Jesper Urban Jansson (born 8 January 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He most recently worked as a sporting director for Cypriot First Division club AC Omonia.

Jesper Jansson
Jansson in 2006
Personal information
Full name Jesper Urban Jansson
Date of birth (1971-01-08) 8 January 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Växjö, Sweden
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1993 Östers IF 91 (9)
1994–1995 AIK 34 (6)
1996 Djurgårdens IF 24 (1)
1997–1999 Stabæk Fotball 51 (11)
1999–2000 Genk 21 (2)
2000–2004 Helsingborgs IF 101 (6)
2005–2006 Stabæk Fotball 39 (2)
2007 Högaborgs BK 0 (0)
Total 361 (37)
International career
1986–1987 Sweden U17 13 (2)
1988 Sweden U19 8 (1)
1991–1992 Sweden U21/O 10 (0)
1994 Sweden 1 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2014 Helsingborgs IF (director of football)
2015–2016 F.C. Copenhagen (head of scouting)
2017–2023 Hammarby IF (director of football)
2023–2024 AC Omonia (sporting director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player, he represented Östers IF, AIK, Djurgårdens IF, Stabæk, KRC Genk, Helsingborgs IF, and Högabergs BK during a club career that spanned between 1988 and 2007. He won one cap for the Sweden national team in 1994 and represented the Sweden Olympic team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

He has worked as director of football for Helsingborgs IF, Hammarby IF, and AC Omonia.

Club career

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Jansson was the captain of AIK during the season 1994-1995. His move to rival club Djurgårdens IF in 1996 was not a popular one amongst fans especially for a hooligan firm associated with AIK called Firman Boys. After leaving the club Jansson received death threats and had his door painted orange (the color of Firman Boys) with the text Judas. One of the reasons for him subsequently leaving Djurgårdens IF in 1997 for Norwegian club Stabæk Fotball was because of this intimidation. Even after moving to another country and securing a protected identity he would still go on to receive threats. [1]

He was a part of the Helsingborgs IF team that eliminated Inter Milan to qualify for the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League.[2]

International career

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Jansson was a member of the Sweden Olympic football team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[3] Jansson earned one cap for the Sweden national team, making his only appearance in 1994 in a Joe Robbie Cup match against the United States.[4]

Post-playing career

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After retiring, Jansson was the general manager at Helsingborgs IF between 2008 and 2014. In 2015, he was appointed head scout at F.C. Copenhagen,[5] but left a year later. On 28 April 2017, Jansson was appointed director of football of Hammarby IF,[6] before stepping down in 2023.[7][8]

On 14 June 2023, he was appointed sporting director of AC Omonia. He was dismissed from his role after only 7 months in charge, along with the managing staff he appointed, after accusations from the club president that Jansson was not doing his job and was treating the appointment on Cyprus as a vacation. Jansson denied wrongdoing, pointing to his years of experience and the fact that he has sold players for 50-60 million euros as evidence that he takes his jobs seriously. [9]

Personal life

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Jansson is the brother of former professional footballer Ulrik Jansson and the father of the professional footballer Kevin Höög Jansson.[10][11]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[3]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 1994 1 0
Total 1 0

References

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  1. ^ Johansson, Sara. "Firman Boys hotar TV3:s Insider". realtid.se. Realtid Media AB. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  2. ^ UEFA.com. "Internazionale-Helsingborg 2000 History | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Jesper Jansson - Svensk Fotboll - Spelarstatistik". Archived from the original on 29 October 2021.
  4. ^ "USA - Sverige matchfakta". Archived from the original on 22 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Jesper Jansson har klart med nytt jobb".
  6. ^ "Hammarby Fotboll | Förändringar i Hammarby Fotbolls sportsliga organisation". Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Jesper Jansson lämnar Hammarby efter sommaren" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Mikael Hjelmberg blir tillförordnad sportchef i Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Jansson slår tillbaka mot anklagelserna" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. ^ "AVSLÖJAR: Svensk talang på väg till Sydkorea". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  11. ^ Klinteberg, Martin (8 January 2021). "AOH gratulerar Jesper Jansson…". Allt Om HIF (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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