RB Leipzig's Emil Forsberg: Club legend, playmaker, penalty spot expert, family man

Benjamin Henrichs drives down the right wing and plays a low cross to the top of the box. Emil Forsberg cleverly dummies it to allow Dominik Szoboszlai to take possession of the ball. He plays a one-time pass to Christopher Nkunku, who is fouled by Nicolas Höfler – penalty to RB Leipzig! Up steps none other than Emil Forsberg, who has been causing problems for the Freiburg defence all game.

Our number 10 is an expert penalty taker: prior to matchday 14 this season, the Swede had taken 31 penalties so far in his career, and scored 28 of them! He added one more goal from the spot in our final home game this year, as he sent Mark Flekken the wrong way. It was the ninth straight penalty the 31-year-old has scored, as well as his second Bundesliga goal in 2022/23, in what was a 3-1 win over SC Freiburg. Forsberg celebrated his goal with his teammates, as he ran over to the sideline to embrace the injured Péter Gulácsi, who was in attendance at the Red Bull Arena as he recovers from an ACL injury.

“It was important for us to celebrate one last win at home in front of our fans this year,” Forsberg said after the 3-1 win. Leipzig’s sixth win in their seventh home game this season put them top of the home form table heading into the winter break. RBL have also climbed their way up the table, and are currently sat in third place. “We were chasing after the rest of the table for a while, and wanted to be where they were. Now, we’re hot on their heels,” said a delighted Forsberg, who has been at the club since 2015. He added that he is proud “of the team, because we’re doing really well at the moment.” RB Leipzig go into the winter break unbeaten in their last 12 matches across all competitions.

Forsberg has played a key role in this turnaround. The playmaker, who was born and raised in Sundsvall, has featured often in recent weeks. Playing as a number 10, Forsberg prefers to cut in from the left and drive into the box. He has started six of Leipzig’s last 12 games as part of the team’s ongoing unbeaten run. Sweden’s Footballer of the Year in 2021 has featured in 20 of a possible 23 games this season, scoring four goals and setting up four more. Five of his eight goal involvements have come during this ongoing 12-game run without defeat.

He learnt his trade at GIF Sundsvall and Forsberg has kept those close ties with his hometown club: It was there that his grandfather Lennart, who died in March 2020 aged 92, and also his father, Leif, were professionals at the club. All three Forsbergs began their careers there and all of them played their first match for the senior side aged 17. “Emil is more of an assister – that guy for the final pass,” Leif Forsberg said of his son. “In contrast, I was more of the classic striker and mostly hung around in the penalty area.” Emil’s father played over 500 competitive games and scored nearly 200 goals. The Sundsvall legend was honoured in 2003: his shirt, also with the number 10 on the back, was hung on the wall of the Norrporten Arena’s main stand.

The shirt was to be hung up there – without Leif having an knowledge of the event – during the home game against Helsingborg. “Normally I’m at every home game. But on this occasion I wanted to stay at home and recover,” explained Emil’s father, who had a fever of 40 degrees that day. But Emil and his mother repeatedly expressed that definitely couldn’t miss this game. He wasn’t best pleased and went to the stadium exhausted – only to be completely caught off guard by the event. “His joy was off the charts. It was like having your birthday and Christmas on one day for him,” remembered Emil, who was only eleven at the time.

One day the fast and technically gifted Swede would like to return to the Norrporten Arena and play for Sundsvall. “The stadium is an unbelievably special place for me. It was the beginning of everything – the start of my football career and, in some way, the beginning of my life,” says Emil. Outside the stadium, on the final straight, is the Wall of Fame – there hang the pictures of the ten biggest GIF Sundsvall legends. All three Forsbergs have been immortalised there; Emil, Leif and Lennart. They all made their debuts aged 17 and all wore the number 10 shirt. “There are exceptional parallels between us all,” recognized Emil.

The Leipzig playmaker built a house with his wife and childhood sweatheart Shange, who was also once a footballer, in Alnön, known as the “Hawaii of the north.” It’s around a half an hour drive from there to Sundsvall. The ‘Mini Foppa’, as he is also known Sweden in reference to his grandfather ‘Foppa’ and his father ‘Lilli Foppa’, played 98 games for the club – but he would like to get two more, as the club issues season tickets for life to anyone who makes 100 appearances for them. “I’ve got to put that jersey on again – at 50, if need be! It’s probably best that the coach subs me right at the end of added time,” the youngest member of the Forsberg footballing dynasty joked.
 

But until then, the Swede, regarded for his tactical intelligence, will keep on making waves for RB Leipzig until at least summer 2025. The 31-year-old last extended his deal in summer 2021: “Leipzig has become home for me and my family. We feel incredibly comfortable in this great city.” Above all, he and Shanga have grown particularly fond of the local parks and lakes that they always visit on walk with their Golden Retriever called Roffe. “In addition, always felt the wonderful support from our fans from day one, even during times where things weren’t going our way. That was and continues to be very important to me,” said Emil during his contract extension media round – his statements, like those said after the 3-1 win in Freiburg, continually to demonstrate that he always has the Leipzig fans in mind.
 

In May, Leipzig celebrated their biggest success to date, also against Freiburg: the DFB Pokal victory at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. RBL got to the final after Forsberg scored a late winner in the semi-final against Union Berlin, allowing the side to get their first ever club title. ‘Mini-Foppa’ started the game and played 61 minutes. In the future, the modest but certainly ambitious family man would certainly love to see more success with Leipzig, on the biggest stage in club football, the UEFA Champions League. The Swede won’t be appearing at the 2022 World Cup, which the midfielder with 78 caps finds a shame, but “I’ve already played a World Cup and two European Champions.” After the multiple strenuous weeks, Forsberg would prefer to spend time with family. “I’ll be taking a nice rest, kicking back and watching the World Cup with a beer in my hand.” The same principle applies in the winter break: family first.