Freddie Ljungberg
Age: 33
Occupation: Soccer player
Coming Project: Kicking off his instructional camp, Freddie Ljungberg’s Advanced Soccer Clinic at Suncadia, in Cle Elum, Wash., Aug. 20-22
World-Cup Adjustment: I retired from international soccer in 2008. It will be a massive thing for me not to be there when the World Cup begins this month in South Africa.
Place He Spends Most Time: My house is on Lake Washington, and I have a dock out back. I like to go sit there after training. Where I am from in Sweden was on the beach, so I love the sound of the water hitting the dock.
Pet: A Newfoundland named Amadeus. He weighs 150 pounds.
Morning Routine: I get up around 7:30 a.m. If I have time, I’ll have breakfast. My breakfast is oatmeal and quinoa mixed.
Bad Habit: I hit the snooze button a few times on my alarm clock. I’m not a good one in the morning.
Fitness Routine: I come into training with the club around 9 a.m. every day. We do soccer training for around 90 minutes. We’ll go in and get treatments for injuries or massages. Then in the afternoon I hit the gym. I do core exercises. I am not a big gym fan.
Home Workout: I have no home gym. I do enough of that at work.
First Sport: I played team handball when I was a child. It is a very brutal sport. People hit one another. You have big guys playing, and you can get smashed properly.
Early Start: In Sweden the professional soccer teams have junior squads. So I started to play for my first big-league team when I was 5. It is called Halmstads BK, and I eventually made my professional debut with them.
London Calling: I went to play for Arsenal when I was 20. I am small, and people told me to go to Italy or Spain, where the play is less physical. So I made a point that I wanted to go to England. It was daunting. My first game I was shaking like a leaf, but I did score.
Worst Thing About Playing in the States: You don’t have police escorts to the games.
Model Memorabilia: I was an underwear model for Calvin Klein for a few years. It is not something I wanted to do at first. I never regretted it, but I am a shy person, and to stand there buck naked in front of a camera was scary.
Always in Fridge: Apple juice.
Favorite Dirty Shirt: In soccer we sometimes exchange shirts with opponents at the end of the game. I have a shirt from the great French player Thierry Henry, who is with Barcelona.
He Wishes He’d Played Against: The great Brazilian midfielder Sócrates, who played when I was young. I would love to have played against the Argentine midfielder Diego Maradona.
Nagging Injury: For two years I played with a broken hip. I didn’t know it was broken. The muscles in my butt disappeared. I had my operation in December 2008, and now I feel like a million bucks.
Surprise Trophy: This year on my birthday, the team left me what looked like a gift box in my locker, so I threw it in my car. It lay there for a week. It turned out to be a trophy for being one of the MLS All-Stars. I had no idea. I had a good laugh.
World-Cup Prediction: I think Spain has an absolutely amazing team. And like most people, I think Brazil has a great team.
Favorite Tattoo: I only have three tattoos, but the last one I got is the one I am most happy with. It is a celebration of dead friends and family — a crucifix, dog tags, the Virgin Mary and clouds with rays of sun.
His Biggest Headache: I started to suffer from migraines when I was teenager. I lose my vision, I can’t feel my body and I throw up like 50 times. I have an injection that I can put into my leg, but I don’t often do it myself, because of my loss of vision.
Swedish Item He Misses: I love Swedish salt licorice, which you don’t have here. I have people send it to me from home. Right now it is all finished. I am waiting for the next visitor.
Best Recent Gift: I got a samurai sword for my birthday. Some of my friends did a surprise for me. It is beautiful, and I have had an interest in the samurai for years. I believe in honor, and the samurai believed in that, too.
Favorite Workout Gear: These shorts are used in muay Thai, which is a form of kickboxing from Thailand that is important to me. I train in muay Thai during the off-season, and I love it. It is one of the ways I stay fit. I wear a red pair. I also have a black pair with my name on it that was a gift from my coach.
Hobby: I love snowboarding. In my contract in Europe, I was forbidden to snowboard after I was 18, but when they tried to persuade me to sign in Seattle, they pitched me that I was allowed to snowboard.
Favorite Clothing Item: I have a polo neck sweater that is almost a yard long. It was made by a Japanese designer. I like Japanese designers; they fit my body quite well.
On Gossip: There’s been a gay rumor for a long time. I don’t mind at all. I am proud of that. I love fashion, and I think so many gay people have amazing style. So that is a compliment to me. I really don’t know why people are so interested. I just made a decision that I won’t talk about it.
Fantasy Career: My dream was always to be a fighter pilot. I was invited by the Swedish Army once to fly in a jet. It was the best day of my life.
Guilty Pleasure: I love Cinnabons. I really shouldn’t, but I can eat two or three at a go.
Evening Routine: I get home from practice around 3 o’clock. I take my dog out for a long walk. If I have time, I’ll try to have a nap, and then it is dinnertime. I’ll see friends. I go to bed around 12 or 1 o’clock.
Favorite Pastime: I have a game room downstairs, and I love my pool table. It is something that my friends in England made me play. I am not very good, but it reminds me of my time in England.
What He Drives: I have a couple of cars back home. Here I only have one car, a Hummer. It was the only car my dog could fit into. I felt I got away with having the car here, maybe in Europe I wouldn’t in the same way.
