Glenn Hysén
Encyclopedia
Glenn Ingvar Hysén is a football manager
and former player
who played for leading Dutch
, Italian
and English
clubs and won 68 caps for Sweden
. He is also a reality television star, coach, and football commentator.
Hysén is the father of Tobias Hysén
of IFK Göteborg
, Alexander Hysén
of GIF Sundsvall
, and Anton Hysén
of Utsiktens BK
.
as did his great-uncle Carl. Hysén's father Kurt also played for IFK Göteborg's B-Team. Hysén started playing football at IF Warta
when he was a boy. As a child, he wanted to become a fire fighter.
and quickly established himself as a tough and composed defender. He was Sweden's Footballer Of The Year
in 1983 and his form earned him his first international caps and a move to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
and earned continental plaudits with his displays against England
in two World Cup qualification matches during the campaign for the forthcoming 1990 tournament. As a result, English clubs became interested in him. He became Sweden's Footballer Of The Year again in 1988, with Swedish rules not barring their countrymen from receiving the award even if playing in a different nation.
expressed an interest in signing Hysén in 1989, and invited the player over to England for a tour of Old Trafford
and buffet lunch. He returned to Italy with the deal all but sealed; Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards
even rang Alex Ferguson
to report that Hysén had shaken hands on the deal. Negotiations stalled on the £300,000 transfer, and Edwards and Ferguson flew out to Italy to conclude matters in person. However, upon arrival in Florence, they were told by Hysén's agent that the player had signed for Liverpool
a few days previously, prompting the United management to make a move for Gary Pallister
instead.
Hysén made a sensational debut against Arsenal in the 1989 Charity Shield win at Wembley which made him an instant hero. Hysén settled in immediately at Liverpool, scoring his first Liverpool goal in their club record 9-0 mauling
of Crystal Palace
soon afterwards. He scored Liverpool's eighth goal in this game, which was notable for having eight different players score for the same side.
Alongside veteran club captain Alan Hansen
and, in Hansen's injury-enforced absence, the young defender Gary Ablett, Hysén was a major part of Liverpool's success in the League championship
of the 1989-90 season
, when the Reds fought off a late challenge from Aston Villa
and sealed their 18th top division title by a margin of nine points.
It went slightly downhill for Hysén thereafter, with Hansen out with a long-term injury (which led to his retirement
). Manager Kenny Dalglish
's resignation in February 1991 heralded the beginning of Hysén's end. The new manager Graeme Souness
did not really share Dalglish's views on football which led to many changes being made upon his arrival, changes that did not suit the entire team and created some tension between him and some of the players, Hysén being one of those players. This tension together with some minor injuries made Souness less keen to keep him. Hysén did recover fitness for the 1991–92 season
, but made just five league appearances before being given a free transfer in January 1992.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=37043
He is still remembered by Liverpool fans for his near-perfect intercepting tackle on Gary Lineker
at Wembley Stadium.
.
Getting Hysén to move from the English Premier league to join the relatively small club in the Swedish Allsvenskan
was a very extensive and expensive transition for GAIS. He received much criticism and it is said and rumoured among Swedish football fans, mainly GAIS supporters, that "Hysén's greed ruined GAIS economy".
The truth is that GAIS promised to build Hysén a house as a sign-on fee to tempt him into to joining them; Hysén accepted the offer, an offer which can not have been very well thought through since the process of building the house almost put the club into bankruptcy, and GAIS ended up not being able to afford to fulfill the promise.
Glenn Hysén could have made this into a legal matter, since this sign-on fee was written into his contract, but he never did.
. He continued to play for the Swedish national team for the next nine years. Hysén later captained Sweden in a World Cup
campaign in Italy, when they lost all three of their first-round matches and went home surprisingly early.
in Sweden. At the end of each transmission, he appoints three football players for the game's best player. He now works as a commentator for TV2 in Norway.
Hysén has been assistant coach for Torslanda IK
. This experience landed him a spot on reality show FC Z
which takes 15 men between the ages of 18 and 31 who have never played football before and trains them so they can play against a real team. On the show, he is the coach of the football team FC Zulu which was pinned against his son Tobias's former team, Djurgårdens IF.
In November 2010, Glenn Hysén signed a contract making him co-head coach of Swedish division II team Utsiktens BK
.
At Frankfurt Airport
in 2001, Hysén attacked a man who had groped him while in the public restroom. In 2007, Hysén spoke at Stockholm Pride
, the largest gay pride festival in the Nordic region. Many people from the gay community were surprised due to the earlier incident. At the Stockholm Pride, he delivered a speech denouncing sports homophobia and laid to rest his 2001 airport incident.
He stated that, "I know that many LGBT
people have been the victims of assaults and hate crimes. I can therefore understand if some people have been upset by the airport incident, so I want to be clear: I think that it is completely unacceptable that anybody should be subjected to assaults, insults or hate crimes due to their sexual orientation or gender identity,...The incident had been blown out of proportion in the media...In order to finally flush the Frankfurt Airport punch down the toilet: it is not the case that I beat up a gay person. I categorically deny that,...I'm not proud that I took a swing at him, but I am proud that I have integrity and that I reacted."
In the same speech he asked "How easy would it be for a sixteen-year-old boy who plays football to come out as gay to his team mates?" In March 2011 his younger son, Anton
, a professional footballer himself, came out of the closet to the media.
was born and three years later daughter Charlotte arrived. Kerstin and Glenn divorced and Glenn married his second wife Helena.
Helena and Hysén had three children. The first of which was son Alexander
who was born on May 12, 1987. That same year, the family moved to Italy while Hysén was playing for Fiorentina. Whilst playing for Fiorentina, a man proposed to Helena and Hysén chased after him and threw him up against a wall which he revealed in his biography. He remains to this day overprotective of his loved ones. after his move to Liverpool, Helena and Hysén had son Anton
who was born in 1990. During this time, there was speculation that Glenn was going to leave Helena for Kerstin so he could be with his children. However, Hysén did not leave his wife and in 1994, at the tail end of his career, daughter Annie was born in Sweden.
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
and former player
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
who played for leading Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
clubs and won 68 caps for Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
. He is also a reality television star, coach, and football commentator.
Hysén is the father of Tobias Hysén
Tobias Hysén
Glenn Tobias Hysén is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Allsvenskan side IFK Göteborg and the Swedish national team. He is the son of Glenn Hysén.-Early life:...
of IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
, Alexander Hysén
Alexander Hysén
Alexander Hysén is a Swedish footballer, currently playing goalkeeper for Östersunds FK.- Early years :He was born to parents Glenn Hysén of Liverpool FC fame and his second wife Helena...
of GIF Sundsvall
GIF Sundsvall
GIF Sundsvall is a Swedish football club located in the city of Sundsvall. The club, formed on 25 August 1903, is currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan. The club is affiliated to Medelpads Fotbollförbund.- History :...
, and Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén...
of Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK is a Swedish football club located in Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg.-Background:Since their foundation in 1935 Utsiktens BK has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Division 2 Västra Götaland which is...
.
Early years
Glenn Ingvar Hysén was born in Gothenburg to a football family. His grandfather Erik played for IFK GöteborgIFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
as did his great-uncle Carl. Hysén's father Kurt also played for IFK Göteborg's B-Team. Hysén started playing football at IF Warta
IF Warta
IF Warta is a Swedish football club located in Hisingen, Göteborg. -Background:Idrottsföreningen Warta, a football club from Hisingen in Gothenburg, was founded in 1929. The name Warta is said to be named after a rusty old boat that was moored at Sannegårdshamnen, Lindholmen , at the time when the...
when he was a boy. As a child, he wanted to become a fire fighter.
IFK Göteborg/PSV Eindhoven
Hysén started his career with IFK GöteborgIFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
and quickly established himself as a tough and composed defender. He was Sweden's Footballer Of The Year
Guldbollen
Guldbollen, , is a Swedish football award given by the Aftonbladet and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year....
in 1983 and his form earned him his first international caps and a move to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Fiorentina
Hysén then moved to FiorentinaACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
and earned continental plaudits with his displays against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in two World Cup qualification matches during the campaign for the forthcoming 1990 tournament. As a result, English clubs became interested in him. He became Sweden's Footballer Of The Year again in 1988, with Swedish rules not barring their countrymen from receiving the award even if playing in a different nation.
Liverpool
Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
expressed an interest in signing Hysén in 1989, and invited the player over to England for a tour of Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
and buffet lunch. He returned to Italy with the deal all but sealed; Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards
Charles Martin Edwards was the chairman of Manchester United from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club.- Education :...
even rang Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
to report that Hysén had shaken hands on the deal. Negotiations stalled on the £300,000 transfer, and Edwards and Ferguson flew out to Italy to conclude matters in person. However, upon arrival in Florence, they were told by Hysén's agent that the player had signed for Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
a few days previously, prompting the United management to make a move for Gary Pallister
Gary Pallister
Gary Andrew Pallister is an English former footballer, most noted for his nine-year spell at Manchester United from 1989 until 1998...
instead.
Hysén made a sensational debut against Arsenal in the 1989 Charity Shield win at Wembley which made him an instant hero. Hysén settled in immediately at Liverpool, scoring his first Liverpool goal in their club record 9-0 mauling
Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (1989)
On September 12, 1989, Liverpool faced Crystal Palace in the fifth game of the 1989-90 season. Crystal Palace were newly promoted to the Division, while Liverpool had been narrowly pipped to the League Title by Arsenal last season. Liverpool won the match 9–0, recording their biggest ever...
of Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
soon afterwards. He scored Liverpool's eighth goal in this game, which was notable for having eight different players score for the same side.
Alongside veteran club captain Alan Hansen
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
and, in Hansen's injury-enforced absence, the young defender Gary Ablett, Hysén was a major part of Liverpool's success in the League championship
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
of the 1989-90 season
1989-90 in English football
-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...
, when the Reds fought off a late challenge from Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and sealed their 18th top division title by a margin of nine points.
It went slightly downhill for Hysén thereafter, with Hansen out with a long-term injury (which led to his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
). Manager Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
's resignation in February 1991 heralded the beginning of Hysén's end. The new manager Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
did not really share Dalglish's views on football which led to many changes being made upon his arrival, changes that did not suit the entire team and created some tension between him and some of the players, Hysén being one of those players. This tension together with some minor injuries made Souness less keen to keep him. Hysén did recover fitness for the 1991–92 season
1991-92 in English football
- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...
, but made just five league appearances before being given a free transfer in January 1992.http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=37043
He is still remembered by Liverpool fans for his near-perfect intercepting tackle on Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
at Wembley Stadium.
GAIS
He returned to Sweden in 1992, playing for GAISGAIS
Göteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg, currently playing in Allsvenskan. The club is commonly referred to simply as GAIS, while its fans also refers to the club as grönsvart or the mackerels because of the traditional shirt colours...
.
Getting Hysén to move from the English Premier league to join the relatively small club in the Swedish Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...
was a very extensive and expensive transition for GAIS. He received much criticism and it is said and rumoured among Swedish football fans, mainly GAIS supporters, that "Hysén's greed ruined GAIS economy".
The truth is that GAIS promised to build Hysén a house as a sign-on fee to tempt him into to joining them; Hysén accepted the offer, an offer which can not have been very well thought through since the process of building the house almost put the club into bankruptcy, and GAIS ended up not being able to afford to fulfill the promise.
Glenn Hysén could have made this into a legal matter, since this sign-on fee was written into his contract, but he never did.
Swedish national team
Hysén made his national debut on March 6, 1981 against Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He continued to play for the Swedish national team for the next nine years. Hysén later captained Sweden in a World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
campaign in Italy, when they lost all three of their first-round matches and went home surprisingly early.
TV
After Hysén's retirement from football, he has worked as an expert commentator for TV6 and TV3TV3 (Sweden)
TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3...
in Sweden. At the end of each transmission, he appoints three football players for the game's best player. He now works as a commentator for TV2 in Norway.
Coaching
Torslanda IK
-History:Torslanda IK was founded in 1944. In the 1950s the sports club created sections for football, table tennis, handball and hockey. In the 1960s gymnastics and in 1972 bowling were added.The men's A football team won Division VI titles in 1981 and 1985...
. This experience landed him a spot on reality show FC Z
FC Z
FC Z is a Swedish TV-show about 15 nerds who never have played football . Now, under management by one of Sweden's best football players through time, Glenn Hysen, FC Z have 4 months to prove to be worthy opponents against Swedish champions Djurgårdens IF.FC Z is a spin-off of the popular Danish...
which takes 15 men between the ages of 18 and 31 who have never played football before and trains them so they can play against a real team. On the show, he is the coach of the football team FC Zulu which was pinned against his son Tobias's former team, Djurgårdens IF.
In November 2010, Glenn Hysén signed a contract making him co-head coach of Swedish division II team Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK
Utsiktens BK is a Swedish football club located in Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg.-Background:Since their foundation in 1935 Utsiktens BK has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Division 2 Västra Götaland which is...
.
Alleged homophobia
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
in 2001, Hysén attacked a man who had groped him while in the public restroom. In 2007, Hysén spoke at Stockholm Pride
Stockholm Pride
Stockholm Pride is an annual gay pride festival held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Since the start in 1998, Stockholm Pride has grown....
, the largest gay pride festival in the Nordic region. Many people from the gay community were surprised due to the earlier incident. At the Stockholm Pride, he delivered a speech denouncing sports homophobia and laid to rest his 2001 airport incident.
He stated that, "I know that many LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people have been the victims of assaults and hate crimes. I can therefore understand if some people have been upset by the airport incident, so I want to be clear: I think that it is completely unacceptable that anybody should be subjected to assaults, insults or hate crimes due to their sexual orientation or gender identity,...The incident had been blown out of proportion in the media...In order to finally flush the Frankfurt Airport punch down the toilet: it is not the case that I beat up a gay person. I categorically deny that,...I'm not proud that I took a swing at him, but I am proud that I have integrity and that I reacted."
In the same speech he asked "How easy would it be for a sixteen-year-old boy who plays football to come out as gay to his team mates?" In March 2011 his younger son, Anton
Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén...
, a professional footballer himself, came out of the closet to the media.
Personal life
Hysén and his first wife Kerstin had two children. On March 9, 1982 TobiasTobias Hysén
Glenn Tobias Hysén is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Allsvenskan side IFK Göteborg and the Swedish national team. He is the son of Glenn Hysén.-Early life:...
was born and three years later daughter Charlotte arrived. Kerstin and Glenn divorced and Glenn married his second wife Helena.
Helena and Hysén had three children. The first of which was son Alexander
Alexander Hysén
Alexander Hysén is a Swedish footballer, currently playing goalkeeper for Östersunds FK.- Early years :He was born to parents Glenn Hysén of Liverpool FC fame and his second wife Helena...
who was born on May 12, 1987. That same year, the family moved to Italy while Hysén was playing for Fiorentina. Whilst playing for Fiorentina, a man proposed to Helena and Hysén chased after him and threw him up against a wall which he revealed in his biography. He remains to this day overprotective of his loved ones. after his move to Liverpool, Helena and Hysén had son Anton
Anton Hysén
Anton Hysén is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén...
who was born in 1990. During this time, there was speculation that Glenn was going to leave Helena for Kerstin so he could be with his children. However, Hysén did not leave his wife and in 1994, at the tail end of his career, daughter Annie was born in Sweden.
Honours
- Swedish ChampionSwedish football championsSwedish football champions is a title held by the winners of the highest Swedish football league played each year, Allsvenskan. IFK Göteborg holds the record of most titles with 18 Swedish championships. After winning the 2011 Allsvenskan, Helsingborgs IF are the reigning Swedish football...
: 1982, 1983, 1987 - Swedish CupSvenska CupenSvenska Cupen , is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 98 teams compete, comprising the 16 teams from Allsvenskan and the 16 teams of Superettan...
: 1982, 1983; Runner-up 1986 - UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
: 1982, 1987 - Charity Shield: 1989, 1990 (shared)
- English ChampionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
: 1990