# Roland Sandberg

Ernst Roland Sandberg (born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starting off his career with Kalmar FF in 1966, he went on to represent Åtvidabergs FF, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and BK Häcken before his retirement in 1981. A full international between 1969 and 1976, he won 37 caps and scored 15 goals for the Sweden national team. He was a part of the Sweden team that finished fifth at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

## Club career

Born in Karlskrona, Sandberg began his footballing career with Jämjö GoIF and Lyckeby GoIF before signing with Kalmar FF in 1955. In 1970, he signed with Åtvidabergs FF with which he won two Allsvenskan titles, two Svenska Cupen titles, and was the Allsvenskan top scorer in both 1971 and 1972. In 1973, he signed with German Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he spent four years and contributed with 60 goals in 118 league games. After a career-threatening knee injury in 1976, he retired from professional football the following year. In 1979, after a new surgery, Sandberg made his footballing comeback and spent the last couple of seasons of his career with his former club Kalmar FF as well as a brief stint with BK Häcken in 1981 before he once again was forced to retire because of his knee problems.

## International career
### Youth

Sandberg represented the Sweden U21 team a total of six times between 1969 and 1972, scoring 3 goals.

### Senior

Sandberg made his full international debut for Sweden on 6 August 1969, replacing Leif Eriksson at halftime in a friendly 1–0 win against the Soviet Union. He scored his first international goal during the 1968–71 Nordic Football Championship in a 3–0 win against Norway on 8 August 1971. He represented Sweden at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where he scored goals against Uruguay and West Germany as Sweden finished fifth. He won his 37th and final cap in a 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Norway on 16 June 1976, being replaced by Jan Mattsson in the 37th minute after sustaining a serious knee injury.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Sweden | 1969 | 1 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1970 | 0 | 0 |
| Sweden | 1971 | 3 | 1 |
| Sweden | 1972 | 6 | 2 |
| Sweden | 1973 | 7 | 6 |
| Sweden | 1974 | 11 | 3 |
| Sweden | 1975 | 5 | 2 |
| Sweden | 1976 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 37 | 15 |
    Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sandberg goal.
List of international goals scored by Roland Sandberg :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 8 August 1971 | Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden | Norway | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1968–71 Nordic Football Championship |
| 2 | 29 June 1972 | Malmö Stadium, Malmö, Sweden | Denmark | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1972–77 Nordic Football Championship |
| 3 | 15 October 1972 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Malta | 5–0 | 7–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 4 | 26 April 1973 | Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark | Denmark | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 23 May 1973 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Austria | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 6 | 23 May 1973 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Austria | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 7 | 13 June 1973 | Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary | Hungary | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 8 | 25 June 1973 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | Brazil | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 27 November 1973 | Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, West Germany | Austria | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 10 | 3 June 1974 | Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark | Denmark | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1972–77 Nordic Football Championship |
| 11 | 23 June 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | Uruguay | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 12 | 30 June 1974 | Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany | West Germany | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1974 FIFA World Cup |
| 13 | 19 May 1975 | Örjans Vall, Halmstad, Sweden | Algeria | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 14 | 13 August 1975 | Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway | Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualifier |
| 15 | 11 May 1976 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | Denmark | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |

## Honours

Åtvidabergs FF
* Allsvenskan: 1972, 1973
1. FC Kaiserslautern
* DFB-Pokal finalist: 1975–76
Individual
* Allsvenskan top scorer: 1971, 1972 (shared with Ralf Edström)
* Stor Grabb: 1973