Jan Peter Nilsson (born 1 February 1974) is a Swedish former

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He made 12

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 ...

appearances for

Västra Frölunda IF Västra Frölunda Idrottsförening (English: Västra Frölunda Sports Association) is a Swedish football club located in Gothenburg. It was formed on 2 January 1930 and has played ten seasons in the Allsvenskan, the highest Swedish league. In t ...

in 1999, scoring one goal. A former college athlete, he holds the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

-era record at Wilmington College for the most goals scored in a single season with 20 goals in 17 games.

Career

Early career and Wilmington College

Nilsson started off his career at Askims IK before moving to the United States to play collegiately for Wilmington College's Fightin' Quakers under head coach Bud Lewis. While at Wilmington, he set the college's Men's Soccer Single Season (

era) record for goals scored with 20 goals in 17 games. He was the first Wilmington College soccer player to score that many goals since

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n Steve Spirk scored 22 goals in 1979 when the college was a part of the NAIA. At the end of the 1997 season, the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

named Nilsson First-Team All-Ohio and First-Team All-Mideast.

Allsvenskan

After returning to his native Sweden, Nilsson went on to play for the

club

and scored 1 goal in 12 games as the team finished seventh in the table during the

1999 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan 1999, part of the 1999 Swedish football season, was the 75th Allsvenskan season played. Helsingborgs IF won the league ahead of runners-up AIK, while Kalmar FF, Malmö FF and Djurgårdens IF were relegated. Summary *On 30 October 19 ...

season. In a

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 ...

game against

Trelleborgs FF Trelleborgs Fotbollsförening, more commonly known as Trelleborgs FF or simply Trelleborg, is a Swedish football club located in Trelleborg. Formed 6 December 1926, the club plays in Superettan, the second tier in the Swedish Football system. T ...

in the spring of 1999, Nilsson was involved in an on-field incident where Trelleborg's goalkeeper Daniel Andersson broke his arm. This incident infamously opened up for the then 17-year-old future Sweden national team goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson's breakthrough as Andersson's replacement.

Return to the United States

After his stint with Västra Frölunda in Allsvenskan, Nilsson returned to the United States to again play collegiate soccer, this time for Southampton College of Long Island University and its Southampton Colonials. During the 2000 NCAA season, he scored 18 goals and was the top scorer in the

NYCAC The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

, ultimately earning him a place in the

All-Northeast Regional team. The following year, during the 2001 NCAA season, he was once again the NYCAC top scorer, scoring 26 goals in 17 games which as of 2002 was the fourth best goal record in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

history.

Iceland stint

During the summer break from college in 2001, Nilsson went together with his Southampton Colonials teammate Ragnar Árnason to Iceland to play for the

Garðabær Garðabær () is a municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. History Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. It is the sixth largest town in Iceland with a population of 13,872 (Sept 1, 2013). The site of Garðabær has been in ...

club

Stjarnan Ungmennafélagið Stjarnan, commonly known as Stjarnan, is an Icelandic multi-sports club specialising in handball, football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics located in Garðabær.and in the top 10 in the World and they have won the League ...

in 1. deild karla – the Icelandic second tier. Nilsson scored 2 goals in 13 league games for Stjarnan during the 2001 1. deild karla season. He also scored 1 goal in 1 game in the 2001 Icelandic Cup, and 4 goals in 2 games in the 2001 Icelandic League Cup.

Return to Sweden

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he helped

Qviding FIF Qviding FIF is a Swedish football club located in Gothenburg. The club was formed October 1987 following a merger of the BK Qviding and Fräntorps IF clubs. Qviding FIF is currently playing in Division 1 Södra. In recent years the club has h ...

win promotion to

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

as the team finished first in

Division 2 Västra Götaland Division 2 is the fourth level in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 84 Swedish football teams. Division 2 had status as the official second level from 1928 to 1986 but was replaced by Division 1 in 1987. It then had status ...

Honours

Qviding FIF *

Individual *

All-Mideast Regional team: 1997 *NSCAA All-Ohio team: 1997 *NSCAA All-Northeast Regional team: 2001 *

Men's Soccer top scorer: 2000, 2001 Records * Wilmington College Men's Soccer Single-Season Leaders (NCAA Era) – Goals: 20 goals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Peter Living people 1974 births Swedish men's footballers Allsvenskan players Qviding FIF players Västra Frölunda IF players Wilmington College (Ohio) alumni Stjarnan players Men's association football forwards Swedish expatriate men's footballers Wilmington Quakers athletes