Glenn Hysén is a former Swedish professional footballer known for his defensive skills.
Hysén won the prestigious Guldbollen award as Sweden's best footballer in both 1983 and 1988.
Growing up in a football family, Glenn Hysén aspired to be a member of the pop group ABBA as a child.
Biography
Early Life
Glenn Ingvar Hysén was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, into a footballing family with a rich legacy in the sport. His grandfather Erik Hysén and great-uncle Carl Hysén both played for IFK Göteborg, while his father Kurt Hysén was part of the club's B-Team. From a young age, Glenn showed a passion for football, starting his journey at IF Warta. Interestingly, he also harbored dreams of becoming a member of the famous Swedish pop group ABBA.
Career
Hysén's professional career kicked off with IFK Göteborg in 1978, where he made his competitive debut on May 14, 1979. He quickly became a key player, helping the team secure the Swedish Championships in 1982 and 1983, as well as the UEFA Cup in 1981-82. His impressive performances earned him the title of Sweden's Footballer of the Year in 1983, leading to a move to PSV Eindhoven. However, his time in the Netherlands was challenging, as he often played out of position.
After returning to IFK Göteborg in 1985, Hysén contributed to another Swedish Championship win and a semi-final run in the European Cup. He later joined Fiorentina in Serie A, turning down an offer from Manchester United. His career peaked with a transfer to Liverpool in 1989, where he continued to showcase his defensive prowess until his retirement in 1994 at GAIS.
On the international stage, Hysén represented Sweden from 1981 to 1990, earning 68 caps and captaining the team during the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Coaching Career
Post-retirement, Hysén transitioned into coaching, serving as an assistant coach for Torslanda IK and later co-head coach for Utsiktens BK. He also gained media attention as a coach on the reality show FC Z, where he trained amateur players to compete against real teams, including a match against his son's former team.
Collected from open sources (3) · facts link to sources · AI-processed
Gallery
Career & Clubs
Hysén represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams a total of 25 times between 1976 and 1980. He made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 6 March 1981 against Northern Ireland. He continued to play for the Sweden national team for the next nine years. In a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification match on 19 October 1988 against England at Wembley Stadium, Hysén was awarded six "wasps" out of five by Expressen for a heroic defensive performance. Hysén captained Sweden at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, when they lost all three of their first-round matches and went home surprisingly early.
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.
IFK Göteborg
Hysén started his professional career with IFK Göteborg and made his competitive debut for the team on 14 May 1979 in an Allsvenskan game against IFK Norrköping that ended 2–2. During his first stint with Göteborg, he helped the team win the 1982 and 1983 Swedish Championships, and the 1981–82 UEFA Cup.
PSV Eindhoven
He was named Sweden's Footballer of the Year in 1983 and his form earned him a move to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He was often forced to play out of position, midfielder and even as a forward, and did not enjoy his time in the Netherlands.
Return to IFK Göteborg
In 1985, he returned to IFK Göteborg and helped the team reach the semi-finals of the 1985–86 European Cup before being eliminated by FC Barcelona on penalty kicks. He also helped the club win another Swedish Championship in 1987 and win their second UEFA Cup title in 1987.
Fiorentina
Following his success with IFK Göteborg and the Sweden national team, Hysén turned down an offer from Manchester United and their manager Alex Ferguson to instead join his former IFK Göteborg manager Sven-Göran Eriksson at Fiorentina in Serie A.
Liverpool
Manchester United again 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…
- Club
- GAIS (1992–1994)
- Club
- ACF Fiorentina (1987–1989)
- Club
- PSV Eindhoven (1983–1985)
- Club
- IFK Göteborg (1978–1983)
- Club
- Liverpool F.C. (1989–1992)
- Club
- IFK Göteborg (1985–1987)
- Club
- Sweden men's national football team (1981–1990)
- Club
- IF Warta
- Club
- Torslanda IK (2002–2004)
- Club
- Utsiktens BK (2010–2012)
- National team
- Sweden
Trophies & Awards
- Award
- Guldbollen
Personal
Glenn Ingvar Hysén was born in Gothenburg to a football family. His grandfather Erik Hysén played for IFK Göteborg as did his great-uncle Carl Hysén. Hysén's father Kurt Hysén 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 member of Swedish pop group ABBA.
Clubs
- IF Wartacurrent
- IFK Göteborg1978–1983
- Sweden men's national football team1981–1990
- PSV Eindhoven1983–1985
- IFK Göteborg1985–1987
- ACF Fiorentina1987–1989
- Liverpool F.C.1989–1992
- GAIS1992–1994
- Torslanda IK2002–2004
- Utsiktens BK2010–2012
Played together with
Ab FafiéPSV Eindhoven · 1968–1971- Abbas MohamadGAIS · 2022–2023
Abdenasser El KhayatiPSV Eindhoven- Abdou Lahat DiakhateACF Fiorentina
Abdul RazakIFK Göteborg- Abe HartleyLiverpool F.C. · 1897–1898
Abel BalboACF Fiorentina · 1999–2000- Abel BalboACF Fiorentina
- Abel TamataPSV Eindhoven · 2010–2010
- Abel TamataPSV Eindhoven · 2010–2015
- Abel TamataPSV Eindhoven · 2013–2015
- Abel XavierLiverpool F.C. · 2001–2002
Archive
Passport
Identifiers & aliases
Glenn Ingvar Hysén is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Starting off his career with IFK Göteborg in 1978, he went on represent PSV Eindhoven, Fiorentina, and Liverpool before retiring at GAIS in 1994. A full international between 1981 and 1990, he won 68 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was awarded Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year in both 1983 and 1988.
Opinions of fans — not verified facts.
…