Nils-Eric Johansson
Nils-Eric Claes Johansson (born 13 January 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Stockholm, Johansson signed with FC Bayern Munich in 1997. He then went on to represent 1. FC Nürnberg, Blackburn Rovers, and Leicester City before returning to his native Sweden and the club AIK in 2007. He made 371 appearances for AIK until his retirement from football in 2018 due to a heart condition. He won three caps for the Sweden national team in 2002.
.jpg.webp) Johansson with AIK in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nils-Eric Claes Johansson | ||
| Date of birth | 13 January 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Stockholm, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1994 | IFK Viksjö | ||
| 1995–1996 | IF Brommapojkarna | ||
| 1997 | AIK | ||
| 1997–1998 | Bayern Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | Bayern Munich II | 54 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Bayern Munich | 2 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 40 | (2) |
| 2001–2005 | Blackburn Rovers | 86 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Leicester City | 75 | (1) |
| 2007–2018 | AIK | 297 | (16) |
| Total | 554 | (20) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995–1997 | Sweden U17 | 28 | (2) |
| 1997–1999 | Sweden U19 | 25 | (6) |
| 1999–2001 | Sweden U21 | 21 | (1) |
| 2002 | Sweden | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Early career
Initially on the books at IFK Viksjö, IF Brommapojkarna, AIK, and Bayern Munich, he moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in August 2000, before several clubs across Europe, including Blackburn Rovers, claimed special interest in the player.[1]
Blackburn Rovers
He moved to Blackburn in October 2001 for a fee of £2,700,000, signing a four-year contract.[2] He made his debut in a 4–1 loss against Liverpool. His next match was a 7–1 victory against West Ham United. He made his 75th appearance for Blackburn during the 2003–04 season. However, following Mark Hughes' arrival as Blackburn manager, he found first team chances few and far between. In his time at Blackburn he started in the 2002 Football League Cup Final in which they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1. He scored twice during his spell at Blackburn: once against Manchester City in the League Cup[3] and once against Barnsley in the FA Cup.[4]
Leicester City
He was released by Blackburn at the end of the 2004–05 season and joined Leicester City on a free transfer at the start of the 2005–06 season. His first goal for Leicester came in a 1–0 win against Cardiff in the League Cup.[5] Johansson's only league goal was a last minute winner against Preston in the 2006–07 season, which all but guaranteed Leicester's survival in the Championship.[6]
AIK
He was released by Leicester in May 2007 and shortly afterwards he signed for Swedish outfit AIK, where he was eligible from 1 July.[7] In 2009, he helped the team win Allsvenskan for the first time in 11 years.[1]
On 18 February 2018, it was announced that he would retire, effective immediately, due to a heart condition.[8] He played a total of 371 competitive games for the club.[9]
International career
After having appeared for more than 70 times for the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Johansson made his full international debut for Sweden on 21 August 2002 in a friendly game against Russia in which he replaced Johan Mjällby in the 66th minute.[10][11] Later that year, he made two more appearances in friendly games against Portugal and the Czech Republic.[10]
After more than a ten-year absence from the national team, he was called up as a replacement for Oscar Wendt for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Austria and the Faroe Islands, but did not play.[10][12]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bayern Munich | 1998–99 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Bayern Munich II | 1998–99 | Regionalliga Süd | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Regionalliga Süd | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 1 | ||
| Total | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 53 | 1 | |||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2000–01 | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 | 2 | |
| 2001–02 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 2 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2001–02 | Premier League | 20 | 0 | 8 | 2 | – | 28 | 2 | |
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 27 | 0 | ||
| Total | 86 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 109 | 3 | ||
| Leicester City | 2005–06 | Championship | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 43 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Championship | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | ||
| Total | 75 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | 81 | 1 | |||
| AIK | 2007 | Allsvenskan | 15 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | |
| 2008 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | 34 | 4 | ||
| 2010 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
| 2011 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2012 | Allsvenskan | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2018 | Allsvenskan | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Total | 297 | 16 | 34 | 3 | 38 | 2 | 369 | 21 | ||
| Career total | 553 | 20 | 59 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 655 | 27 | ||
Honours
Bayern Munich
1. FC Nürnberg
Blackburn Rovers
AIK
References
- "En legendarisk karriär i bilder: Nils-Eric Johansson 1997-2018". Fotboll Sthlm (in Swedish). 12 November 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- "Rovers sign Swede". 5 October 2001. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- "Rovers beat 10-man City". BBC. 28 November 2001. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- "Blackburn dispatch Barnsley". BBC. 15 January 2002. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- "Cardiff 0–1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 26 October 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
- "Preston 0–1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
- "NILS-ERIC JOHANSSON KLAR FÖR AIK". News Powered by Cision (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- Kurt, Nemrud (18 February 2018). "Nils-Eric Johansson slutar på grund av hjärtproblem". Sveriges Television (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- "Nils-Eric Johansson avslutar sin spelarkarriär". AIK Fotboll (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- "Nils-Eric Johansson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- "Ryssland - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ""Man tror att det är ett hyss"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- "Nils-Eric Johansson » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- "N. Johansson". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
External links
- Nils-Eric Johansson at National-Football-Teams.com
- Nils-Eric Johansson at EliteFootball.com
- Nils-Eric Johansson at Soccerway
- Nils-Eric Johansson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)