Ernst Roland Sandberg (born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starting off his career with Kalmar FF in 1966, he went on to represent Åtvidabergs FF, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and BK Häcken before his retirement in 1981. A full international between 1969 and 1976, he won 37 caps and scored 15 goals for the Sweden national team. He was a part of the Sweden team that finished fifth at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Club career Born in Karlskrona, Sandberg began his footballing career with Jämjö GoIF and Lyckeby GoIF before signing with Kalmar FF in 1955. In 1970, he signed with Åtvidabergs FF with which he won two Allsvenskan titles, two Svenska Cupen titles, and was the Allsvenskan top scorer in both 1971 and 1972. In 1973, he signed with German Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he spent four years and contributed with 60 goals in 118 league games. After a career-threatening knee injury in 1976, he retired from professional football the following year. In 1979, after a new surgery, Sandberg made his footballing comeback and spent the last couple of seasons of his career with his former club Kalmar FF as well as a brief stint with BK Häcken in 1981 before he once again was forced to retire because of his knee problems.
International career
Youth Sandberg represented the Sweden U21 team a total of six times between 1969 and 1972, scoring 3 goals.
Senior Sandberg made his full international debut for Sweden on 6 August 1969, replacing Leif Eriksson at halftime in a friendly 1–0 win against the Soviet Union. He scored his first international goal during the 1968–71 Nordic Football Championship in a 3–0 win against Norway on 8 August 1971. He represented Sweden at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where he scored goals against Uruguay and West Germany as Sweden finished fifth. He won his 37th and final cap in a 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Norway on 16 June 1976, being replaced by Jan Mattsson in the 37th minute after sustaining a serious knee injury.
Career statistics
International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSweden1969101970001971311972621973761974113197552197641Total3715
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sandberg goal.
+List of international goals scored by Roland SandbergNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition18 August 1971Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden1–03–01968–71 Nordic Football Championship229 June 1972Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden2–02–01972–77 Nordic Football Championship315 October 1972Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden5–07–01974 FIFA World Cup qualifier426 April 1973Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark1–12–1Friendly523 May 1973Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden1–03–21974 FIFA World Cup qualifier63–1713 June 1973Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary2–13–31974 FIFA World Cup qualifier825 June 1973Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden1–01–0Friendly927 November 1973Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, West Germany1–02–11974 FIFA World Cup qualifier103 June 1974Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark1–02–01972–77 Nordic Football Championship1123 June 1974Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany2–03–01974 FIFA World Cup1230 June 1974Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany2–22–41974 FIFA World Cup1319 May 1975Örjans Vall, Halmstad, Sweden2–04–0Friendly1413 August 1975Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway1–02–0UEFA Euro 1976 qualifier1511 May 1976Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden1–01–2Friendly
Honours Åtvidabergs FF Allsvenskan: 1972, 1973
1. FC Kaiserslautern DFB-Pokal finalist: 1975–76
Individual Allsvenskan top scorer: 1971, 1972 (shared with Ralf Edström) Stor Grabb: 1973
References
External links