Nils-Eric Johansson

Nils-Eric Claes Johansson ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 13 January 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Stockholm, Johansson signed with FC Bayern Munich in 1997. He then went on to represent 1. FC Nürnberg, Blackburn Rovers, and Leicester City before returning to his native Sweden and the club AIK in 2007. He made 371 appearances for AIK until his retirement from football in 2018 due to a heart condition. He won three caps for the Sweden national team in 2002.

Club career

Early career

Initially on the books at IFK Viksjö, IF Brommapojkarna, AIK, and Bayern Munich, he moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in August 2000, before several clubs across Europe, including Blackburn Rovers, claimed special interest in the player.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Blackburn Rovers

He moved to Blackburn in October 2001 for a fee of £2,700,000, signing a four-year contract.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made his debut in a 4–1 loss against Liverpool. His next match was a 7–1 victory against West Ham United. He made his 75th appearance for Blackburn during the 2003–04 season. However, following Mark Hughes' arrival as Blackburn manager, he found first team chances few and far between. In his time at Blackburn he started in the 2002 Football League Cup Final in which they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1. He scored twice during his spell at Blackburn: once against Manchester City in the League Cup<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and once against Barnsley in the FA Cup.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Leicester City

He was released by Blackburn at the end of the 2004–05 season and joined Leicester City on a free transfer at the start of the 2005–06 season. His first goal for Leicester came in a 1–0 win against Cardiff in the League Cup.<ref name="Cardiff 0-1 Leicester">Template:Cite news</ref> Johansson's only league goal was a last minute winner against Preston in the 2006–07 season, which all but guaranteed Leicester's survival in the Championship.<ref name="Preston 0-1 Leicester">Template:Cite news</ref>

AIK

He was released by Leicester in May 2007 and shortly afterwards he signed for Swedish outfit AIK, where he was eligible from 1 July.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2009, he helped the team win Allsvenskan for the first time in 11 years.<ref name=":0" />

On 18 February 2018, it was announced that he would retire, effective immediately, due to a heart condition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He played a total of 371 competitive games for the club.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International career

After having appeared for more than 70 times for the Sweden U17, U19, and U21 teams, Johansson made his full international debut for Sweden on 21 August 2002 in a friendly game against Russia in which he replaced Johan Mjällby in the 66th minute.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later that year, he made two more appearances in friendly games against Portugal and the Czech Republic, coming on from the bench for Olof Mellberg and Erik Edman respectively.<ref name=":1" />

After more than a ten-year absence from the national team, he was called up as a replacement for Oscar Wendt for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Austria and the Faroe Islands, but did not play.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In total, Johansson won three caps for the Sweden.<ref name=":1" />

Post-playing career

In July 2024, Johansson was hired by Täby FK as assistant coach to Dalibor Savic.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Career statistics

Club

citation

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Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bayern Munich	1998–99	Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	–		2	0
	1999–2000	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
Bayern Munich II	1998–99	Regionalliga Süd	27	0	0	0	–		27	0
	1999–2000	Regionalliga Süd	26	1	0	0	–		26	1
	Total		53	1	0	0	–		53	1
1. FC Nürnberg	2000–01	2. Bundesliga	32	2	0	0	–		32	2
	2001–02	Bundesliga	8	0	0	0	–		8	0
	Total		40	2	0	0	–		40	2
Blackburn Rovers	2001–02	Premier League	20	0	8	2	–		28	2
	2002–03	Premier League	30	0	5	0	4	0	39	0
	2003–04	Premier League	14	0	1	0	–		15	0
	2004–05	Premier League	22	0	5	0	–		27	0
	Total		86	0	19	2	4	0	109	3
Leicester City	2005–06	Championship	39	0	4	0	–		43	0
	2006–07	Championship	36	1	2	0	–		38	1
	Total		75	1	6	0	–		81	1
AIK	2007	Allsvenskan	15	0	5	0	–		20	0
	2008	Allsvenskan	28	1	0	0	–		28	1
	2009	Allsvenskan	29	3	5	1	–		34	4
	2010	Allsvenskan	26	0	4	1	6	0	36	1
	2011	Allsvenskan	28	2	1	0	–		29	2
	2012	Allsvenskan	30	0	2	0	12	0	44	0
	2013	Allsvenskan	29	3	3	0	–		32	0
	2014	Allsvenskan	27	2	1	0	4	0	32	2
	2015	Allsvenskan	29	3	4	1	6	0	39	4
	2016	Allsvenskan	28	0	5	0	5	1	38	1
	2017	Allsvenskan	28	2	4	0	5	1	37	3
	2018	Allsvenskan	–		–		–		–
	Total		297	16	34	3	38	2	369	21
Career total			553	20	59	5	43	2	655	27

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name=":1" />

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Sweden	2002	3	0
Total		3	0

Honours

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1998–99, 1999–2000
• DFB-Pokal: 1999–2000

1. FC Nürnberg

• 2. Bundesliga: 2000–01

Blackburn Rovers

• Football League Cup: 2001–02<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

AIK

• Allsvenskan: 2009
• Svenska Cupen: 2009
• Svenska Supercupen: 2010

External links

• Template:NFT
• Nils-Eric Johansson at EliteFootball.com
• Template:Soccerway
• Template:SvFF player