Kristoffer Olsson Explained

Kristoffer Olsson
Fullname:Mats Kristoffer Olsson[1]
Birth Date:30 June 1995
Birth Place:Norrköping, Sweden
Height:1.78 m
Position:Midfielder
Currentclub:Midtjylland
Clubnumber:8
Youthyears1:–2005
Youthclubs1:IK Sleipner
Youthyears2:2005–2011
Youthclubs2:IFK Norrköping
Youthyears3:2011–2013
Youthclubs3:Arsenal
Years1:2013–2014
Clubs1:Arsenal
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:2014
Clubs2:Midtjylland (loan)
Caps2:6
Goals2:0
Years3:2015–2017
Clubs3:Midtjylland
Caps3:44
Goals3:2
Years4:2017–2019
Clubs4:AIK
Caps4:58
Goals4:7
Years5:2019–2021
Clubs5:Krasnodar
Caps5:59
Goals5:4
Years6:2021–2023
Clubs6:Anderlecht
Caps6:36
Goals6:0
Years7:2022–2023
Clubs7:Midtjylland (loan)
Caps7:23
Goals7:5
Years8:2023–
Clubs8:Midtjylland
Caps8:13
Goals8:0
Nationalyears1:2010–2012
Nationalteam1:Sweden U17
Nationalcaps1:19
Nationalgoals1:3
Nationalyears2:2012–2014
Nationalteam2:Sweden U19
Nationalcaps2:15
Nationalgoals2:2
Nationalyears3:2014–2017
Nationalteam3:Sweden U21
Nationalcaps3:27
Nationalgoals3:6
Nationalyears4:2017–
Nationalteam4:Sweden
Nationalcaps4:47
Nationalgoals4:0
Club-Update:13 December 2023
Nationalteam-Update:17:05, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Mats Kristoffer Olsson (born 30 June 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish club FC Midtjylland and the Sweden national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Norrköping in Sweden, Olsson started his career at IK Sleipner. When he was 13, Olsson was offered a trial at English club Chelsea, however he didn't attend and subsequently moved to IFK Norrköping. When he was 16, Olsson garnered interest by European clubs such as Juventus and Ajax, as well as domestically from IFK Göteborg. However, he signed for Arsenal in 2011[2] for £200,000 after having spent two previous trial periods with Arsenal.[3] While on trial at Arsenal, he played for Arsenal's under-16s against Crystal Palace and was invited to take part in the Ferrolli Cup[4] and the Nike Cup as a result of his performances. Olsson revealed that it was the drive of Arsenal Academy manager, Liam Brady, who persuaded Arsène Wenger to sign him, that persuaded Olsson himself to sign for Arsenal.[5]

Arsenal

Olsson first played for Arsenal during their 2013 pre-season tour of the Far East. He scored his first goal for Arsenal against the Indonesia national team at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta following a cross from Tomáš Rosický.[6] Olsson made his full competitive debut for Arsenal on 25 September 2013 as an 84th-minute substitute for Isaac Hayden in a League Cup game against West Bromwich Albion, in which he scored a penalty kick where Arsenal came out winners and proceeded to the next round.[7]

FC Midtjylland

On 2 September 2014, Arsenal announced that Olsson moved to FC Midtjylland in Denmark on loan until the end of 2014.[8] He made his debut for the club in a 3–2 home win against OB Odense, coming on for Pione Sisto in the 78th minute.[9] On 27 December 2014, the Danish club announced that a permanent deal had been agreed with Arsenal to make Olsson's loan move permanent, with the player himself signing a new three-and-a-half-year contract.[10]

AIK

On 31 January 2017, Olsson signed for Allsvenskan club AIK.[11]

Krasnodar

On 7 January 2019, it was announced that Olsson had signed a contract with FC Krasnodar of the Russian Premier League.[12] [13]

Anderlecht

On 21 July 2021, he signed a four-year contract with Belgian club Anderlecht.[14]

Return to FC Midtjylland

On 31 August 2022, Olsson returned to his former club FC Midtjylland on a season-long loan deal with a purchase option.[15] In July 2023, he completed a permanent move to the club.[16]

International career

Olsson has represented Sweden at various youth levels and his style of play has been compared to former Swedish Arsenal players such as Freddie Ljungberg and Sebastian Larsson. In January 2015 he received his first call up to the senior Sweden squad for friendlies against Ivory Coast and Finland. However, in his first training session with the team he broke his leg.[17] Olsson was, in May 2017, called up to the Sweden's squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship to be held in Poland.[18]

On 20 November 2018, Olsson played his first competitive match for Sweden against Russia at Friends Arena in Stockholm, in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Olsson started in the midfield and played almost the entire match. It ended as a 2–0 victory for the home side, which earned Sweden promotion to League A in the next edition of the tournament, as well as a play-off spot for UEFA Euro 2020.

Personal life

In February 2024, Olsson collapsed in his home and was rushed to the Aarhus University Hospital and put on a ventilator. His club, Midtjylland, put out a statement, in which they stated that the illness was related to the brain. They also added that the condition was not related to self-harm or external factors.[19] On 7 March, Midtjylland put out a statement saying that after numerous scans and examinations, doctors diagnosed that the collapse was caused by several small blood clots in both sides of the brain caused by an extremely rare inflammatory condition in the cerebral arteries. On 14 April, the club announced that Olsson had made significant progress, regaining motor control and his ability to speak, while continuing his rehabilitation at Hammel Neurocenter.[20] On 26 May, he surprisingly came onto the pitch after Midtjylland's Superliga title win, and presented the trophy to the team.[21]

Career statistics

Club

[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal2013–14Premier League00100010
Midtjylland2014–15Danish Superliga1002000120
2015–16Danish Superliga27110100381
2016–17Danish Superliga1311180222
Total50241180723
AIK2017Allsvenskan2923060382
2018Allsvenskan2955141387
Total58781101769
Krasnodar2018–19Russian Premier League601040110
2019–20Russian Premier League2710070341
2020–21Russian Premier League2631080353
Total59420190804
Anderlecht2021–22Belgian Pro League3305040420
2022–23Belgian Pro League30003060
Total3605070480
Midtjylland (loan)2022–23Danish Superliga2451070325
Midtjylland2023–24Danish Superliga1301060200
Total37520130525
Career total2401822267132921

International

.[23]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden201710
201840
2019100
202070
2021130
202280
202340
Total470

Honours

Midtjylland

AIK

Sweden U21

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barclays Premier League: notification of shirt numbers. Premier League . 1 . 16 August 2014 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085139/http://www.premierleague.com/content/dam/premierleague/site-content/News/publications/squad-lists/Barclays-Premier-League-Squad-Numbers-2014-15.pdf . 19 August 2014.
  2. Web site: Young Guns: Kristoffer Olsson . Arsenal.com . 14 November 2011 . 26 September 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927212235/http://www.arsenal.com/news/reserves-news/young-guns-kristoffer-olsson . 27 September 2013 .
  3. Web site: Next big thing at Arsenal? The youth international impressing in pre-season . talkSPORT . 30 June 1995 . 26 September 2013.
  4. Web site: Arsenal Complete Ferroli Cup Group Stages – Young Guns | Arsenal News.
  5. Web site: 8, kl 15.24 . FREDAGSFOKUS: Svensken i Arsenal om Wilsheres beröm – och pingisbråket med PL-stjärnan – Engelska ligan . fotbollskanalen.se . sv . 28 January 2013 . 26 September 2013.
  6. Web site: Marioni . Massimo . Olivier Giroud at the double as Arsenal smash seven past Indonesia Dream Team . Metro . 14 July 2013 . 26 September 2013.
  7. Web site: West Bromwich Albion vs. Arsenal – 25 September 2013 . Soccerway . 18 January 2013 . 26 September 2013.
  8. Web site: Olsson joins FC Midtjylland on loan . 2 September 2014 . . 27 December 2014.
  9. Web site: Hattrick-Sly sænkede OB i overtiden . da . 12 September 2014 . . 27 December 2014 . 27 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141227162453/http://fcm.dk/nyheder/hattrick-sly-s%C3%A6nkede-ob-i-overtiden . dead .
  10. Web site: Lang kontrakt til svensk teenage-talent . da . 27 December 2014 . . 27 December 2014 . 27 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141227162250/http://fcm.dk/nyheder/lang-kontrakt-til-svensk-teenage-talent . dead .
  11. Web site: Kristoffer Olsson klar för AIK Fotboll. sv . 31 January 2017 . AIK Fotboll . 31 January 2017.
  12. Web site: AIK. Kristoffer Olsson lämnar AIK Fotboll. Kristoffer Olsson leaves AIK Football. 7 January 2019. 7 January 2019. sv.
  13. Web site: FC Krasnodar. "КРАСНОДАР" ДОСТИГ ДОГОВОРЕННОСТИ О ТРАНСФЕРЕ КРИСТОФФЕРА ОЛССОНА. Krasnodar reaches agreement on the transfer of Kristoffer Olsson. 7 January 2019. 7 January 2019. ru.
  14. Web site: Anderlecht. SWEDISH MIDFIELDER KRISTOFFER OLSSON JOINS RSC ANDERLECHT. 21 July 2021.
  15. Web site: FC MIDTJYLLAND HENTER KRISTOFFER OLSSON . fcm.dk . 31 August 2022 .
  16. Web site: Kristoffer Olsson makes permanent switch to FC Midtjylland . R.S.C. Anderlecht . 3 July 2023 .
  17. News: Sweden's Olsson breaks leg in training. 13 November 2015. uk.reuters.com. 12 January 2015.
  18. Web site: Truppen till U21-EM uttagen. Svenskfotboll. 30 May 2017. 1 June 2017. sv.
  19. News: 27 February 2024 . Meddelelse om Kristoffer Olsson . FC Midtjylland . da .
  20. Web site: Kristoffer Olsson gør store fremskridt . FC Midtjylland . 19 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240417054519/https://www.fcm.dk/nyheder/kristoffer-olsson-goer-store-fremskridt/ . 17 April 2024 . da-DK . 14 April 2024.
  21. News: Damm . Thomas . Guldcomeback til Olsson: Kristian Bach Bak var chauffør . 19 June 2024 . Herning Folkeblad . 26 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240531002321/https://www.herningfolkeblad.dk/artikel/063e8c36-3837-4205-9f08-0aa1d2b38d15/ . 31 May 2024 . da.
  22. Web site: K. Olsson. Soccerway. 22 January 2019.
  23. Web site: Landslagsdatabasen - Kristoffer Olsson. Svenskfotboll.