User:Velit/sandbox

Jonsson Gregory

Gregory training with the Velits in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Thomand Francois Gregoire
Date of birth	(1981-10-14) 14 October 1981
Place of birth	Ehden, Zgharta, Lebanon
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Velits
Number	10
Youth career
1994-1998	Huddinge FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998-present	Velits	514	(352)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jonsson Gregory is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays for the Velits as a striker. He is world reknown for being one of the best players in the world, despite his growing age. He has been described as a nimble player who is a good dribbler and shooter, and despite his small stature, a good headerer of the ball.

Early life

Jonsson was born in a rusty old hospital in Lebanon. His parents, Leonie Mathieu and Talal Gregoire, were both French immigrants from previous generations. He had an older brother called Antoine, and a stillborn brother called Jerome. He was born at the height of the Lebanese civil war. Jonsson used to be the best at football in his village but never contemplated taking it up as a career.

When he was 10 he suffered a horrific motorbike crash which could have killed him. He was left in a coma for two days and spent a further two weeks in hospital. His mother and father separated when he was 11, and his mother died when he was 12 and his father when he was 13. Jonsson and his brother were adopted by a Swedish football coach and former player called Jon Helmsvig-Norlland, due to Jonsson's footballing ability.

Style of play

Gregory is a predominantly right footed player, but has always referred to his left foot ability being 'better than average'. He started off as a target striker, who could bring the ball down from long, turn and shoot and score, due to his powerful shots and low backlift. In more recent years he has dropped into more of a playmaking role, as it became ever more visible that dribbling was an addition to his footballing portfolio, aswell as goals.

Despite not being the quickest, Jonsson is known to be able to beat a man. He is a very hard player to mark because of his range of abilities. Once Dragos manager Julio Marozetti commented on his style saying 'he is a magician on the field. You do not know what he will do next. He could turn, run past you, do a skill, play a long pass, short pass, lay it off, dribble backwards, shoot on his left foot, shoot on his right foot. He is a genius.'

Personal life

Jonsson does not smoke or drink, due to the effect it had on his late father, who began to drink excessively and chain smoke after the learning of his mother's passing. He also does not sport any tattoos.

Jonsson married Klara Inge Lindberg, a Swedish Olympic swimmer, in 2008. He has two sons, Nicolas (born 2009) and Laurent (born 2014). They reside in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonsson also owns properties in France, Australia and Lebanon. His estimated net worth is over £30m. He can speak four languages: English, Arabic, French and Swedish.

Jonsson legally changed his name from Francois to Jonsson in 18, to avoid confusion. He says he owes it to 'the greatness of Jon Helmsvig-Norlland, who am I proud to have been brought up by.' Jonsson is a name more frequently heard in Sweden as a surname, but due to the mistakeness of Jonsson being referred to as Jon's son, he adopted it as his first name in 1998, a few days after he had signed his first professional contract with the Velits.

Career Statistics

Club career

Team	Season	League		World Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Velits	1998–1999	15	4	-	-	15	4
Velits	1999–2000	11	5	-	-	11	5
Velits	2000–2001	21	10	-	-	21	10
Velits	2001–2002	25	14	3	0	28	14
Velits	2002–2003	12	3	-	-	12	3
Velits	2003–2004	27	21	-	-	27	21
Velits	2004–2005	37	25	-	-	37	25
Velits	2005–2006	35	29	5	3	40	32
Velits	2006–2007	43	31	-	-	43	31
Velits	2007–2008	44	32	-	-	44	32
Velits	2008–2009	42	30	-	-	42	30
Velits	2009–2010	27	14	6	4	33	18
Velits	2010–2011	43	17	-	-	43	17
Velits	2011–2012	45	36	-	-	45	36
Velits	2012–2013	46	47	-	-	46	47
Velits	2013–2014	41	34	7	5	48	39
Career total		514	352	21	12	535	364

Category:1981 births