Erik Henry Sixten Nilsson (6 August 1916 – 9 September 1995) was a Swedish footballer who played as a left back. Nilsson played his youth days with Limhamns IF, before he moved in 1934 to Allsvenskan club Malmö FF, where he played until 1953. There he won five league titles and five Swedish Cups. During his playing days he rejected an offer from A.C. Milan.

Erik Nilsson
Erik Nilsson in May 1952
Personal information
Full name Erik Henry Sixten Nilsson
Date of birth (1916-08-06)6 August 1916
Place of birth Limhamn, Sweden
Date of death 9 September 1995(1995-09-09) (aged 79)
Place of death Höllviken, Sweden
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
0000–1933 Limhamns IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1934–1953 Malmö FF 326 (2)
International career
1938–1952 Sweden 57 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki
FIFA World Cup
Third place 1950 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Nilsson played 57 times for the Sweden men's national football team,[1] and participated in several international tournaments. He played in the 1938 FIFA World Cup, where Sweden finished fourth. He took part in the 1948 London Olympics,[2] where Sweden celebrated its best international result with a gold medal, defeating Yugoslavia 3–1 in the final. Two years later he competed in the 1950 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third, thus becoming one of only two players to play in World Cups before and after World War II (the other being Switzerland's Alfred Bickel). In the 1950 World Cup, Nilsson was also elected into the All-Star team of the tournament. He won another medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where Sweden won the bronze after defeating Germany 2–0.[3][4]

In 1950, Nilsson was awarded the Guldbollen as the year's best Swedish football player.[5] In 2003, he was inducted into the SFS Hall Of Fame.

Honours

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Malmö FF

Sweden

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Sweden men's national football team stats". passagen.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Erik Nilsson". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  3. ^ Erik Nilsson. sports-reference.com
  4. ^ Erik Nilsson. Swedish Olympic Committee
  5. ^ 1950: Erik Nilsson, Malmö FF. aftonbladet.se
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Malmö FF
Captain

1949–1953
Succeeded by