Oscar Karl Niclas Hiljemark (; born 28 June 1992) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Starting off his career with

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

in 2010, he went on to represent PSV, Palermo,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, Panathinaikos, and

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

before retiring at AaB in 2021. A full international between 2012 and 2020, he won 28

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 Ja ...

for the Sweden national team and represented his country at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Hiljemark played for Swedish top team

. He was chased by many clubs in Sweden in his youth but decided to sign a youth contract with Elfsborg in 2008. He participated in many national team camps as a young player, and was predicted a great career for his mature style of play.

IF Elfsborg

Two years after signing with Elfsborg, at the age of 18, he earned a place in the senior team after playing in the Elfsborg and Sweden national youth teams. During his first year in the Elfsborg senior team he played 4 games in Allsvenskan and 2 games in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualifications. He played 30 minutes in the Europa League play-off match against

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The game ended with a 2–0 loss for Elfsborg after two goals from

Edinson Cavani Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...

. He made his first team debut in Elfsborg's 2–2 draw away at

IF Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish football club located in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality. Brommapojkarna is t ...

on 26 September 2010, and scored his first goal against Syrianska FC in a 2–1 home victory on 27 June 2011. At the age of 18 in his debut season 2011, he was nominated as newcomer of the year, being the youngest of the nominated. He also won the prestigious Månadens Tipselitspelare prize with the jury's citation: "Oscar Hiljemark has been endowed with a massive winning attitude that he has used to the competitive environment for the optimum development. He is a talented player who works hard and takes a mature responsibility from his midfield position." Players who also won the prize are

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg (; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional footballer and manager who played as a winger. He was most recently a former assistant coach, and interim head coach of Arsenal. He began his career at Hal ...

Johan Elmander Johan Erik Calvin Elmander (; born 27 May 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Holmalunds IF in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmar ...

, Olof Mellberg and

Kim Källström Kim Mikael Källström (; born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional 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 in Sweden, winning cons ...

. After a successful 2011 season, Hiljemark was scouted and chased by clubs such as

and Club Brugge, but Elfsborg ignored the bids, as they want him for a few more seasons.

PSV Eindhoven

On 4 January 2013, Hiljemark signed with PSV until 2017, for €2.2 million. He made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

debut on 26 January 2013 in a 5–1 away victory against Heracles Almelo, replacing

Tim Matavž Tim Matavž (born 13 January 1989) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Croatian club Gorica. Club career Matavž began his football career at the age of 6 playing for Bilje. In 2004, he moved to Gorica youth ...

. He scored his first goal on 17 August 2013 in a convincing 3–0 victory against Go Ahead Eagles. With the likes of

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known simply as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. Memphis began his professional career with PSV Ein ...

and

Georginio Wijnaldum Georginio Gregion Emile Wijnaldum (formerly Boateng; born 11 November 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Netherlands national team. A ...

in the midfield, however, Hiljemark struggled to find consistent minutes. Injuries also prevented him from establishing any sort of rhythm. Despite 49 league appearances for PSV, mostly as a late substitute, Hiljemark managed just 2 league goals in 2 years for his club.

Palermo

After winning the 2015 U21 European Championship, several teams were interested in the Swedish midfielder. He moved to Italian team Palermo for €2 million (plus €500,000 in add-ons), signing a four-year contract. In ''Rosanero'', he joined U21 teammate

Robin Quaison Robin Kwamina Quaison (, ; born 9 October 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi club Al-Ettifaq and the Sweden national team. Career Born in Stockholm to a Ghanaian father and a Swedish mother, Quaison st ...

. He recorded his first

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

goal on 13 September 2015 against Carpi, a game that ended in a 2–2 draw. Six days later, he scored a brace against

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, tying the game twice before a 2–3 loss. Hiljemark's brilliant start to the season attracted the attention of bigger clubs. He was linked with Italian giants

and

for a possible transfer, as well as

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

teams

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

and

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

. Towards the end of the

2015–16 Serie A The 2015–16 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 114th season of top-tier Italian football, the 84th in a round-robin tournament, and the 6th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season, Palermo looked to be in danger of being relegated. In the last game of the season, Hiljemark provided a crucial assist for

Franco Vázquez Franco Damián Vázquez (; born 22 February 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie B club Parma and the Argentina national team. Beginning his career with Argentine club Belgrano in 2007, V� ...

in a 3–2 victory against

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

to clinch a spot for Palermo in the

2016–17 Serie A The 2016–17 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 115th season of top-tier Italian football, the 85th in a round-robin tournament, and the 7th since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...

season. Hiljemark played in all 38 matches of Palermo in that season.

Genoa

On 26 January 2017, Palermo have officially announced that Oscar Hiljemark has joined

, on loan with an obligation to buy. The Grifone have been trying to reinforce their midfield, and it emerged that they were close to the Swedish midfielder.

Loan to Panathinaikos

On 31 August 2017, Genoa midfielder Oscar Hiljemark arrived in Athens to complete his loan move to Panathinaikos, with the latter retaining the option to purchase the player at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 30 September 2017, he scored his first goal with the club in a 2–0 home Super League win game against

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...

. On 30 January 2018, Hiljemark's loan spell from Genoa was terminated by mutual consent, mainly because of the player's unwillingness to continue under the club's financial decline and interruption of funding.

Loan to Dynamo Moscow

On 1 September 2019, Hiljemark joined Russian club

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Foot ...

on loan for the 2019–20 season.

AaB and retirement

On 5 October 2020, Hiljemark signed a deal until June 2023 with

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

club AaB. On 16 June 2021, at the age of only 28, he announced his retirement after prolonged problems with injuries, particularly a recurring hip injury. AaB announced that Hiljemark will work as an assistant coach instead on a contract until 30 June 2024.

International career

Youth

Hiljemark made his debut for Sweden U21 on 9 February 2011 in a 1–3 loss against Portugal U21. He captained Sweden U21 throughout their successful 2015 U21 European Championship campaign, in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Senior

Hiljemark was selected for the annual training camp for the Sweden national team in January 2012. He made his debut for Sweden in a friendly against

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

on 18 January 2012, scoring his first goal for his country. Due to his involvement with the U-21 squad, Hiljemark was not regularly selected for the senior team until after the 2015 U21 European Championship. He received his first big call-up to the senior side in November 2015 against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs. He came on in the 81st minute of the second leg for

Sebastian Larsson Bengt Ulf Sebastian Larsson (; born 6 June 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Beginning his career at hometown club IFK Eskilstuna, Larsson was signed by Arsenal. He made three Premier League appearanc ...

. Hiljemark then was announced to be one of the 23 players called up for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

campaign. In May 2018 he was named in Sweden's 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and played in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

games against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year International goals

Honours

Elfsborg * Allsvenskan:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

;PSV *

: 2014–15 Sweden U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

: 2015 Records * Most caps for the Swedish Under-21 team: 37

References

External links

*
Oscar Hiljemark
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiljemark, Oscar 1992 births Living people Swedish footballers Swedish expatriate footballers Sweden youth international footballers Sweden under-21 international footballers Sweden international footballers Association football defenders IF Elfsborg players PSV Eindhoven players Palermo F.C. players Genoa C.F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players FC Dynamo Moscow players AaB Fodbold players Allsvenskan players Eredivisie players Serie A players Super League Greece players Russian Premier League players Danish Superliga players UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players People from Gislaved Municipality Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Denmark Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark AaB Fodbold managers Danish Superliga managers Sportspeople from Jönköping County