Robin Patrick Olsen (; born 8 January 1990) is 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

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 ...

club Aston Villa and the Sweden national team.

Club career

Early life and career

Olsen's parents are Danish and he used to hold a Danish passport, but grew up in Sweden. He began his career playing for

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 ...

youth teams before moving to the academy of BK Olympic. At the age of 16 he joined IF Limhamn Bunkeflo and made his debut in the Swedish second tier of a year later. Following a knee injury he went on to play for Bunkeflo FF and IFK Klagshamn.

Malmö FF

In 2011, Olsen re-joined Malmö FF. He made his Allsvenskan debut on 1 October 2012 in an away fixture against Syrianska FC, when first choice goalkeeper Johan Dahlin was suspended, and kept a clean sheet as the match ended 2–0 in Malmö's favour. In the match on 5 April 2013 against

Åtvidabergs FF Åtvidabergs Fotbollförening, also known simply as Åtvidabergs FF, Åtvidaberg, Åtvid or (especially locally) ÅFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Åtvidaberg. The club is affiliated with Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and ...

Dahlin had to be substituted at half time for an injury and Olsen once again took his place. Olsen then managed to hold a clean sheet in the remaining part of the match as well as a further three matches before conceding a goal in stoppage time in his fourth match of the season in the away fixture against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

. Olsen kept Dahlin out of the starting eleven for some further matches before he was given the place on the bench once again. In total Olsen played 10 matches for Malmö FF during the league title winning 2013 season, an unusual feat for a second choice goalkeeper. Prior to the start of the 2014 season the club sold Johan Dahlin, making Olsen the first choice goalkeeper. In the 2014 season, Olsen made 29 out of 30 league appearances and was a vital piece of the team that defended the clubs league title and qualified for the group stage of the

2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...

. For his performances in the league Olsen was awarded Allsvenskan goalkeeper of the year. He was also nominated for Swedish goalkeeper of the year at Fotbollsgalan.

PAOK

Olsen signed a four-year contract with Greek team

PAOK F.C. P.A.O.K. FC ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, '' Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstadinoupolitón'', "Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of ...

on 1 July 2015, with a transfer fee of nearly €650,000 being paid to Malmö.

Copenhagen

On 26 January 2016, Olsen would join F.C. Copenhagen on loan for six months, to cover for the injured Stephan Andersen. F.C. Copenhagen wanted to make the loan move permanent, and on 24 May 2016 Olsen signed a four-year contract with the club for a transfer fee of almost €600,000.

Roma

In July 2018, Olsen signed a five-year contract with the Italian club

A.S. Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its existence, except for ...

with a reported fee worth up to €12,000,000, replacing the outgoing

Alisson Becker Álisson Ramsés Becker (born 2 October 1992), known as Alisson Becker or simply Alisson, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded to ...

. He marked his debut for the team with a clean sheet in a 1–0 away victory against Torino F.C. on 19 August 2018. Olsen was eventually replaced by veteran

Antonio Mirante Antonio Mirante (born 8 July 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AC Milan. Club career Juventus and loans After starting his professional career with Juventus, Mirante was loaned to Crotone in 2004, ...

by interim manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

towards the end of the season. In total, Olsen made 35 appearances in his sole season at Roma, conceding 58 goals and keeping just seven clean sheets.

Loan to Cagliari

In August 2019, Olsen joined

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia. In the 2022-23 season, they compete in Serie B. As of 2021–22, the team is temporarily playing their home games at the 16,416-sea ...

on a season-long loan. On 25 November 2019, Olsen was sent off in an away game against

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

for pushing

Gianluca Lapadula Gianluca Lapadula Vargas (born 7 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Cagliari. Born in Italy, he represents the Peru national team. Early life Lapadula was born in Turin on 7 February 1990, to Gianfran ...

, who in turn had pushed Olsen for kicking the ball away. Both players were sent off, received a fine of €10,000, and Olsen was suspended for the next four

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 ...

matches.

Loan to Everton

Olsen joined

club Everton on a season-long loan on 5 October 2020. He played his first game for Everton on 1 November, away from home in the league against Newcastle United, in place of Jordan Pickford who had played 120 consecutive league games prior to that fixture. Everton lost the game 2–1. Olsen played his second game for Everton on 16 December 2020, away from home in the league against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. Everton won the game 0–2 with Olsen keeping a clean sheet. Olsen also kept a clean sheet in his last game for Everton against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

12 April 2021. The goalkeeper impressed on the occasions he stepped into the side in place of Jordan Pickford. Despite

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

's initial desire to bring the 31-year-old to Goodison Park on a permanent basis, the surprise exit of the Italian in the summer seemingly scuppered any hope of that taking place. While Everton instead brought both Asmir Begovic and

Andy Lonergan Andrew Michael Lonergan (born 19 October 1983) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton. Lonergan is a former England ...

to Merseyside to provide back-up to Pickford, Olsen opted to move to Sheffield United on loan.

Loan to Sheffield United

On 31 August 2021, Olsen joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. He made his debut on 14 September 2021, in a 2–2 draw against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Olsen picked up an injury while on international duty in mid-November and did not play after that.

Loan to Aston Villa

On 18 January 2022, Olsen was recalled from his Sheffield United loan, in order to join Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. On 22 May 2022, Olsen made his first appearance for Aston Villa in a 3–2 away defeat to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

on the final day of the season. The match was significant in the race between City and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the three points leading to Manchester City winning the Premier League title. Amidst the post-match celebrations, Olsen was assaulted during a pitch invasion by Manchester City fans. Manchester City released a statement saying that "the club has launched an immediate investigation and once identified, the individual responsible will be issued with an indefinite

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

ban."

Aston Villa

On 4 June 2022, Olsen signed for Aston Villa on a permanent basis, for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the region of £3m. On 29 October 2022, he made his first appearance since signing for Villa permanently in an away defeat to Newcastle United, coming off the bench to replace

Emiliano Martínez Damián Emiliano Martínez (born 2 September 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest leve ...

, who had suffered a suspected concussion.

International career

Olsen was eligible for international play for both

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. When he came to Malmö FF he said that he would prefer to play for Denmark but in 2014 he opted to play for Sweden according to Danish international coach

Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...

. On 15 January 2015, he made his debut for Sweden in a friendly fixture against the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. In May 2016, Olsen was called up for Sweden's squad for

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 o ...

, as back-up keeper for

Andreas Isaksson Jan Andreas Isaksson (; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Isaksson began his career at local Trelleborgs FF, before briefly representing Juventus. He would later return to Sweden, where ...

. After Sweden's early exit from the tournament, Isaksson retired and Olsen became Sweden's first-choice goalkeeper. In May 2018 he was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

in Russia. At the 2018 World Cup, Olsen started in all five games for Sweden as they were eliminated by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the quarter final.

Personal life

In March 2021, Olsen and his family were threatened with a

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by a masked gang during a raid on their home in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

, Greater Manchester. The gang stole jewellery and a luxury watch during the burglary.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Bunkeflo FF * Division 5 Skåne Sydvästra A: 2010 IFK Klagshamn * Division 2 Södra Götaland:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Malmö FF * Allsvenskan:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

Copenhagen *

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 yea ...

: 2015–16, 2016–17 *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

: 2015–16, 2016–17 Individual * Allsvenskan goalkeeper of the year:

* Swedish Goalkeeper of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

References

External links

Profile
at the Aston Villa F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Robin 1990 births Living people Footballers from Malmö Swedish people of Danish descent Swedish footballers Sweden international footballers IF Limhamn Bunkeflo (men) players Malmö FF players PAOK FC players F.C. Copenhagen players A.S. Roma players Cagliari Calcio players Sheffield United F.C. players Everton F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Allsvenskan players Superettan players Ettan Fotboll players Division 2 (Swedish football) players Super League Greece players Danish Superliga players Serie A players Association football goalkeepers Swedish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy UEFA Euro 2016 players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players BK Olympic players Premier League players Swedish victims of crime