Thomas Wernerson Explained

Thomas Wernerson
Fullname:Thomas Eric Ivar Wernersson
Birth Date:15 June 1955
Birth Place:Nässjö, Sweden
Position:Goalkeeper
Youthclubs1:Handskeryds IF
Years1:1975–1980
Clubs1:Åtvidabergs FF
Caps1:127
Goals1:0
Years2:1981–1987
Clubs2:IFK Göteborg
Caps2:153
Goals2:0
Nationalyears1:1979–1985
Nationalteam1:Sweden
Nationalcaps1:9
Nationalgoals1:0
Totalcaps:280
Totalgoals:0

Thomas Eric Ivar Wernersson (born 15 June 1955), better known as Thomas Wernerson, is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Starting off his career with Åtvidabergs FF in the mid-1970s, he is best remembered for his time with IFK Göteborg between 1981 and 1987 with which he won two UEFA Cup titles and four Swedish Championships. A full international between 1979 and 1985, he won nine caps for the Sweden national team.

Club career

Åtvidabergs FF

Wernerson started off his career with Åtvidabergs FF, and witnessed the team win the 1972 and 1973 Allsvenskan seasons as a youth player before being promoted to the senior team in 1975.[1] He spent a total of six seasons at Åtvidaberg, and helped the team win promotion back to Allsvenskan in 1977 after having been relegated in 1976.[2] He was also a part of the Åtvidaberg team that reached the final of the 1978–79 Svenska Cupen, losing to IFK Göteborg.[3]

IFK Göteborg

Wernerson was signed to IFK Göteborg by Sven-Göran Eriksson after the 1980 Allsvenskan season.[4] He made his IFK Göteborg debut in a 1981 Allsvenskan game against GIF Sundsvall.[5] He went on to help the team win four Swedish championships (1982, 1983, 1984, and 1987), two Svenska Cupen titles (1981–82 and 1982–83), and most notably two UEFA Cup titles (1981–82 and 1986–87).[6] He was also a part of the IFK Göteborg team that reached the semi-finals in the 1985–86 European Cup before being eliminated by FC Barcelona.[7]

After having been the first-choice goalkeeper for IFK Göteborg from 1981 until 1987, he retired from competitive football in 1988.[8] In total Wernerson spent seven seasons as a player with IFK Göteborg, appearing in 370 games including friendly games in which he also scored one goal.[9] He kept a clean sheet in 18 European games for IFK Göteborg, which is a club record.[10] [11]

International career

Wernerson made his full international debut for Sweden in a Euro 1980 qualifier against Luxembourg on 23 October 1979.[12] [13] He went on to mostly serve as back-up goalkeeper for Thomas Ravelli during his international career.[14] [15] He made his ninth and ultimately last international appearance on 18 November 1985 in a 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Malta.[16]

Career statistics

Club

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonDivisionLeagueSvenska CupenOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Åtvidabergs FF1975Allsvenskan
1976Allsvenskan
1977Division 2 Södra
1978Allsvenskan
1979Allsvenskan
1980Allsvenskan
Total12701270
IFK Göteborg1981Allsvenskan2503060340
1982Allsvenskan22050140410
1983Allsvenskan2004080320
1984Allsvenskan22030110360
1985Allsvenskan2203090340
1986Allsvenskan20050110360
1987Allsvenskan22020120360
Total15302507102490
Career total28002507103760

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[17]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden197920
198030
198110
198210
198300
198400
198520
Total90

Honours

IFK Göteborg

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thomas Wernerson 50 år den 15 juni. HD. sv. 2020-05-05.
  2. Web site: Åtvidabergs FF – Svenskalag.se. www.svenskalag.se. sv-SE. 2020-05-05.
  3. Web site: Åtvidabergs FF – Svenskalag.se.
  4. Web site: Fotbollens sista proletärer.
  5. Web site: Thomas Wernerson, målvakt i IFK Göteborg 1981–1989 ifkdb.se. ifkdb.se. 2020-05-05.
  6. Web site: Thomas Wernerson: "Läkaren sa att jag hade kunnat dö". www.expressen.se. sv. 3 May 2020.
  7. Web site: Blåvitt-filmen till Barcelona. Börjesson. Ralf. 2014-06-03. gp.se. sv. 2020-05-04.
  8. Web site: SVT-profilen om dramatiska dygnet: "Bara 20 procent som får det här överlever...". www.expressen.se. sv. 2020-05-06.
  9. Web site: Thomas Wernerson, målvakt i IFK Göteborg 1981–1989 ifkdb.se. ifkdb.se. 2020-05-05.
  10. Web site: Thomas Wernerson, målvakt i IFK Göteborg 1981–1989 ifkdb.se. ifkdb.se. 2020-05-05.
  11. Web site: 2021-08-01. gp.
  12. Web site: Thomas Wernerson – svenskfotboll.se. www2.svenskfotboll.se. 3 May 2020.
  13. Web site: Herrar A EM-kval Matchinformation: Luxemburg mot Sverige 1979-10-23 (1-1) – svenskfotboll.se. www2.svenskfotboll.se. 3 May 2020.
  14. Web site: Hjälte över en natt.
  15. Web site: Thomas Wernerson – Spelarstatistik – Svensk fotboll. 2020-05-05. www.svenskfotboll.se.. sv.
  16. Web site: Herrar A VM-kval Matchinformation: Malta mot Sverige 1985-11-17 (1-2) – svenskfotboll.se. www2.svenskfotboll.se. 3 May 2020.
  17. Web site: Thomas Wernerson — svenskfotboll.se. www2.svenskfotboll.se. 2020-05-05.
  18. Web site: Stora Grabbars Märke – Svensk fotboll. www.svenskfotboll.se. sv. 2020-05-05.
  19. Web site: Alla 47 ärkeänglar ifkdb.se. ifkdb.se. 2020-05-05.