented the Sweden U21 team a total of seven times between 1978 and 1981.[2] He made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 21 February 1982 in a friendly 1–2 loss against Finland.[3] He played his first and only competitive game for Sweden on 12 September 1984 in a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Portugal, which Sweden lost 0–1.[4] He won his seventh and last cap on 26 September 1984 in a friendly 0–1 loss to Italy.[5]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[2][6]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1982 1 0
1983 3 0
1984 3 0
Total 7 0

Honours

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AIK[1][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "500 AIK:are - Bernt Ljung". www.aik.se. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Bernt Ljung, Spelarstatistik SvFF". Svensk Fotboll.
  3. ^ "Finland - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Sverige - Portugal - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.sehttps (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Italien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Bernt Ljung - Overall international matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Bernt Ljung: "Någon hade grävt ner en bomb i gräsmattan"". Fotboll Sthlm (in Swedish). 9 December 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2021.