Jonas Thern

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Jonas Thern
Personal information
Full name Jonas Magnus Thern
Date of birth (1967-03-20) 20 March 1967 (age 54)
Place of birth Falköping, Sweden
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, sweeper
Youth career
1982–1985 IFK Värnamo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1987 Malmö FF 41 (6)
1987 FC Zürich 5 (0)
1988–1989 Malmö FF 35 (5)
1989–1992 Benfica 100 (10)
1992–1994 Napoli 48 (1)
1994–1997 Roma 59 (3)
1997–1999 Rangers 23 (5)
Total 308 (31)
National team
1984–1985 Sweden U19 10 (2)
1986–1988 Sweden U21/O 15 (3)
1987–1997 Sweden 75 (6)
Teams managed
2000–2001 IFK Värnamo
2002–2003 Halmstads BK
2010 IFK Värnamo
2017 Landskrona BoIS (assistant)
2019– IFK Värnamo
Honours
 Sweden
FIFA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1994
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jonas Magnus Thern (born 20 March 1967) is a Swedish football manager who manages Superettan club IFK Värnamo. He is also a former professional player who played as a midfielder.

Starting off his career with Malmö FF in 1985, he went on to represent FC Zürich, Benfica, Napoli, Roma, and Rangers before retiring in 1999.

A full international between 1987 and 1997, he won 75 caps for the Sweden national team and captained the Sweden side that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1990 FIFA World Cup, as well as UEFA Euro 1992.

He was the recipient of the 1989 Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year.

Club career[]

Born and raised in the town of Värnamo in southern central Sweden, Thern started his professional career in 1985 when he joined the classic Swedish club of Malmö FF, where he stayed for four years, earning him two titles in the 1986 and 1988 Allsvenskan. In 1989, he won the Guldbollen as Sweden's Footballer of the Year.

In 1989 he left for Benfica. He was part of a successful group of Scandinavian players that played for Benfica at the time, composed of Danish international Michael Manniche (1983–1987), and the Swedish "armada"; Mats Magnusson (1987–1992), Thern (1989–1992), Glenn Strömberg (1982–84) and Stefan Schwarz (1990–1994) alongside coach Sven-Göran Eriksson (1982–1984 and 1989–1992).

Thern went on to play in Italy for Napoli and Roma but moved to Scotland to join for Rangers on 1 July 1997, however, his career was cut short by injuries.

International career[]

For Sweden, he played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992,[1] and then won the bronze medal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.[2] Thern also competed for Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[3] Thern was the Sweden captain for seven years, between 1990 and 1997.

Coaching career[]

After he retired as a player he became head coach for IFK Värnamo between 2000 and 2001 and Halmstads BK 2001–2003.

In 2021, he led IFK Värnamo to promotion to Allsvenskan for the first time ever in the club's history.[4]

Personal life[]

Jonas has a son, Simon, who is also a footballer. His daughter, Alicia, is an equestrian.

Career statistics[]

International[]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team Season Apps Goals
Sweden
1987 2 0
1988 10 3
1989 8 1
1990 4 1
1991 6 1
1992 9 0
1993 4 0
1994 11 0
1995 6 0
1996 8 0
1997 7 0
Total 75 6

International goals

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 January 1988 , Maspalomas, Spain  East Germany 2–1 4–1 Friendly
2. 4–1
3. 15 January 1988 Estadio Municipal de Maspalomas, Maspalomas, Spain  Finland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4. 16 August 1989 Malmö Stadion, Malmö, Sweden  France 1–0 2–4 Friendly
5. 27 May 1990 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Finland 6–0 6–0 Friendly
6. 4 September 1991 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Yugoslavia 4–2 4–3 Friendly

Honours[]

Malmö

Benfica

Rangers

Sweden

Individual

References[]

  1. ^ Hughes, Rob (10 June 1992). "Confidence and flair: Dutch favored in Euro 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  2. ^ Ridley, Ian (17 July 1994). "Sweden are the third men". The Independent. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Jonas Thern Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  4. ^ "Thern firade – med champagne och cigarr: "Inte hänt sedan 1996"". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 November 2021.

External links[]

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