Behrang Safari

Behrang Safari (Persian: بهرنگ صفری‎, [behræŋɡ sæfæriː]; born 9 February 1985) is a Swedish international footballer who plays as a defender for Malmö FF in the Allsvenskan and previously for the Swedish national team.

Behrang Safari emigrated to Sweden as a two-year-old from Tehran with his family. They settled in the small town of Höganäs, and later moved to Lund when he was five.

Malmö FF

Safari came through the ranks at Malmö FF and played his first game in the Allsvenskan in July 2004 when he came on as a substitute. He made his UEFA debut in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup on 19 June 2004 against Cork City F.C.. He won the Allsvenskan in his first season and became a first-team regular the following season.

FC Basel

On 15 June 2008, Malmö announced that Safari had been sold to FC Basel in Switzerland. This was confirmed one day later by FCB Online. He made his Basel debut on 23 July 2008 in a 1–0 win over Grasshopper Club Zürich at St. Jakob-Park. He played his first European game in a Basel shirt on 30 July 2008 in a 1–1 Champions League qualifying match draw against IFK Göteborg at Ullevi. He scored his first goal for Basel in the 4–0 home win against BSC Young Boys on 7 February 2010. Safari won the double with Basel in 2010 and the Swiss national championship again in 2011. He played 94 league games for Basel during his three-year contract.

Anderlecht

On 30 May 2011, Behrang signed a contract for the Belgian club Anderlecht. He had his debut for Anderlecht on 29 July 2011 in the 2–1 away defeat against Oud-Heverlee Leuven. He played his first European game for the team in the Europa League qualifying away win against Bursaspor in the Bursa Atatürk Stadium on 18 August 2011. He won the league in his first season with Anderlecht.

Return to Basel

After Safari's return to Basel, he featured in their 2013-14 Champions League campaign. At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Safari won his third league championship with Basel. They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals.

The next season, Safari started for Basel as a left back where they made it to the knockout stages of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. He also won the 2014–15 Swiss Super League, his sixth consecutive league title and seventh overall. Safari and his Basel teammates attended a charity event in June 2015. He continued in the left back position the following season in the Champions League, Europa League and Swiss Super League.

The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Safari and for his club Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a rowthat season and in the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool. But then Basel lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under trainer Paulo Sousa, Safari totaled 41 appearances, 24 League, 2 Cup, 7 Champions League, as well as 13 in test games. Safari scored 1 goal in these matches during a friendly game against FC Schaffhausen.

Under trainer Urs Fischer Safari won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season for the fifth time with Basel. For the club it was the seventh title in a row and their 19th championship title in total.

Return to Malmö FF

On 18 January 2016 it was announced that Safari would return to Malmö FF when his contract with FC Basel expired at the end of the 2015/2016 season. Safari signed a contract with Malmö that extends over the 2020 season and allows him to join the team halfway through the 2016 season. He scored a goal in the Allsvenskan on 11 April 2017 against GIF Sundsvall and was named vice-captain after Markus Rosenberg. He won his tenth league title after winning the 2017 Allsvenskan, making Zlatan Ibrahimović the only Swede with more league titles. Safari became a regular starter for MFF as they qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League on 30 August 2018.

Safari was called up to the Swedish national team for their friendly match tour in January 2008. He played in all of the matches, which were a 1–0 win over Costa Rica, a 2–0 defeat to the United States, and a 0–0 draw with Turkey. During his debut game against Costa Rica, Safari set up the only goal of the game with a cross to Samuel Holmén, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net.

Safari featured in Sweden's Euro 2012 qualifiers and was called up to their Euro 2012 squad by manager Erik Hamrén.

Safari has been praised for his crosses and ability to adapt to both defensive and attacking roles on the left side of play.

Sponsorship

Safari is outfitted by German sportswear manufacturer Puma.

Club

Safari playing for Sweden in 2010.

As of 12 July 2019

International

As of 31 May 2016.

Malmö FF

• Allsvenskan (3): 2004, 2016, 2017

Basel

• Swiss Super League (5): 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Swiss Cup (1): 2009–2010

R.S.C. Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division (2): 2011–12, 2012–13