Mikael Nilsson (footballer born 1978)

For other people named Mikael Nilsson, see Mikael Nilsson (disambiguation).

Mikael Nilsson

Personal information
Full name	Mikael Nilsson
Date of birth	24 June 1978 (1978-06-24) (age 33)
Place of birth	Ovesholm, Sweden
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder, Defender
Club information
Current club	Brøndby
Number	8
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–1999	Ovesholms IF	18	(3)
1999	Åhus Horna BK	22	(11)
2000–2004	Halmstad	103	(17)
2004–2005	Southampton	16	(0)
2005–2009	Panathinaikos	81	(0)
2009–	Brøndby	65	(3)
National team‡
2002–2009	Sweden	64	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 August 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 December 2009

Mikael "Micke" Nilsson [ˈmiːkɑɛl ˈnɪlsɔn] (born 24 June 1978 in Ovesholm) is a Swedish footballer, who plays for Brøndby IF as a wingback and a midfielder.

Club career

Nilsson started his career with Ovesholms IF, where he stayed until 1999 when he moved to Åhus Horna BK. He played for the club for only one season before moving to Halmstads BK in 2000. His first season was mostly spent on the bench, but eventually he became one of the team's more important players until, during the 2004 season, he was sold to English club Southampton F.C..^[1][2]

At Southampton, he was not able to establish himself as a regular member of the first team and in 2005 he was sold to Greek club Panathinaikos FC.^[3]

On 4 March 2008, he stated that when returning to Sweden he would play for Halmstads BK, but he would live in Malmö since he wanted to live in a larger city.^[4]

On 8 April 2009, Nilsson announced a transfer to Brøndby IF. He signed a three year contract and will move to the club on 1 July 2009.^[5]

He is called "MiNi" by Swedish supporters, referring to the first letters in his first and second names.

National team

He has played in the Sweden national team since 20 November 2002, when he made his debut against the Czech Republic in which he scored two goals in a 3–3 draw.^[6] He have been a part of Swedens squad to the UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008, mainly playing as a defender.

He started out as a midfielder, but once when the national team lacked defenders, Nilsson was moved back, since when he generally plays as a defender for the national team.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Sweden changed to 3–5–2 formation, placing Nilsson again on the midfield. On 6 June 2009, Sweden played a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Denmark at the Råsunda Stadium in Solna. Nilsson made a terrible mistake that caused Sweden to lose 0–1 and eventually miss the World Cup. A cross came in from the right and Nilsson was going to clear it out of Swedish penalty area. He was not under pressure when the ball came. Somehow, he managed to get the ball on his left leg, causing it to roll across the goal-line and to the Danish midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg who scored easily.^{[citation needed]}

Following Sweden's failure to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Nilsson announced his retirement from international football, stating he would not be able to balance playing for both Brøndby IF and the Sweden national team.^[7]

Honours

Club

Halmstads BK:

• Allsvenskan:

• Champion: 2000
• Runner-up: 2004

References

1. ^ "Mikael Nilsson to Southampton" (in Swedish). SR.se. 2004-07-01. http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/radiosporten/nyheter/artikel.asp?Artikel=438527. Retrieved 2008-07-04. 
2. ^ "Southampton and HBK agreed" (in Swedish). Hallandsposten.se. 2004-07-23. http://www.hallandsposten.se/artikel.asp?oid=5234. Retrieved 2008-07-04. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Nilsson greek for 4 years" (in Swedish). Hallandsposten.se. 2005-08-01. http://www.hallandsposten.se/artikel.asp?oid=75094. Retrieved 2008-07-04. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Nilsson to HBK – but not yet" (in Swedish). Hallandsposten.se. 2008-03-04. Archived from the original on 2008-05-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20080518074042/http://www.hallandsposten.com/artikel.asp?oid=301973. Retrieved 2008-05-28. 
5. ^ Mikael Nilsson zu Bröndby IF
6. ^ "Goalfeast in the years last game" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll.se. 20 November 2002. http://svenskfotboll.se/t2llh.aspx?p=345819&x=1&a=269506. Retrieved 4 July 2008. 
7. ^ "Micke Nilsson slutari landslaget" (in Swedish). hallandsposten.se. 12 October 2009. http://hallandsposten.se/sport/fotboll/1.605480. Retrieved 15 December 2009. 

External links

• Halmstads BK article and profile
• Mobile.Sr profile
• National Football Teams

Persondata
Name	Nilsson, Mikael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	24 June 1978
Place of birth	Ovesholm, Sweden
Date of death
Place of death