Stefan Schwarz

Hans-Jürgen Stefan Schwarz (born 18 April 1969), known as Stefan Schwarz, is a Swedish football manager and a retired footballer who played as a midfielder from 1987 until 2003, notably playing in the top flight of a number of European clubs.
As well as earning 69 caps, scoring 6 times for Sweden and starting his career with Malmö FF, he played in the English Premier League for Arsenal and Sunderland, the German Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen, Italian Serie A for Fiorentina, Spanish La Liga for Valencia and in Primeira Divisão for Benfica.

Born to a German father, Schwarz played as a midfielder and a left-back. He started playing football at youth level in Kulladals FF and began his career at his hometown club Malmö FF. In 1990 he played as a youth player in Leverkusen before moving on to Benfica where he played from 1990 to 1994. He also played for Arsenal, Fiorentina, Valencia and Sunderland. The most prestigious award he received was Guldbollen, 1999, as Sweden's best footballer during that year. When he joined Sunderland, the club inserted a "Space Clause" that stated that he could not travel into space or it would invalidate his contract. His playing career ended on a low note in 2003, when he retired at the end of a season where Sunderland (who had finished seventh in his first two seasons there) were relegated from the Premier League with a mere four wins, 19 points and 21 goals to their name.

He was capped for the Swedish national team on 69 occasions and scored 6 goals. He formed a highly rated midfield partnership with Jonas Thern when playing for both his country and Benfica. He played at the World Cup 1990 and 1994 finals, and at the Euro 1992 finals.

Club

Malmö

• Swedish Championship: 1988
• Allsvenskan: 1987, 1988
• Svenska Cupen: 1989

Benfica

• Primeira Divisão: 1990–91, 1993–94
• Taça de Portugal: 1992–93

Arsenal

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: Runner-up 1994–95

Fiorentina

• Coppa Italia: 1995–96
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1996–97

Valencia

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
• Copa del Rey: 1998–99

Country

Sweden

FIFA World Cup: 1994 Bronze Medal – Third Place

Individual

• "Man of the tournament" – Makita 1994 (USA 1994 World Cup)
• Guldbollen- Golden Ball, Swedish Best player (year 1999)