Pascal "Pagge" Simpson (born 4 May 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented IF Brommapojkarna, AIK, Vålerenga IF, FC Copenhagen, and Halmstads BK during a career that spanned between 1990 and 2003. He won two caps for the Sweden national team in 1997 and also represented the Sweden Olympic team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 May 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Lomé, Togo | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1983 | Ekerö IK | ||
| 1984–1990 | IF Brommapojkarna | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990 | IF Brommapojkarna | 26 | (5) |
| 1991–1998 | AIK | 161 | (48) |
| 1998–2000 | Vålerenga IF | 51 | (11) |
| 2001–2003 | FC Copenhagen | 23 | (3) |
| 2002 | → Halmstads BK (loan) | 11 | (3) |
| Total | 272 | (70) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–1992 | Sweden U21/O[1] | 7 | (3) |
| 1996 | Sweden B[1] | 1 | (0) |
| 1997 | Sweden | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2004–2006 | IF Brommapojkarna (youth coach) | ||
| 2007 | IFK Eskilstuna | ||
| 2008–2009 | IF Brommapojkarna (youth coach) | ||
| 2010 | Gröndals IK | ||
| 2011–2012 | IF Brommapojkarna (youth coach) | ||
| 2013 | Enebybergs IF | ||
| 2014 | Ekerö IK | ||
| 2015 | Södertälje FK | ||
| 2015– | Vasalunds IF | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editSimpson was born in Lomé, Togo, to a Togolese father and a German mother, moved to Sweden at the age of six and was raised on Ekerö, Stockholm.[2] His father had played professional football in Germany.[3] He acquired Swedish citizenship in September 1991.[4]
Club career
editSimpson started his football career in Ekerö IK and joined IF Brommapojkarna in 1988.[1] He won the JSM för klubblag with the IF Brommapojkarna youth squad in 1989 and made his senior debut in 1990.[1]
He joined AIK and was part of the AIK squad that won the Swedish Championship in 1992, its first such championship in 55 years. Simpson contributed significantly to the win. He scored twice against FC Barcelona in the 1997 Cup Winners Cup quarter-finals; at Camp Nou he stunned the Catalans by scoring in the first minute of play. He was also part of the AIK squad that won the Swedish cup in 1996 and 1997. In the 1996 cup final he scored the winning goal against Malmö FF.[3]
Simpson had severe leg and knee problems due to a ligament injury. He had surgery in 1997 but in the end this damage caused his footballing career to come to an early end.[5] The knee injury has caused Simpson severe pain, stopping him from running and jogging. Despite this, he has stayed involved with football by coaching youth for Brommapojkarna and lower league clubs. In 2007, he was the coach for IFK Eskilstuna but left due to the club's financial problems. [6]
International career
editSimpson played seven matches for the Swedish Olympic football team in 1991 and 1992.[6] He scored the qualifying goal for the Swedish Olympic football team against the Netherlands that landed the team a spot at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.[7]
Simpson made his full international debut for the Sweden national team on 9 February 1997 in a 2–0 friendly win against Romania, playing for 67 minutes alongside Marino Rahmberg at forward before being replaced by Robert Steiner.[8] He won his second and last cap four days later in a friendly 1–0 win against Japan, playing for 76 minutes before being substituted by Daniel Andersson.[9]
Coaching career
editSimpson managed Södertälje FK.[10] In December 2015, it was announced that Simpson was taking over Swedish third-tier team Vasalund after Roberth Björknesjö.[10] His first game in charge was a pre-season 5–4 victory over his old club AIK.[11]
Honours
editAIK
FC Copenhagen
References
edit- ^ a b c d Frantz, Alf; Glanell, Tomas; Persson, Gunnar, eds. (2008). Det svenska fotbollslandslaget 1908–2008 [The Swedish National Football Team 1908–2008] (in Swedish). Vällingby: CA Strömberg AB. ISBN 978-91-86184-69-8.
- ^ Nilsson, Pea (18 July 1992), "Siktar på medalj och autografer", Dagens Nyheter
- ^ a b "- AIK - aik.se -". www.aik.se. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
- ^ Linné, Hans (26 March 1992), "Jag är så glad att du är svensk, Pascal", Expressen
- ^ http://www.dn.se/sport/fotboll/pascal-simpson-helrenoverad-1.120476,?ref. Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Pascal Simpson: "Talang är viljan att träna för att bli bättre"". Expressen. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
- ^ "Pascal Simpson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Rumänien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Japan - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Förre AIK-profilen tar över Vasalund".
- ^ "Galna målfesten – i AIK:s första match".