Marcus Berg

Marcus Berg

Berg with Hamburger SV
Personal information
Date of birth	17 August 1986 (1986-08-17)
Place of birth	Torsby, Sweden
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Hamburger SV
Number	16
Youth career
	Torsby IF
2002	IFK Velen
2003–2004	IFK Göteborg
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	IFK Göteborg	53	(21)
2007–2009	Groningen	56	(32)
2009–	Hamburger SV	35	(4)
2010–2011	→ PSV (loan)	25	(8)
National team‡
2006–2009	Sweden U21	19	(8)
2008–	Sweden	19	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:41, 20 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 April 2011

Marcus Berg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmarkɵs bærj]; born 17 August 1986 in Torsby) is a Swedish football striker who currently plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. In Sweden he is nicknamed Svarte-Marcus ("Black Marcus") due to scoring a lot of goals in the junior teams, in reference to Filip "Svarte-Filip" Johansson.

Club career

Youth years

Berg started to play for a local club Torsby IF in 2002. After that, he moved to IFK Göteborg in 2003. He also had an ambition to join Manchester United at the age of 19.

IFK Göteborg

After spending two years in the youth team, in the season 2005, Berg was promoted to the regular squad and played for IFK Göteborg in the Allsvenskan. During the time playing for IFK Göteborg, he played alongside his older brother Jonatan.

Berg played for IFK Göteborg until the 2007 summer and put forth an attracting performance throughout his final season, as he maintained a high scoring efficiency throughout the league matches. Göteborg won the league that season and Berg received a standing ovation upon leaving the field after the 5–0 away victory over Kalmar FF where Berg scored, which was his last for the club because of his suspension for the game against Djurgårdens IF.

Berg with Groningen

Groningen

On 10 August 2007, Dutch side FC Groningen signed Berg for a reported £2.5 million to replace the departing AFC Ajax-bound Luis Suárez.

Berg had a good debut season in the Netherlands. Although he was not the top scorer in the Eredivisie in 2007–08, he scored 18 goals for Groningen, helping the Dutch outfit to a seventh place finish.

In the 2008–09 season, Groningen remained top of the Eredivisie table after five games played. Berg had a good display as well. He managed to score 13 goals in 15 matches. He also scored four goals in a December game against Roda JC.

Hamburg

On 17 July 2009, Hamburger SV confirmed that Berg had signed a five-year contract with the club. The official FC Groningen website mentioned it was a record fee paid for a Groningen player. Dagblad van het Noorden, a Dutch newspaper, stated that Berg swapped clubs for €10.5 million. The contract also mentioned that a friendly match will be played between Groningen and Hamburg in the summer of 2010 or 2011 in the Euroborg, the main stadium of Groningen. Although initially the fee of €9.5 million was too high for Hamburg, Berg's desire of moving to Bundesliga persuaded Groningen to complete the transfer. In his first Bundesliga game for Hamburg, playing at home against Borussia Dortmund, Berg scored his first goal for the club in the 72nd minute, just 182 seconds after coming off the bench, a record in the club's history.

PSV Eindhoven

On 17 July 2010, PSV Eindhoven and Hamburger SV agreed a loan deal with the result that Berg plays for PSV Eindhoven the 2010–11 season.

Style of play

Berg is renowned for his heading ability, first touches, and being able to shoot and pass with both his right and left foot. He is also known for his tactical dribbles and scoring from unusual angles. Berg scored 15 goals in his first season in the Eredivisie, having only played 25 matches due to having a back-strain injury. In his second season for Groningen, he scored 13 goals in the first 15 matches and was by then the second highest goalscorer in the league. He also showed his scoring ability in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, which he scored a record-breaking seven goals in four matches. His excellent performance earned him the player of the tournament award.

Career statistics

As of 17 January 2012 (2012 -01-17)

Club	Season	League		Cup*		Europe**		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
IFK Göteborg	2005	14	3	1	0	8	4	4	1	26	8
	2006	22	4	2	1	6	1	14	5	44	11
	2007	17	14	3	4	0	0	6	1	26	19
	Total	53	21	6	5	14	5	24	7	97	38
Groningen	2007–08	25	15	5	3	1	0	0	0	31	18
	2008–09	31	17	7	9	0	0	0	0	38	26
	Total	56	32	12	12	1	0	0	0	69	44
Hamburg	2009–10	30	4	1	0	13	6	0	0	44	10
	Total	30	4	1	0	13	6	0	0	44	10
PSV (loan)	2010–11	25	8	3	1	13	2	0	0	41	11
	Total	25	8	3	1	13	2	0	0	41	11
Hamburg	2011–12	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
	Total	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
Career total		169	65	23	19	41	13	24	7	257	104

(* Includes Svenska Cupen, KNVB Cup, Eredivisie Play-offs and DFB-Pokal)

(** Includes Royal League, UEFA Intertoto Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League)

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 June 2009	Ullevi, Gothenburg	Malta	4–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	14 October 2009	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Albania	2–0	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	29 May 2010	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4–2	4–2	Friendly
4.	7 September 2010	Swedbank Stadion, Malmö	San Marino	6–0	6–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
5.	8 February 2011	GSP Stadium, Nicosia	Cyprus	0–2	0–2	Friendly

Honours

IFK Göteborg

• Allsvenskan (1): 2007

Individual

• Allsvenskan top scorer: 2007 (shared with Razak Omotoyossi)
• 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Golden Boot
• 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Player of the Tournament

External links

• Official website
• Marcus Berg: Gol sueco (Spanish)
• Marcus Berg at kicker.de (German)
• Marcus Berg at fussballdaten.de (German)