Mikael Nilsson (footballer, born 1968)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Jan Mikael Nilsson | ||
Date of birth | 28 September 1968 | ||
Place of birth | Falköping, Sweden | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1985–1987 | IFK Falköping FF | 32 | (3) |
1988–2000 | IFK Göteborg | 306 | (21) |
Total | 338 | (24) | |
National team | |||
1986 | Sweden U19 | 4 | (3) |
1988–1990 | Sweden U21 | 14 | (1) |
1991–1996 | Sweden | 22 | (0) |
Honours | |||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Jan Mikael Nilsson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmîːkaɛl ˈnɪ̌lːsɔn]; born 28 September 1968) is a former Swedish footballer who played as a defender. He most notably played for IFK Göteborg with which he won six Swedish Championships and played in the UEFA Champions League. A full international between 1991 and 1996, he won 22 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at UEFA Euro 1992 and at the 1994 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third.
Club career[]
Nilsson played for a local club called and IFK Falköping until 1987 when he moved to IFK Göteborg, where he stayed until he ended his active career in 2001 due to an eye injury.[1] During these years, he played 609 first team matches, which is a club record. He also won six Swedish Championships with the club and played in several European competitions.[1]
International career[]
Nilsson played 22 international matches for the Sweden national team, and was part of the UEFA Euro 1992 and 1994 FIFA World Cup squads, he did however not play any matches in any of the tournaments.[2] He also represented the Sweden U19 and U21 teams, and competed at the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship where Sweden reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Soviet Union.[2]
Legacy[]
In ITV's Greatest Champions League Goals programme, Nilsson's two strikes against PSV Eindhoven were number twenty and nineteen on the list of the top 50 goals, including a magnificent free-kick with an insane amount of curve, which probably is what he is best known for. One of Clive Tyldesley's famous quotes- "Now they know he can shoot, oh they know he can shoot", referred to Nilsson's second strike against PSV.[3]
Career statistics[]
International[]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 1991 | 6 | 0 |
1992 | 1 | 0 | |
1993 | 0 | 0 | |
1994 | 7 | 0 | |
1995 | 5 | 0 | |
1996 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 22 | 0 |
Honours[]
IFK Göteborg[4]
Sweden
- FIFA World Cup third place: 1994[4]
Individual
Records
References[]
- ^ a b "SvenskaFans". www.svenskafans.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ a b c "Mikael Nilsson, Svensk Fotboll". Svensk Fotboll (Sweden FA).
- ^ May 2019, Greg Lea 02. "The 15 best free-kicks of all time: where does Messi rank?". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ a b c "Mikael Nilsson - ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ "Stora Grabbars Märke - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-02-26.
- ^ "Statistik". IFK Göteborg – Hela stadens lag (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-02-26.
External links[]
- Mikael Nilsson at WorldFootball.net
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Swedish footballers
- Sweden international footballers
- Allsvenskan players
- IFK Göteborg players
- UEFA Euro 1992 players
- 1994 FIFA World Cup players
- Association football defenders