Andersson goes from kit man to keeper to save Helsingborgs

05-04-2015
2 min read

Former kit man Daniel Andersson was the goalkeeping hero for Swedish side Helsingborgs on Saturday as he stole all the headlines in his side's 0-0 draw with Kalmar.

The 42-year-old was pressed into emergency action for his side's Allsvenskan season opener after injuries to first choice duo Par Hansson and Matt Pyzdrowski, and he kept a clean sheet.

Andersson, who was capped once for Sweden during more than two decades as a shot-stopper and has more recently been acting as Helsingborgs' goalkeeping coach, was forced to make a string of saves to earn his side a point, in new coach Henrik Larsson's first league match in charge.

"It was absolutely wonderful," Anderson told TV station C More afterwards, as reported by Swedish newspaper Expressen. "It was a scenario that I never could have prepared myself for. Going from kit man, to goalie coach, to playing."

When asked if he was considering a full-time playing comeback, Andersson joked: "I am a goalie coach first and foremost. But now I have set the standard."

Larsson, meanwhile, was full of praise for his unlikely hero.

"You have to be impressed," said the former Celtic and Barcelona striker. "He [Andersson] is almost 43 and didn't make a mistake in this game. I'm very happy to have Daniel Andersson multi-tasking for our club."