Stefan Schwarz

Hans-Jürgen Stefan Schwarz (born 18 April 1969) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Schwarz started off his career with Malmö FF in 1987 before moving on to represent Benfica, Arsenal, Fiorentina and Valencia until he retired at Sunderland in 2003. Schwarz won 69 caps for the Sweden national team, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992 and most notably the 1994 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third. Club career Born to a German father (who played football in lower leagues in Germany) and a Swedish mother in the city of Malmö, Schwarz started his playing career as a midfielder with Kulladals FF's academy. Between 1985 and 1987, he spent two seasons with Bayer Leverkusen's youth team. He made his debut as a professional footballer with his hometown club Malmö FF. He then moved to Benfica for the 1990–91 season to play under manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Schwarz became a regular starter for Benfica, winning the Primeira Liga twice, and playing in the side that knocked Arsenal out of the European Cup in 1991. He subsequently moved to London to play for Arsenal in the summer of 1994 for £1.8 million but grew frustrated with George Graham's defensive tactics. The defeat to Real Zaragoza in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final was Schwarz's last game for Arsenal. He left Highbury after just one season at the club. Schwarz then completed a £2.5 million transfer to Fiorentina. He spent three seasons in Italy, lifting the Coppa Italia and Super Cup. In the summer 1998 he reunited with Cladio Ranieri, moving to Spain to join Valencia. After one season he joined English side Sunderland on 29 July 1999 for a then-club record fee of £3.75 million. Because of Schwarz's publicly-expressed desire to become a space tourist, the club inserted a "Space Clause" into his contract, stating that if he were to travel beyond Earth's atmosphere his contract would become wholly invalid.