Leo Bengtsson

Leo Bengtsson

Personal information
Full name	Karl Leo Bengtsson
Date of birth	(1998-05-26) 26 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Aris Limassol
Number	7
Youth career
0000–2009	Ingarö IF
2010–2016	Hammarby IF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	Hammarby IF	34	(0)
2018	→ Gefle (loan)	14	(0)
2019	→ Frej (loan)	16	(3)
2020–2022	Häcken	66	(15)
2022–	Aris Limassol	71	(13)
International career‡
2016	Sweden U19	2	(0)
2020	Sweden U21	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2020

Karl Leo Bengtsson (born 26 May 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Aris Limassol.

Club career

Youth years

Bengtsson grew up at the island Ingarö in Värmdö Municipality, just outside Stockholm. He started his football career at the local club Ingarö IF, before joining the academy at Hammarby IF in late 2010 at age 11. ^[1]

At Hammarby, he would make his way up the ranks until eventually featuring regularly at the club's U21s in 2015. During the following season he was a key player as Hammarby won the Folksam U21 Allsvenskan. ^[2] In the semi-final against arch rival Djurgårdens IF in October 2016, he scored two goals while settling the score to 2–1. ^[3]

Hammarby IF

On 6 September 2016, Leo Bengtsson signed his first professional contract with Hammarby IF, on a three-year deal. ^[4] However, the winger did not feature in any competitive game in the 2016 Allsvenskan.

At the beginning of the 2017 season, Bengtsson made his competitive debut for Hammarby in a Svenska Cupen fixture. He came on as a substitute in a group stage away game against Nyköpings BIS on 26 February. ^[5] On 9 April 2017, he made his first appearance in Allsvenskan, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Kalmar FF on home ground. ^[6] Bengtsson scored his first competitive goal for the club on 16 August, in a 3–1 win against Akropolis IF in round 2 of the 2017–18 Svenska Cupen. ^[7]

During the following years, Bengtsson failed to break into Hammarby's starting eleven. In 2018, he was sent on loan to Gefle IF in Superettan, Sweden's second division. On 21 January 2019, Bengtsson renewed his contract with Hammarby for another three years. ^[8]

Bengtsson spent the majority of the 2019 season at Hammarby's affiliated club IK Frej. He made 34 league appearances for Hammarby in total. ^[9]

BK Häcken

On 6 January 2020, Bengtsson moved to Allsvenskan club BK Häcken from Gothenburg, signing a three-year deal. ^[10] The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 1 million Swedish kronor. ^[11]

International career

Bengtsson debuted for the Sweden U19 national team in a friendly against Scotland on 6 October 2016. ^[12] About a month later, on 14 November 2016, he won his first competitive cap in an away qualifier against Serbia ahead of the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Sweden won the game with a score of 3–2. ^[13] Bengtsson was selected in the preliminary squad ahead of the tournament – but withdrew on request from his club, Hammarby, where he had started to play regularly. ^[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of 29 February 2024 ^[15]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hammarby	2017	Allsvenskan	18	0	2	0	—		—		20	0
	2018		10	0	3	1	—		—		13	1
	2019		6	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2020		0	0	1	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		34	0	6	1	—		—		40	1
Gefle (loan)	2018	Superettan	14	0	0	0	—		—		14	0
Frej (loan)	2019	Superettan	17	3	0	0	—		—		17	3
Häcken	2020	Allsvenskan	25	8	3	1	—		—		28	9
	2021		28	6	6	1	2 [a]	1	—		34	7
	2022		13	1	2	2	—		—		17	4
	Total		66	15	11	4	2	1	—		79	20
Aris Limassol	2022–23	Cypriot First Division	33	8	1	0	2 [a]	0	—		36	8
	2023–24		22	4	2	1	12 [b]	3	0	0	36	8
	Total		55	12	3	1	14	3	0	0	72	16
Career total			186	30	20	6	16	4	0	0	222	40

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
2. Includes four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League and eight appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

References

1. "Tidigare ungdomsspelare i Ingarö IF kontrakterad av allsvensk storklubb" (in Swedish). Ingarö IF. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
2. "U21-final: Bajen numret större – SM-guld i snöovädret" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
3. "Hammarby första lag till final" (in Swedish). Tipselit.se. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
4. "Leo Bengtsson skriver A-lagskontrakt" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
5. "45 fina minuter räckte till tre poäng i Nyköping" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
6. "Sent bärgad grönvit poäng i premiärfesten" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
7. "Bajen återställde ordningen mot släkten". Hammarby Fotboll. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
8. "Hammarby förlänger med Leo Bengtsson". Hammarby Fotboll. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
9. "Leo Bengtsson lämnar för BK Häcken" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
10. "Leo Bengtsson lämnar för BK Häcken" (in Swedish). BK Häcken. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
11. "Häcken värvar från allsvenska rivalen" (in Swedish). Expressen. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
12. "Landslagsdatabasen: Leo Bengtsson" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
13. "En poäng för P17-landslaget" (in Swedish). UEFA. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
14. "Hammarby stoppar tre EM-spelare" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
15. "Leo Bengtsson". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 February 2017.

External links

• Leo Bengtsson at Soccerway