Jakob Johansson

For other people named Jakob Johansson, see Jakob Johansson (disambiguation).

Jakob Valdemar Olsson Johansson (born 21 June 1990) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Becoming the first player born in the 1990s to play in Allsvenskan while at IFK Göteborg, he went on to represent AEK Athens and Rennes before retiring at IFK Göteborg in 2021. A full international between 2013 and 2019, he won 18 caps for the Sweden national team and is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs against Italy when Sweden qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 12 years.

Jakob Johansson

Johansson with AEK Athens in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Jakob Valdemar Olsson Johansson
Date of birth	(1990-06-21) 21 June 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Trollhättan, Sweden
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
0000–2005	Trollhättans BoIS
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Trollhättans BoIS
2006	FC Trollhättan	20	(0)
2007–2014	IFK Göteborg	163	(18)
2015–2018	AEK Athens	96	(7)
2018–2020	Rennes	16	(1)
2018–2019	→ Rennes II	2	(0)
2020–2021	IFK Göteborg	18	(0)
Total		315	(26)
International career
2006–2007	Sweden U17	13	(6)
2008–2010	Sweden U19	12	(1)
2009–2012	Sweden U21	15	(2)
2013–2019	Sweden	18	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

IFK Göteborg

Born in Trollhättan, Johansson's first club was Trollhättans BoIS. He was brought to IFK Göteborg, together with manager Jonas Olsson, from FC Trollhättan. On 27 June 2007, he became the first player born in the 1990s to have played in the top league of Sweden, Allsvenskan when he debuted for his IFK Göteborg.^[2]

AEK Athens

On 28 December 2014, Johansson signed a 3.5-year contract with AEK Athens.^[3] On 22 August 2015, he made his debut in Super League Greece helping his team AEK win 3–0 against Platanias. On 22 November 2015, he scored his first season goal with a header in AEK Athens' away win against Panthrakikos.^[4] On 21 December 2015, the 15th matchday of the season, he again netted with a header giving his club the lead in 2–1 home defeat against Levadiakos.^[5] He finished the 2015–16 season with seven goals, including a header against Panathinaikos in a 3–1 victory.

Johansson started the 2016–17 season as a key player for the team in midfield.^[6] In the late days of July 2017 AEK made a last effort to extend Johansson's contract, which is set to expire on 30 June 2018.^[7] On 20 August 2017, he scored in the opening match of the season against Panetolikos, which ended as a 2–0 home win.^[8] Johansson started the 2017–18 season as a key player for the team in midfield.

Rennes

He signed for the Ligue 1 club Rennes in the summer of 2018.^[9]

Return to IFK Göteborg and retirement

In 2020, he return to IFK Göteborg after six years abroad.^[10] On 22 June 2021, after suffering many injuries in the latest years, he decided at the age of only 31 to retire from professional football, citing his injuries as the reason that obliged him to retire.^[11]

International career

Johansson made his international debut in a friendly against North Korea on 23 January 2013.^[12] He made his competitive debut in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against France on 11 November 2016.^[13] On 10 November 2017 the Swedes won against Italy 1–0 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Second Round first leg at the Friends Arena, and the only goal coming when Jakob Johansson drilled home from 20 yards, via a Daniele De Rossi deflection.^[14] On 13 November 2017, in the game where Sweden held on to force a goalless draw in the second leg at the San Siro to defeat the Italians 1–0 on aggregate in their Russia 2018 World Cup play-off, Johansson faced an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for 11 months. Consequently, he also missed the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[15][16]

Style of play

Johansson was a box-to-box midfielder, with his stand-out features being his physical strength, marking, accurate passing and overall significance in build-up play.

Personal life

His older brother Rickard Johansson is a former goalkeeper.^[17]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[18]

Club	Season	League			National cup[lower-alpha 1]		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
IFK Göteborg	2007	Allsvenskan	9	0	4	0	—		13	0
	2008	Allsvenskan	15	2	4	2	0	0	19	4
	2009	Allsvenskan	17	1	3	1	1	0	21	2
	2010	Allsvenskan	26	4	2	2	2	0	30	6
	2011	Allsvenskan	20	2	3	0	—		23	2
	2012	Allsvenskan	22	0	1	0	—		23	0
	2013	Allsvenskan	27	5	7	1	2	0	36	6
	2014	Allsvenskan	27	4	5	1	6	1	38	6
	Total		163	18	29	7	11	1	203	26
AEK Athens	2014–15	Super League Greece 2	21	1	5	0	—		26	1
	2015–16	Super League Greece	34	5	8	2	—		42	7
	2016–17	Super League Greece	33	0	5	1	1	0	39	1
	2017–18	Super League Greece	8	1	1	0	8	0	14	1
	Total		96	7	19	3	9	0	124	10
Rennes	2018–19	Ligue 1	16	1	2	0	4	0	22	1
	2019–20	Ligue 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		16	1	2	0	4	0	22	1
IFK Göteborg	2020	Allsvenskan	18	0	1	0	1	0	20	0
	2021	Allsvenskan	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		18	0	1	0	1	0	20	0
Career total			293	26	51	10	25	1	369	37

1. Includes Svenska Cupen, Greek Cup, Coupe de France

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[19]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Sweden	2013	1	0
	2014	2	0
	2015	0	0
	2016	2	0
	2017	10	1
	2018	2	0
	2019	1	0
Total		18	1

International goals

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 November 2017	Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden	Italy	1–0	1–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

IFK Göteborg

• Allsvenskan: 2007
• Svenska Cupen: 2008, 2012–13, 2019–20

AEK Athens

• Super League Greece: 2017–18
• Greek Cup: 2015–16
• Football League: 2014–15 (South Group)

Rennes

• Coupe de France: 2018–19

Individual

• Årets ärkeängel (IFK Göteborg player of the year as decided by the supporters): 2012^[20]

References

1. "Johansson". Stade Rennais F.C. (in French). 8 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
2. "Förste 90-talisten i allsvenskan" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.
3. "KLART: Jakob Johansson till AEK Aten" (in Swedish). Fotbolltransfers. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
4. "Poyet had predicted Johannson goal". www.sdna.gr. 22 November 2015.
5. "Levadiakos shock AEK in Olympic Stadium". www.sdna.gr. 21 December 2015.
6. "Θέλει τον Γιόχανσον η Ρεν". www.sport24.gr. 27 November 2015.
7. "Ξεκαθαρίζει άμεσα του Γιόχανσον". www.sport24.gr. 29 July 2017.
8. "ΑΕΚ-Παναιτωλικός 2-0!" (in Greek). Retrieved 20 August 2017.
9. "Officiellt: Jakob Johansson klar för Rennes". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
10. "Jakob tillbaka i Blåvitt". IFK Göteborg – Hela stadens lag (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
11. "Γιόχανσον: Ανακοίνωσε το πρόωρο τέλος της καριέρας του σε ηλικία 31 ετών λόγω των τραυματισμών" [Johansson: Announced an early ending to his career at the age of 31 due to injuries]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
12. "Stark landslagsdebut av Jakob Johansson". 23 January 2013.
13. "Jakob Johanssons ord efter succédebuten". 11 November 2016.
14. Sweden-Italy 1–0
15. Η συγκλονιστική περιγραφή του Γιόχανσον για τον τραυματισμό του
16. Χιμένεθ: "Να ξεπεράσουμε και τον τραυματισμό του Γιόχανσον"
17. "Rickard Johansson at Fotbolltransfers.com" (in Swedish). Fotbolltransfers.
18. "J. Johansson". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
19. "Jakob Johansson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
20. "Alla 48 ärkeänglar | ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 1 March 2021.

External links

• Jakob Johansson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)