Samuel Tobias Holmén (born 28 June 1984) 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

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 ...

. Holmén's favourite position was in the central midfield, and his style of play was that of a

box-to-box In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

player, being a good defensive ball winner, as well as a good playmaker and goal scorer. Starting off his career with

IF Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional association football, football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Alls ...

in 2002, he went on to play in Denmark and Turkey before returning to Elfsborg and Swedish football in 2017. He retired from professional football in 2021. A full international between 2006 and 2013, he won 32

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

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

Club career

IF Elfsborg

Holmén was born in

Annelund Ljung and Annelund () is a locality situated in Herrljunga Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,215 inhabitants in 2020. The locality was formed by Statistics Sweden from the separate localities of Ljung and Annelund between ...

just outside

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...

, and started playing football in

Annelunds IF Annelunds IF is a Swedish football club located in Ljung in Herrljunga Municipality, Västra Götaland County. Background Since their foundation in 1924 Annelunds IF has participated mainly in the lower divisions of the Swedish football league s ...

. In 1998, he went to

. After a few years in the youth squad he was promoted to the first squad, and made his debut when he came on as a substitute in the semi-final of the Swedish Cup in September 2002. He quickly became a first team regular, and was considered to be one of the most promising Swedish footballers.

Brøndby IF

On 30 August 2007 Holmén transferred to

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 ...

club

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

signing a four-year contract.

İstanbul BB

In July 2010, Holmén left Danish side

to sign with Turkish club Büyükşehir Belediyespor. He started 100 matches in the first eleven. His contract ended in June 2013.

Fenerbahçe and loans

On 18 June 2013, Holmén signed with Fenerbahçe for a three-year deal after successfully passing the medical tests. In August 2014, Holmén was loaned to

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

for one season. On 21 August 2015, Holmén was loaned to

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

for one season.

Return to İstanbul Başakşehir

In June 2016, Holmén signed a two-year contract with

İstanbul Başakşehir Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

after his Fenerbahçe contract expired.

Return to IF Elfsborg

Holmén returned to IF Elfsborg during the

2017 Allsvenskan The 2017 Allsvenskan, part of the 2017 Swedish football season, is the 93rd season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. The season began on 1 April 2017 and ended on 5 November the same year. Fixtures for the 2017 season were announce ...

season. He announced his retirement after the

2021 Allsvenskan The 2021 Allsvenskan was the 97th season since its establishment in 1924 of Sweden's top-level football league, Allsvenskan. A total of 16 teams participated. Malmö FF were the defending champions after winning the title in the previous season, ...

season.

International career

Having represented the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Holmén made his full international debut for

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 ...

on 11 November 2006 in a friendly 1–0 loss to the

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 ...

when he came on as a substitute for

Petter Hansson Carl Johan Petter Hansson (; born 14 December 1976) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He most notably represented Halmstads BK, SC Heerenveen, Rennes, and Monaco during a career that spanned between 1994 and ...

in the 85th minute. His first international goal came in a friendly against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win on 13 January 2008. His first competitive appearance for Sweden came in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 6 September 2008, when he replaced

Kim Källström Kim Mikael Källström (; born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He was noted for his play-making ability and free-kick taking. He started his career at several clubs i ...

in the 84th minute of a 0–0 draw. Holmén would go ahead and score his first competitive international goal only four days later on 10 September 2008, in a 2–1 win against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in the same World Cup qualifying campaign. Holmén was named in Sweden's squad for

, and appeared in the last group stage game against

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 ...

as Sweden failed to reach the tournament's

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

Personal life

His brother,

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

, is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.'' List of international goals scored by Samuel Holmén

Honours

IF Elfsborg *

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 ...

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 ...

* Swedish Cup:

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 ...

Brøndby *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

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 ...

Fenerbahçe *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2013–14

References

External links

*
Samuel Holmén
at Brondby.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmen, Samuel 1984 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Swedish men's footballers Sweden men's international footballers Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers IF Elfsborg players Brøndby IF players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Bursaspor footballers Konyaspor footballers Allsvenskan players Danish Superliga players Süper Lig players Swedish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey UEFA Euro 2012 players Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark People from Herrljunga Municipality Footballers from Västra Götaland County 21st-century Swedish sportsmen