Erik Gustav Roger Israelsson (born 25 February 1989) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Starting off his career with Kalmar FF in 2008, he went on to represent

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...

, PEC Zwolle, and

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

before retiring at Kalmar FF in 2022.

Club career

Early career and Kalmar

Israelsson joined Kalmar FF in 2005 from local club Lindsdals IF. He played three games during the

2008 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan 2008, part of the 2008 Swedish football season, was the 84th Allsvenskan season played. The first match was played on 30 March 2008 and the last matches were played on 9 November 2008. Participating clubs Managers League t ...

, when Kalmar were crowned champions. He became a regular at Kalmar from 2010 and onwards, playing 76 games during the following three seasons and scoring 13 times. Before the start of the

2013 Allsvenskan The 2013 Allsvenskan, part of the 2013 Swedish football season, was the 89th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The 2013 fixtures were released on 14 December 2012. The season started on 31 March 2013 and ended on 3 November 2 ...

he incurred a fractured toe witch eventually caused him to miss half of the season.

Hammarby

On 6 December 2013, he signed for

. This shortly after

Nanne Bergstrand Kurt Arne "Nanne" René Bergstrand (born 28 April 1956) is a Swedish football manager and former football player. He has previously coached Helsingborgs IF, Östers IF, Kalmar FF and Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan. His over ten-year tenure as manage ...

, his former manager at Kalmar, had been appointed as Hammarby's new manager. During his first season at Hammarby, he helped he team to gain promotion to

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

. In 2015, he scored six goals in 22 games, being voted "player of the year" by the supporters of the club. In a local derby against AIK on 27 September 2015, he scored a late header which secured a 1–0 win for Hammarby. In the aftermath of the goal, he suffered a concussion as well as a broken foot. This goal was later voted as the "goal of the season" by the Hammarby supporters. On 1 February 2016, he signed a new three-year deal with Hammarby, tying him to the club until 2018. In the 2016 season Israelsson was the club's top scorer, managing to strike 10 goals in the league play.

Zwolle

On 14 January 2017, it was announced that Israelsson had signed a 2.5-year deal with Dutch Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle. The transfer fee was undisclosed. He made his competitive debut for the side on 5 February 2017 in a game against

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

. Israelsson was brought on as a substitute during the final stage of the game, scoring only minutes later whilst securing a 3–2 win for Zwolle.

Vålerenga

Israelsson first joined Vålerenga on loan in 2018, and then signed permanently until 2020.

Return to Kalmar and retirement

Israelsson announced his return to Kalmar FF ahead of the

2020 Allsvenskan The 2020 Allsvenskan, part of the 2020 Swedish football season, was the 96th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. A total of 16 teams participated. Djurgårdens IF were the defending champions after winning the title in the pr ...

season. He announced his retirement from professional football on 23 September 2022 after battling multiple injuries during his second stint at Kalmar FF.

International career

Israelsson represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams between 2006 and 2008, winning a total of 9 youth caps.

Honours

;Kalmar *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Supercupen:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

;Hammarby *

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

References

External links

* * 1989 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Swedish men's footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers Sweden men's youth international footballers Swedish expatriate men's footballers Kalmar FF players Hammarby Fotboll players PEC Zwolle players Vålerenga Fotball players Allsvenskan players Superettan players Eredivisie players Eliteserien players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Sportspeople from Kalmar Footballers from Kalmar County Lindsdals IF players {{Sweden-footy-bio-stub