Freddie Ljungberg: The ‘colourful’ player whose influence is still felt

With his pink hair and underwear modelling, there weren’t many like Freddie Ljungberg in the early 2000s. He was basically Arsenal’s David Beckham.

It’s hard to identify the precise moment when flamboyance became normal in the Premier League.

Rewind to 2008, and Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner was making national newspaper headlines for wearing pink boots — a decision that was widely ridiculed.

“I love my pink boots,” the striker enthused. “I’ve wanted to play in that colour since I was young [and] I don’t think anyone can compete with me now.”

Ten years before that, it was difficult to find a player wearing any colour on their feet besides black. It’s not that the league wasn’t full of big personalities, but the extent to which players displayed their flamboyance was more limited.

Eric Cantona — arguably the biggest character of the early Premier League era — showed his uniqueness by popping his collar. David Beckham was the exception, revealing every new haircut with precise timing.

Look around today, and it’s clear that the dam has burst.

Players change hairstyles by the week, while it’s hard to find a tattoo-free forearm in the sport. Black boots have become the exception and highlighter shades the norm.

Even vanilla footballers like Sergio Aguero are bleaching their hair. But this is no Garth Crooks rant: it’s a good thing. It’s fun. Long may artistic haircuts continue.

With haircuts in mind, though, it’s worth remembering how another Arsenal Scandinavian — one far more popular than the pink-shoed Bendtner — broke from the aesthetic monotony of the late 1990s and 2000s and became a cult hero in doing so.

That player was Freddie Ljungberg, a Swedish midfielder who won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups over nine