Facts: - caps: 155 140 257 - nationalyears: 1996 -- 1998 1999 -- 2013 - youthclubs: guldhedens ik hestrafors if elfsborg - ntupdate: 19:03 , 20 november 2013 -lrb- utc -rrb- - birth date: 17 july 1976 - clubs: guldhedens ik hestrafors if elfsborg - nationalcaps: 16 148 - currentclub: elfsborg - caption: svensson playing for elfsborg in 2012 - height: 1.78 0 - nationalgoals: 2 21 - name: anders svensson - nationalteam: sweden u21 sweden - birth place: gothenburg , sweden - position: midfielder - fullname: anders gunnar svensson - years: 1980 -- 1990 1990 -- 1992 1993 - clubnumber: 8 - youthyears: 1980 -- 1990 1990 -- 1992 1993 - pcupdate: 19:18 , 5 november 2013 -lrb- utc -rrb- - image: anders svensson 2.jpg - goals: 38 10 32 Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of anders svensson -lrb- footballer -rrb- .
A:
anders gunnar svensson -lrb- ; born 17 july 1976 in gothenburg -rrb- is a swedish international footballer who plays for swedish side if elfsborg .he is a playmaker and a central midfielder , well known for his passing and set piece abilities .he was capped 148 times for the swedish national football team and has been the captain of the swedish national football team , before he retired from international football in 2013 .he is the most capped male player for sweden after passing thomas ravelli 's previous record of 143 caps .svensson is a dead ball expert and is known for free-kick skills , as he has scored some incredible goals through free kicks .he has always been a leader on the pitch and thus was also given the captain 's badge for the swedish national team , southampton as well as elfsborg .he has played very important roles in the 2002 world cup and the 2006 world cup in which he proved his leadership skills thus being promoted as the captain of the swedish national team in 2009 .he has always been known for his loyalty towards his clubs , thus in-spite of having offers from several big clubs svensson never left his clubs and his stats prove the same .after svensson left the club in 2005 in the mid-season , the club was relegated from the premier league .he is the 5th most capped player in europe after iker casillas , lothar matthaus , vitalijs astafjevs , martin reim and tied with gianluigi buffon .anders has also represented the swedish national football team for consecutive 3 euro cups in the uefa euro 2004 , uefa euro 2008 and uefa euro 2012 .