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

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 ...

who played as a left back. Nilsson played his youth days with Limhamns IF, before he moved in 1934 to Allsvenskan club

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association ...

, 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 Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

Career

Nilsson played 57 times for the Sweden national football team, 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, bea ...

, 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(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 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 Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish football award given by ''Aftonbladet'' and the Swedish Football Association to the best male Swedish footballer each year. History The award was created by Bengt Liljedahl and between 1946 to 1965 it was ...

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: 1934–35, 1935–36 *

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

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, 1947,

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 government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

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 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 third place *

: third place *

: fourth place Individual *

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1950 *

: 1950 * SFS Hall Of Fame: 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