Jonas Thern

Jonas Magnus Thern (born 20 March 1967) is a Swedish football manager who manages Allsvenskan club IFK Värnamo.

Jonas Thern

Personal information
Full name	Jonas Magnus Thern
Date of birth	(1967-03-20) 20 March 1967 (age 58)
Place of birth	Falköping, Sweden
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1982–1985	IFK Värnamo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1987	Malmö FF	41	(6)
1987	FC Zürich	5	(0)
1988–1989	Malmö FF	35	(5)
1989–1992	Benfica	100	(10)
1992–1994	Napoli	48	(1)
1994–1997	Roma	59	(3)
1997–1999	Rangers	23	(5)
Total		308	(31)
International career
1984–1985	Sweden U19	10	(2)
1986–1988	Sweden U21/O	15	(3)
1987–1997	Sweden	75	(6)
Managerial career
2000–2001	IFK Värnamo
2002–2003	Halmstads BK
2010	IFK Värnamo
2017	Landskrona BoIS (assistant)
2019–2024	IFK Värnamo
Medal record  Sweden FIFA World Cup 1994
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a player, Thern was a midfielder. Starting his career with Malmö FF in 1985, he went on to represent FC Zürich, Benfica, Napoli, Roma and Rangers before retiring in 1999.

A full international between 1987 and 1997, Thern won 75 caps for Sweden and captained the side that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his country at the UEFA Euro 1992 on home soil, as well as the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Born in Falköping and raised in Värnamo, Thern started his professional career in 1985 at Malmö FF, where he stayed for four years and won two Allsvenskan titles in 1986 and 1988.

In 1989, Thern received the Guldbollen as Sweden's Footballer of the Year. That same year, he left for Benfica as part of a successful group of Scandinavian players that played there at the same time, such as Danish international Michael Manniche (1983–1987) and the Swedish "armada" of Mats Magnusson (1987–1992), Thern (1989–1992), Glenn Strömberg (1982–84) and Stefan Schwarz (1990–94). Benfica were also coached by a Swede, Sven-Göran Eriksson (1982–1984 and 1989–1992).

Thern then played in Italy for Napoli and Roma. In 1997, he joined Rangers in Scotland, a move that lasted merely two years but nonetheless accompanied by silverware, a league title in 1999 – his final year in professional football – as frequent injuries forced him to retire early.

International career

For Sweden, he played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and Euro 1992,^[1] and then won the bronze medal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.^[2] Thern also competed for Sweden at the 1988 Summer Olympics.^[3] Thern was the Sweden captain for seven years, between 1990 and 1997.

Coaching career

After he retired as a player he became head coach for IFK Värnamo between 2000 and 2001 and Halmstads BK 2001–2003.

In 2021, he led IFK Värnamo to promotion to Allsvenskan for the first time ever in the club's history.^[4]

Personal life

Jonas has a son, Simon, who is also a footballer. His daughter, Alicia, is an equestrian.

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Sweden
	1987	2	0
	1988	10	3
	1989	8	1
	1990	4	1
	1991	6	1
	1992	9	0
	1993	4	0
	1994	11	0
	1995	6	0
	1996	8	0
	1997	7	0
Total		75	6

International goals

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 January 1988	Estadio Municipal de Maspalomas, Maspalomas, Spain	East Germany	2–1	4–1	Friendly
2.				4–1
3.	15 January 1988	Estadio Municipal de Maspalomas, Maspalomas, Spain	Finland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4.	16 August 1989	Malmö Stadion, Malmö, Sweden	France	1–0	2–4	Friendly
5.	27 May 1990	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Finland	6–0	6–0	Friendly
6.	4 September 1991	Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden	Yugoslavia	4–2	4–3	Friendly

Honours

Club

Malmö

• Swedish Champion: 1986, 1988
• Allsvenskan: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
• Svenska Cupen: 1985–86, 1987–88]

Benfica

• Primeira Divisão: 1990–91
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1989
• European Cup runner-up: 1989–90

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League: 1998–99

International

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1994

Individual

• Guldbollen: 1989