Petter Andersson

Hammarby IF

After joining Hammarby halfway through the 2003 season, the 18-year-old Andersson made two competitive appearances for his new side the same year. His debut in Allsvenskan came against Örebro SK on 20 October in a 1–1 draw, coming on as a second half-substitute replacing veteran midfielder Christer Fursth, who coincidentally played the last game in his professional career. Ahead of the 2004 season, Hammarby and manager Anders Linderoth promoted several other youngsters to the senior squad on permanent basis; Björn Runström, Fredrik Stoor and Erkan Zengin. Among the newcomers, Andersson made the biggest impact for Hammarby during the same season, establishing himself as a regular. He scored a brace, his first ever goals for Hammarby, on 2 May 2004 in a 2–1 win against Örebro SK on away turf. Weeks later, Andersson scored the lone goal in a 1–0 derby win against fierce rivals AIK on Råsunda. Andersson was mostly used as an offensive central midfielder during the season, as Hammarby finished sixth in the table. In 2005, Andersson was mainly used as a forward. He scored six goals in 25 appearances as Hammarby finished fourth in the league, just missing out on a medal place. Notably, Andersson scored a brace in a 4–0 home win against Landskrona BoIS on 17 July. He also renewed his contract with the club, lasting until the end of 2007. Halfway through the 2006 season, Hammarby was placed first in Allsvenskan. When the new signing Paulinho Guará claimed the…

Andersson won 14 caps for the Swedish U17s between 2001 and 2002, scoring four goals. In 2003, he excelled at international level and scored six goals in eight appearances for the Swedish U19s. He also played 20 games for the Swedish U21s between 2004 and 2006. He debuted for the Sweden national team on 22 January 2005, coming on as a substitute for George Mourad in the 72nd minute in a friendly game against South Korea. He won his second and last cap four days later, in a friendly game against Mexico, where he replaced Niclas Alexandersson in the 82nd minute.

Andersson's natural position was as an offensive midfielder or second striker. Occasionally, he was also used as a forward or winger. His game intelligence and shooting were regarded as among his key strengths, along with his pace both with and without the ball. Andersson's playing style was sometimes described as irrational and dynamic. Tommy Söderberg, former manager of the Sweden national team, compared him with Freddie Ljungberg and praised his technique.

Andersson grew up in the village of Ljusvattnet, outside the city of Skellefteå. During his early teens, he competed in cross-country skiing and golf as well as playing ice hockey. He was selected to represent the county of Västerbotten in the TV-pucken at age 15, but turned down the offer to concentrate on playing football. He started his football career at the local club Ljusvattnets IF, before moving on to Sunnanå SK where he made his senior debut in Division 5, the seventh highest tier, aged 14. In his later youth years, Andersson played with Skellefteå FF in Division 2, the Swedish fourth tier. Several top clubs in Allsvenskan soon got interested in securing Andersson's signature. Among these were GIF Sundsvall, IFK Göteborg, Malmö FF and Djurgårdens IF, who all failed their attempts. Ultimately, Andersson opted to move to Hammarby IF after several trials with the club. He turned down a move to the fellow Stockholm-based side AIK at a late stage, since the club's luxurious presentation of itself caused a culture crash and scared Andersson off.