Lina Therese Nilsson (born 17 June 1987) is a Swedish retired

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 for

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård (), known as Malmö FF Dam () until 2007 and later LdB FC Malmö until 2013, is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons ...

and the Sweden national team. Normally a full-back, she can also play as a wide

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 ...

. She joined Malmö FF Dam in 2006 and has remained with the club through its different guises as LdB FC and FC Rosengård. Since winning her first Sweden

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

in July 2009, Nilsson has represented her country in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

editions of the

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...

, as well as the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

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 ...

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

s. She also played at the

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 ...

Olympic football tournament. On 5 October 2017, she announced her retirement from her playing career.

Club career

Nilsson began her career with smaller teams in her native

Skåne County Skåne County ( ), sometimes referred to as Scania County or just Scania in English, is the southernmost Counties of Sweden, county, or , of Sweden, mostly corresponding to the traditional Provinces of Sweden, province of Scania. It borders th ...

, before she arrived at local

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

club Malmö FF Dam in 2006. She had already been training once a week with Malmö while playing for Sjöbo IF in the lower leagues. Consistent right-back Nilsson was one of four players to collect winner's medals from each of the club's championship wins in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. In August 2015, team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Lina Nilsson signed a two-year contract extension with the club, now known as FC Rosengård.

International career

As a member of the Sweden under-19 team, Nilsson played in three matches at the

2006 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2006 Final Tournament was held in Switzerland between 11 and 22 July 2006. Germany won the cup after defeating France 3–0 in the final match. Players born after 1 January 1987 were eligible to participate in th ...

in Switzerland. She made her senior debut in July 2009, as a 55th-minute substitute for Anna Paulson in a 2–0 friendly win over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

at Stadsparksvallen,

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

. She almost marked her debut with a goal, but her shot hit the

crossbar Crossbar may refer to: Structures * Latch (hardware), a post barring a door * Top tube of a bicycle frame * Crossbar, the horizontal member of various sports goals * Crossbar, a horizontal member of an electricity pylon Other * In electroni ...

. National

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Thomas Dennerby Thomas Lennart Dennerby (born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish football manager. He managed Sweden to a third place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. He last served as the head coach of the India women's football team. Career Dennerby, the ...

selected Nilsson for

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

, where she appeared in three matches. She retained her squad place for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

in Germany, but

Annica Svensson Annica Birgitta Teres Svensson (born 3 March 1983) is a Swedes, Swedish former Association football, football Defender (football)#Wing back, defender who last played in Sweden for Eskilstuna United DFF. She previously played for Tyresö FF, and ...

was installed as the first-choice right-back. Nilsson did not feature until the quarter-final, where she was a late substitute in Sweden's 3–1 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Sweden's third-place finish at the World Cup ensured qualification for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Nilsson started two of

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 ...

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

games and was a substitute in the other one. Her two yellow cards meant she was suspended for the quarter-final and Annica Svensson played in the 2–1 defeat by

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 ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Incoming national coach

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. Currently, she is coaching Switzerland. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired as the top scorer fo ...

retained Nilsson and selected her in the squad for

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

, which Sweden hosted. After recovering from a foot injury, Nilsson played in two of Sweden's three

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

matches. Sundhage selected youngster Jessica Samuelsson at right-back for the knockout matches against

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In April 2014, Nilsson scored her first international goal, on the occasion of her 50th cap. It came in Sweden's 4–0 World Cup qualifying win over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football stadium in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C. Shamrock Park was previously used for stock-car racing, but this has since been discontinued. The stadium is classed as ...

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

. She added further goals in the return match with Northern Ireland and against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Ahead of the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

, Sundhage experimented with Nilsson in an unfamiliar left-back role. The move was designed to accommodate converted forward

Elin Rubensson Elin Ingrid Johanna Rubensson (born 11 May 1993) is a Swedish Women's association football, football midfielder who plays in the Damallsvenskan for BK Häcken FF, BK Häcken and the Sweden women's national football team, Swedish national team. S ...

at right-back. Nilsson adapted quickly to her new role, although her momentary "blackout" cost the team a goal in a 2–1 pre-tournament friendly defeat by the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Nilsson started Sweden's opening World Cup match at left-back, but struggled to contain

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

's winger

Asisat Oshoala Asisat Lamina Oshoala (born 9 October 1994) is a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Bay FC and the Nigeria women's nation ...

. Sweden surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 3–3. In Sweden's next match an improved performance secured a 0–0 draw with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with Nilsson pushed into a left-sided

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

role. In Sweden's 4–1 defeat by Germany in the second round, Nilsson replaced beleaguered left-back Samuelsson at half-time.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.''

Playing style

While naming his national team in 2009, coach Thomas Dennerby said of newly included Nilsson: "Lina is an attacking full-back who dares to go forward without neglecting her defensive duties." A ''

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...

'' preview of UEFA Women's Euro 2013 described Nilsson as more attacking and technical than her right-back rival Jessica Samuelsson, who was said to be more solid defensively. When handing Nilsson the FC Rosengård captaincy in 2015, coach Markus Tilly praised her on-pitch communication skills.

Honours

13 Nilsson Lina 130406 Sve-Isl 2-0 164543 0144

Club

;LdB FC Malmö / Rosengård *

(4): 2010,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

(3): 2011,

, 2015

International

;

Third place:

Notes

References

External links

* * *
National team profile
at

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association (, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and for women – and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a ...

(SvFF) *
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Lina 1987 births Living people Swedish women's footballers Sweden women's international footballers 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Sweden FC Rosengård players Sportspeople from Ystad Women's association football defenders Damallsvenskan players Footballers from Skåne County 21st-century Swedish sportswomen