Lars Eriksson (footballer)

Early life

Lars Eriksson grew up in Haninge in Stockholm County where he started his career at the local club Vendelsö IK. He moved to Hammarby IF as a youngster in 1977 at age 12. During his early teens, he lived abroad for a few years together with his family before returning to Hammarby and their B-team.

Breakthrough

Lars Eriksson made his professional debut for Hammarby in Allsvenskan in 1986, aged 21, replacing Mark White as starter halfway through the season. He made his debut in a 5-1 win against Kalmar FF with Hammarby only conceding 1,2 goals per game during the remainder of the season with Eriksson between the posts.

He stayed as the club's first choice goalkeeper for another two seasons, before leaving in 1988 when Hammarby got relegated to Division 1.

Champion at Norrköping

Before the start of the 1989 season he signed with IFK Norrköping in Allsvenskan. The team finished in second place during the regular series the same year, but won the subsequent play-off, ultimately being crowned Swedish champions. Eriksson saved two penalties in the third and decisive game of the finals against Malmö FF on 15 November 1989.

In 1990, he was awarded "player of the year" by the Östergötland Football Association.

He would later play another five seasons at Norrköping, with the team consequently finishing in the top half of the table. Lars Eriksson featured in every competitive game for the club during this tenure. He also won two Swedish Cup-titles with "Peking", in 1990–91 and 1993–94.

Years abroad

Halfway through the 1994–95 season, he moved abroad for the first time in his career, at age 29. He signed for the Belgian Pro League league club Charleroi S.C. in November 1994. However, he would only feature in 9 competitive games for the side before moving to the Portuguese giants FC Porto in March 1995.

At Porto, he was crowned Liga NOS champion during three consecutive seasons, in 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1997–98. However, he was used sparingly and only featured in 13 competitive games. During his tenure at the Lisbon-based outfit he mostly served as a backup for Vítor Baía, Andrzej Woźniak, Silvino Louro and Henrique Hilário.

Return to Hammarby

During the 1998 Allsvenskan midseason he returned to his native country, signing a deal with his first professional club Hammarby IF in July the same year. After returning with an injury, Eriksson's comeback would however be postponed up until the season of 1999, when he also was appointed captain of the team.

In 2001, he won Allsvenskan for the second time in his career. Hammarby secured the title from a victory against Örgryte IS on 21 November, on the second to last match day of the campaign. As he already had decided on retiring after the season, Eriksson was praised by the fans at the home ground Söderstadion together with then manager Sören Cratz, who also were to leave the club.

After the season, he was voted goalkeeper of the year at the annual Fotbollsgalan, hosted by the Swedish Football Association. In 2004, Eriksson was voted as Hammarby Fotboll's sixth biggest profile throughout the history of the club.

International career

Lars Eriksson debuted for the Swedish under-21 national team against England in 1986. He would later win 15 caps for the team, making his final appearances during the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

He made his debut for the senior national team on January 12 in 1988, starting in a 4-1 win against East Germany on away ground. In total he would play 17 matches for his country up until 1995, often being used as bench cover for Thomas Ravelli. He took part in several major tournaments, the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1990 FIFA World Cup, 1994 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992.

Style of play

Lars "Lasse" Eriksson was known a goalkeeper with good reactions and a strong line play. He was also noticed for his frequent ability of saving penalties.

Managerial career

After his playing career ended, he was assigned the role as a goalkeeping coach at Hammarby in 2002. He would remain at this position up until 2007, when he was promoted to director of football at said club. He was however fired two years later, in May 2009, due to lack of results and financial reasons.

In late 2009, he joined the staff of the newly-appointed Swedish national team manager Erik Hamrén as the goalkeeping coach. He was a part of the personnel during the Euro 2012 and Euro 2016, mainly working with the Swedish starter Andreas Isaksson, before leaving his post after the latter tournament.