Jan Andreas Isaksson (; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Isaksson began his career at local

Trelleborgs FF Trelleborgs Fotbollsförening, more commonly known as Trelleborgs FF or simply Trelleborg, is a Swedish football club located in Trelleborg. Formed 6 December 1926, the club plays in Superettan, the second tier in the Swedish football league s ...

, before spending two years at

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. He would later return to Sweden, where he won two

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

titles with

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

. After two seasons with

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, he was signed for £2 million by

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, where he was not a regular. After four seasons in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

with PSV, he joined Kasımpaşa in Turkey on a free transfer in 2012. He returned to Djurgårdens IF in 2016 with which he won the 2017–18 Svenska Cupen before retiring in 2018. Isaksson earned 133 caps for the Sweden national team during his international career, which puts him joint-third in their list of most capped national players of all time together with Sebastian Larsson. He was included in the Swedish squads for the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s as well as the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Smygehamn, Isaksson began his senior career with

, where he played two seasons between 1998 and 1999. He became known as a great goalkeeping prospect and was thus bought by Italian club

in July 1999, but with the likes of Dutch international goalkeeper

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...

in the squad, Isaksson never played a competitive first-team game for the

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

-based club. In January 2001, Isaksson signed with

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

-based

in order to play first-team football. In his first two full seasons, in

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Djurgården won two-straight

titles as well as

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

. He was voted Swedish Goalkeeper of the Year for four consecutive years from 2002 to 2005. In July 2004, French club

signed him to replace

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

, and he became the starting goalkeeper.

Manchester City

After the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, Isaksson completed a £2 million move to

of the

on 15 August 2006. He was expected to replace David James as their first choice goalkeeper, but due to knee and ankle injuries and the form of Nicky Weaver, he did not achieve this. He made his debut on 9 December 2006, when he replaced the injured Weaver at half-time in a

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

match which City lost 3–1 to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. After his second start for City on 14 March 2007, he played all of the remaining ten games of 2006–07, keeping four clean sheets, and saved a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

from

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

on the last day of the season, although City nonetheless lost 2–1 to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Isaksson played the majority of City's next pre-season campaign in Sweden and Belgium, but after his thumb was fractured in a training session, he did not play for City in the first two months of 2007–08, picking up a knee injury right afterwards. Isaksson made his first appearance of the season for Manchester City by keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 away win against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

to put the team into the quarter-finals of the League Cup, on 31 October 2007. In November and December. he had a run of five league games in the first team, as part of a rotation used by manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

to decide upon his first-choice goalkeeper. His run, however, was ended by an injury. While he was out, England under-21 goalkeeper Joe Hart took over in goal and impressed. The youngster kept his place even after Isaksson returned to full fitness and the Swede was once again relegated to the bench. Manchester City confirmed that they would be willing to sell Isaksson at the end of the season, and his final appearance was in the humiliating 8–1 defeat by

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, which would have been even worse if not for several excellent saves by Isaksson.

PSV

Isaksson signed for Dutch champions PSV, thus enabling him to play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. He took over the number 1 shirt from

Heurelho Gomes Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born 15 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played for Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur and Watfor ...

, who had transferred to Tottenham. Isaksson tallied 124 league appearances for PSV before leaving the club in the summer of 2012 when his contract expired.

Kasımpaşa

On 9 July 2012, it was confirmed that Isaksson had left PSV after four seasons to join newly promoted Turkish side Kasımpaşa on a free transfer. On joining the club, Isaksson signed a three-year deal and became the Turkish side's sixth signing during the summer transfer window.

Return to Djurgårdens

On 11 August 2016, Isaksson signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with

, returning after 12 years away from Sweden and the club. On 24 August, he played his first game in his second spell for Djurgårdens in the Swedish Cup qualifier, a 5–1 win against Smedby. He conceded one goal in the final minute from a penalty. On 7 August 2017, Isaksson made his 100th match in Allsvenskan for Djurgårdens. On 10 May 2018, he played as they beat

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

3–0 in the Swedish Cup Final.

International career

While at Djurgården, Isaksson established himself as the second-choice goalkeeper after Magnus Hedman for the Sweden national team, making his international debut against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in March 2002. An injury to Hedman allowed Isaksson the opportunity to play for Sweden on a regular basis, playing in all but one of Sweden's qualifying matches for

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, and all of Sweden's matches during the tournament. Andreas Isaksson 20120611

Isaksson remained the first-choice goalkeeper for his national team since Euro 2004, making three appearances in the

in Germany. An injury prevented him from playing in more games. By July 2006, he had amassed 42 caps for his country. Isaksson was selected for Sweden's

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

squad, and appeared in all three of Sweden's group games. He kept a clean sheet in Sweden's first match against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, which ended 2–0, but Sweden were unable to reach the quarter-finals. Isaksson was also the first-choice goalkeeper through Sweden's disappointing qualification campaign for the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa as well as the qualifying rounds for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

in Poland and Ukraine. On 29 May 2012, national team manager

Erik Hamrén Erik Anders Hamrén (born 27 June 1957) is a Swedish manager and former football player, who most recently was the manager of Danish Superliga club AaB. He also previously coached the Sweden national team between 2009 and 2016 and the Iceland ...

announced his final 23-man squad for the Euros, including the vastly experienced Isaksson. Isaksson again appeared in all three group games as Sweden failed to make it out of the group, although he did keep a clean sheet in their 2–0 victory over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the final match. On 12 October 2012, in a World Cup qualifier in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

, Isaksson earned his 100th international cap while Sweden defeated the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

2–1. After Sweden's disappointing Euro 2016 performance, in which Sweden once again failed to progress from the group, Isaksson announced his intention to retire from international football. He amassed 133 caps for his country, effectively making him their third most capped player.

Coaching career

In 2019, Isaksson became goalkeeping coach for Fagersta Södra. He had the role until end of 2020. In April 2022, he was appointed goalkeeping coach of Djurgårdens women's team. After the 2022 Damallsvenskan season, he left the club.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Djurgårdens *

, 2017–18 PSV *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2011–12 * Johan Cruijff Shield:

Individual * Årets komet: 1999 * Swedish Goalkeeper of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 * Årets Järnkamin:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

Andreas Isaksson's profile, stats & pics
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Isaksson, Andreas 1981 births Living people People from Trelleborg Municipality Swedish men's footballers Footballers from Skåne County Men's association football goalkeepers Trelleborgs FF players Juventus FC players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players Stade Rennais FC players Manchester City F.C. players PSV Eindhoven players Allsvenskan players Ligue 1 players Premier League players Eredivisie players Sweden men's international footballers Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2012 players Swedish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in France Swedish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers FIFA Men's Century Club UEFA Euro 2016 players Süper Lig players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (women) non-playing staff 21st-century Swedish sportsmen Association football goalkeeping coaches