HANDBALL PLAYERS from Sweden

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Handball Players of all time. This list of famous Swedish Handball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swedish Handball Players.

1. Magnus Wislander (1964 - )

With an HPI of 49.47, Magnus Wislander is the most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Hans Einar Magnus Wislander (born 22 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player, who has been voted Handball Player of the Century. Since his debut in the national team in 1985 he has played over 380 games and scored over 1,000 goals. He played for Redbergslids IK, Gothenburg and THW Kiel.

2. Ljubomir Vranjes (1973 - )

With an HPI of 46.04, Ljubomir Vranjes is the 2nd most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ljubomir Vranjes (born 3 October 1973) is a Swedish handball coach and former player who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He is currently the sporting director of German team SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

3. Staffan Olsson (1964 - )

With an HPI of 43.35, Staffan Olsson is the 3rd most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Erik Staffan Olsson (born 26 March 1964) is a Swedish handball coach and former player. Olsson, who always played with no 13, was a left-handed right backcourt player with one of the most feared shots of all the elite players. Later in his career he won praise for his great playmaking skills. From September 2022 he is the head coach of the Netherlands' men’s national team.

4. Tomas Svensson (1968 - )

With an HPI of 40.55, Tomas Svensson is the 4th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Tomas Runar Svensson (born 15 February 1968) is a Swedish former professional handball goalkeeper who is currently goalkeeping coach of the Swedish men's national handball team, and an assistant coach for FC Barcelona.

5. Andreas Palicka (1986 - )

With an HPI of 40.14, Andreas Palicka is the 5th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Andreas Miroslav Palicka (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈpalɪka]; Czech: Palička, Czech pronunciation: [ˈpalɪtʃka]; born 10 July 1986) is a Swedish professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team.

6. Magnus Andersson (1966 - )

With an HPI of 40.09, Magnus Andersson is the 6th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Per Magnus Andersson (born 17 May 1966) is a Swedish handball manager and former player who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, in the 1996 Summer Olympics and in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was voted as the best Swedish handballer on four occasions. In 1992, he was a member of the Swedish handball team that won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament, playing all seven matches and scoring 18 goals. Four years later, he was part of the Swedish team which won the silver medal again, playing six matches and scoring 16 goals. At the 2000 Games, he won his third silver medal with the Swedish team, playing all eight matches and scoring ten goals.

7. Ola Lindgren (1964 - )

With an HPI of 39.14, Ola Lindgren is the 7th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Per Ola Markus Lindgren (born 29 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He is the head coach for IFK Kristianstad since 2012 and was head coach for Sweden from 2008 to 2016. As a player, he won two World Championships, four European Championships and participated in four Olympic Games. He also won four Swedish Championships with Drott.

8. Per Carlén (1960 - )

With an HPI of 37.55, Per Carlén is the 8th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Per Carlén (born 19 November 1960) is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He is the father of Swedish national handball player Oscar Carlén and Swedish national football player Hilda Carlén. His most recent coaching job was with the defending German champion HSV Hamburg, who sacked him on 29 December 2011.

9. Jim Gottfridsson (1992 - )

With an HPI of 37.06, Jim Gottfridsson is the 9th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Jim Gottfridsson (born 2 September 1992) is a Swedish handball player for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Swedish national team.He participated on the Sweden men's national handball team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's handball tournament.

10. Niclas Ekberg (1988 - )

With an HPI of 35.33, Niclas Ekberg is the 10th most famous Swedish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Niclas Ekberg (born 23 December 1988) is a Swedish professional handballer for THW Kiel. He was part of the Swedish team that won silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was also part of the Swedish national team that won the 2022 European Championship, where he scored the final winning goal for Sweden in the last second with a penalty shot. Before playing in Kiel he played for AG København.