Guldbollen: Andreas Granqvist Named Swedish Player Of The Year As Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 10-Year Reign Comes To An End (Photos)

Chris Wright

21st, November 2017

3 Comments

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For the first time in 10 years, somebody other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic was crowned Swedish Player of the Year at the Guldbollen gala in Stockholm on Monday evening.

Indeed, the 2017 Guldbollen was presented to Andreas Granqvist, the grizzled Krasnodar centre-back who captained Sweden to the World Cup finals, a campaign that culminated in that outstanding win over Italy in the play-offs.

Photo: @ftransfers/Twitter

Ibrahimovic first won the award in 2005, finished runner-up to Freddie Ljungberg in 2006 and then landed the award for 10 consecutive years thereafter, earning himself a statue outside the Swedish national stadium as a result.

However, the streak has now been broken, and by a 32-year-old former Wigan Athletic defender as well.

Photo: Twitter

Will wonders never cease?

Posted in International football

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3 Comments

  1. Valentin says:

    I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the award is called Guldbollen rather than Goldbullen. Seeing as “bulle” is the common name of a cinnamon bun in Swedish, Goldbullen could roughly translate to the golden cinnamon bun, if you are a fan of misinterpretations.

  2. Jake says:

    I’m in for the gold cinnamon bun

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