Erik Henry Sixten Nilsson (6 August 1916 – 9 September 1995) was a Swedish footballer who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Nilsson played his youth days with Limhamns IF, before he moved in 1934 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 ...

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.

Career

Nilsson played 57 times for the

Sweden national football team The Sweden national football team ( sv, svenska fotbollslandslaget) represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is F ...

, and participated in several international tournaments. He played in the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

, where Sweden finished fourth. He took part in the

1948 London Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, 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 The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Alfred Bickel Alfred Bickel, also referred to as Fredy Bickel (12 May 1918 – 18 August 1999) was a Swiss football player and coach. He played as a forward for local club Grasshopper Club Zürich and the Switzerland national team, participating with the ...

). 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 The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, where Sweden won the bronze after defeating Germany 2–0.Erik Nilsson
Swedish Olympic Committee In 1950, Nilsson was awarded the Guldbollen as the year's best Swedish football player.1950: Erik Nilsson, Malmö FF
aftonbladet.se In 2003, he was inducted into the SFS Hall Of Fame.

Honours

Malmö FF * Swedish Champions: 1943–44, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53 *

Division 2 Södra Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics * Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military * Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...

: 1934–35, 1935–36 * Svenska Cupen:

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

Sweden *

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

winner *

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

third place *

: third place *

: fourth place Individual * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1950 * Guldbollen: 1950 *

SFS Hall Of Fame SFS may refer to: Places * Subic Bay International Airport (IATA airport code: SFS), Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Morong, Bataan, Olongapo, Central Luzon, Luzon, Philippines Computers * SAN file system * Self-certifying File System, a decentraliz ...

: 2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Erik 1916 births 1995 deaths Swedish footballers Footballers from Skåne County Sweden international footballers Allsvenskan players IF Limhamn Bunkeflo (men) players Malmö FF players 1938 FIFA World Cup players 1950 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Sweden Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Association football fullbacks