UEFA EURO qualifiers Sweden vs Romaina 20190323 Kristoffer Olsson and Razvan Marin

Mats Kristoffer Olsson (born 30 June 1995) is a Swedish 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 plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

IK Sleipner Idrottsklubben Sleipner is a sports club in Norrköping, Sweden; the main sports are football and ten-pin bowling. It was founded in 1903, and named after the deity Odin's horse Sleipnir from Norse mythology. Currently, the club's senior men's t ...

. A full international since 2017, Olsson has won 47

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

in Sweden, Olsson started his career at

. When he was 13, Olsson was offered a trial at English club Chelsea, however he didn't attend and subsequently moved to

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollför ...

. When he was 16, Olsson garnered interest by European clubs such as

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 ...

and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, as well as domestically from

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

. However, he signed for Arsenal in 2011 for £200,000 after having spent two previous trial periods with Arsenal. While on trial at Arsenal, he played for Arsenal's under-16s against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and was invited to take part in the ''Ferrolli Cup'' and the ''Nike Cup'' as a result of his performances. Olsson revealed that it was the drive of

Arsenal Academy The Arsenal Academy was a military academy in Columbia, South Carolina, originally established in 1842 as an independent school by the state of South Carolina. In 1845, the academy became a component of the South Carolina Military Academy (now ...

manager,

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer and pundit. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for ...

, who persuaded

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

to sign him, that persuaded Olsson himself to sign for Arsenal.

Arsenal

Olsson first played for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

during their 2013 pre-season tour of the Far East. He scored his first goal for Arsenal against the Indonesia national team at

Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (; literal translation, literally "Bung Karno Sports Arena Main Stadium"), formerly Senayan Main Stadium and Gelora Senayan Main Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located at the center of the Gelora Bung Karno Spor ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

following a cross from

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who was the Captain (association football), captain of the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic national team for a ten-y ...

. Olsson made his full competitive debut for Arsenal on 25 September 2013 as an 84th-minute substitute for

Isaac Hayden Isaac Scot Hayden (born 22 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for EFL Championship club Portsmouth, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United. Born in England, he plays for the Ja ...

in a League Cup game against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, in which he scored a penalty kick where Arsenal came out winners and proceeded to the next round.

FC Midtjylland

On 2 September 2014, Arsenal announced that Olsson moved to

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

in Denmark on loan until the end of 2014. He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 home win against OB Odense, coming on for

Pione Sisto Pione Sisto Ifolo Emirmija (; born 4 February 1995) is a Danish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, left winger for Greek club Aris Thessaloniki F.C., Aris. He began his professional career with FC Mid ...

in the 78th minute. On 27 December 2014, the Danish club announced that a permanent deal had been agreed with Arsenal to make Olsson's loan move permanent, with the player himself signing a new three-and-a-half-year contract.

AIK

On 31 January 2017, Olsson signed for

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 ...

club AIK.

Krasnodar

On 7 January 2019, it was announced that Olsson had signed a contract with

FC Krasnodar FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. They are the league's reigning champions. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Divis ...

of the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

Anderlecht

On 21 July 2021, he signed a four-year contract with Belgian club

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

Return to FC Midtjylland

On 31 August 2022, Olsson returned to his former club

on a season-long loan deal with a purchase option. In July 2023, he completed a permanent move to the club.

International career

Olsson has represented Sweden at various youth levels and his style of play has been compared to former Swedish Arsenal players such as

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg ( ; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is also a former Manager (association football), manager, and was most recent ...

and

Sebastian Larsson Bengt Ulf Sebastian Larsson (; born 6 June 1985) is a Swedish former professional Football player, footballer who played as a midfielder. Beginning his career at hometown club IFK Eskilstuna, Larsson was signed by Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. He made ...

. In January 2015 he received his first call up to the senior

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

squad for friendlies against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. However, in his first training session with the team he broke his leg. Olsson was, in May 2017, called up to the

's squad for the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

to be held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. On 20 November 2018, Olsson played his first competitive match for Sweden against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Friends Arena Nationalarenan, known as Strawberry Arena since 2024 for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the City Centre, it is the largest stadi ...

in Stockholm, in the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

. Olsson started in the midfield and played almost the entire match. It ended as a 2–0 victory for the home side, which earned Sweden promotion to League A in the next edition of the tournament, as well as a play-off spot for

Personal life

In February 2024, Olsson collapsed in his home and was rushed to the

Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus University Hospital (AUH) is a university hospital located in Aarhus, Denmark. The hospital develops and provides highly specialised medical treatment, research and education at an international level. The university hospital's headquarters ...

and put on a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathi ...

. His club,

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

, put out a statement, in which they stated that the illness was related to the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

. They also added that the condition was not related to self-harm or external factors. On 7 March, Midtjylland put out a statement saying that after numerous scans and examinations, doctors diagnosed that the collapse was caused by several small

blood clots A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulati ...

in both sides of the brain caused by an extremely rare inflammatory condition in the

cerebral arteries The cerebral arteries describe three main pairs of artery, arteries and their branches, which perfusion, perfuse the cerebrum of the brain. The three main arteries are the: * ''Anterior cerebral artery'' (ACA), which supplies blood to the medial ...

. On 14 April, the club announced that Olsson had made significant progress, regaining

motor control Motor control is the regulation of movements in organisms that possess a nervous system. Motor control includes conscious voluntary movements, subconscious muscle memory and involuntary reflexes, as well as instinctual taxes. To control ...

and his ability to speak, while continuing his rehabilitation at Hammel Neurocenter. On 26 May, he surprisingly came onto the pitch after Midtjylland's Superliga title win, and presented the trophy to the team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Midtjylland *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

: 2014–15, 2023–24 AIK *

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 ...

Sweden U21 *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

Kristoffer Olsson
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Kristoffer 1995 births Footballers from Norrköping Living people Swedish men's footballers Sweden men's international footballers Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Arsenal F.C. players FC Midtjylland players AIK Fotboll players FC Krasnodar players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Danish Superliga players Allsvenskan players Russian Premier League players Belgian Pro League players UEFA Euro 2020 players Swedish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium 21st-century Swedish sportsmen