Jonas Magnus Thern (born 20 March 1967) is a Swedish football manager who manages Allsvenskan club IFK Värnamo. He is also a former professional player who played as a midfielder. Starting off 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, he won 75 caps for the Sweden national team and captained the Sweden side that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his country at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1990 FIFA World Cup, as well as UEFA Euro 1992. He was the recipient of the 1989 Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year.

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Jonas Thern

Personal information
Full name	Jonas Magnus Thern
Date of birth	(1967-03-20) 20 March 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth	Falköping, Sweden
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder, sweeper
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

Close

Born and raised in the town of Värnamo in southern central Sweden, Thern started his professional career in 1985 when he joined the classic Swedish club of Malmö FF, where he stayed for four years, earning him two titles in the 1986 and 1988 Allsvenskan. In 1989, he won the Guldbollen as Sweden's Footballer of the Year.

In 1989 he left for Benfica. He was part of a successful group of Scandinavian players that played for Benfica at the time, composed of Danish international Michael Manniche (1983–1987), and the Swedish "armada"; Mats Magnusson (1987–1992), Thern (1989–1992), Glenn Strömberg (1982–84) and Stefan Schwarz (1990–1994) alongside coach Sven-Göran Eriksson (1982–1984 and 1989–1992).

Thern went on to play in Italy for Napoli and Roma but moved to Scotland to join for Rangers on 1 July 1997. However, his career was cut short by injuries.

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.

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]

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

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

Sweden

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1994

Individual

• Guldbollen: 1989