Jan Viktor Olsson (18 March 1944 – 18 May 2023) was a Swedish 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 ...

. He represented

GAIS Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, and

Örgryte IS Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...

during a club career that spanned between 1965 and 1977. A full international between 1967 and 1973, he won 22

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 ...

and scored one goal for the Sweden national team and played at the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...

. He was awarded

Guldbollen Guldbollen (''Golden Ball'') is a Swedish Association football, 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 betw ...

as Sweden's best footballer of the year in 1970.

Club career

Olsson played for

Gais Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

before he became a professional with

in 1969. In 1971, he returned to Gais. He is remembered as a rough midfielder and defender.

International career

In the

Olsson played the first two matches against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he marked the Italian forward Gigi Riva with tenacity and vigor, and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. However he did not play the last match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In total he was capped 22 times for the Sweden national team.

Post-playing career

Olsson was the manager of

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

from July 1994 until September 1995.

Death

Olsson died on 18 May 2023, at the age of 79.

Honours

Individual * Stor Grabb: 1969 *

: 1970

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsson, Jan 1944 births 2023 deaths People from Sotenäs Municipality Footballers from Västra Götaland County Swedish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Sweden men's international footballers 1970 FIFA World Cup players Bundesliga players GAIS players VfB Stuttgart players Örgryte IS players Swedish football managers Eintracht Braunschweig managers Swedish expatriate men's footballers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany Expatriate football managers in Germany Swedish expatriate football managers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in West Germany 20th-century Swedish sportsmen