Simon Olsson (born 14 September 1997) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Allsvenskan club Elfsborg and the Sweden national team.
[1] Olsson started his senior career with local fifth tier side AFK Linköping in 2013, before moving to the youth system of IF Elfsborg in 2014.
He made his debut for Elfsborg's senior team in 2016, but his breakthrough came the following season in 2017, where he started 25 matches and registered 2 goal contributions.
After making 170 appearances and scoring 13 times for Elfsborg across 6 years, he left for Eredivisie team Heerenveen in 2022.
Born in Linköping, Olsson started with local team IK Östria Lambohov at the age of 7 or 8, where his father and older brother also played.
[4] After Karle IF, he joined AFK Linköping in the fifth division, which was a newly formed merger club consisting of his former team IK Östria Lambohov and BK Kenty.
[2][7][8] While playing for Elfsborg's youth team, Olsson attended the Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet and was accommodated at the Gula Kulan student dormitory.
[11] The team also made good progress in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League, but ultimately lost in the Round of 16 against Real Madrid.
Following his successful stint in the youth team, Olsson made his senior debut in a cup match against IK Gauthiod that finished in a 7–0 victory for Elfsborg, coming on for Simon Lundevall.
[26] In January 2018, Elfsborg received a bid from an Italian team for Olsson which was ultimately rejected.
[32] Olsson played the full 90 minutes in Elfsborg's 2019 opening match, on 17 February, in a 5–1 cup victory against Hässleholms.
[37] After a preseason which included a tour in the USA, Olsson started the first match of 2020, a 3–0 victory against Brage in the cup on 22 February.
[38][39] However, the Allsvenskan Västderby season opener against Göteborg was postponed to 14 June due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
[46] Olsson scored in a 2–2 draw against AIK on the last matchday on 6 December, securing second place in the league for Elfsborg.
[60] Olsson started the 2022 season with a cup match on 19 February against GIF Sundsvall, which finished 3–2 to Elfsborg.
[65] Olsson also started the second leg on 29 July, which finished 2–1 to Molde, eliminating the team from the Conference League.
These included Norwegian Rosenborg BK and Dutch sides SC Heerenveen and FC Utrecht.
[84] However, with the appointment of Robin van Persie as Heerenveen manager in May 2024, Olsson's starting place was under doubt.
[85] He was therefore linked with a return to Sweden, with Allsvenskan sides Djurgården and former team Elfsborg each submitting bids for Olsson for the following 2024–25 winter transfer window.
[93][25] Following the passing of his father, Olsson received the news that he would be selected for the senior Sweden national team to play in upcoming friendlies.