Marcus Nilsson

Marcus Åke Jens-Erik Nilsson (born 26 February 1988) is a Swedish football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and since 2018, he has joined Eskilsminne IF.

Born in Rydebäck, Sweden, Nilsson played for his hometown club, Rydebäcks IF, before joining Helsingborg in 2003 when he was thirteen years old.

After progressing through the ranks at Helsingborgs, Nilsson was called up to the first team for the 2007 season and was involved in the first team pre-season matches.

Nilson appeared as an unused substitute in the Svenska Supercupen, as the club lost 1–0 against Elfsborg on 31 March 2007.

It wasn't until on 1 May 2007 when Nilsson was given a first team chance by then Manager Stuart Baxter when he made his debut for Helsingborgs, starting a match and played 70 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 loss against IF Elfsborg, With two appearances in the 2007 season, Nilsson signed a contract with the club in September 2007.

The 2008 season saw Nilsson struggling to make a breakthrough in the first team, with the likes of Joel Ekstrand, Andreas Granqvist and Samir Beloufa established himself in the central defence position.

Following the departure of Granqvist and the arrival of Hannu Patronen, he made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Göteborg on 8 July 2008.

From July to October, Nilsson had a handful of first team appearances and formed a central defence partnership with youngsters, Ekstrand.

However by October, he lost his first team place and was demoted to the substitute bench for the rest of the season.

At the end of the 2008 season, Nilsson went on to make eleven appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2009 season, Nilsson helped Helsingborgs IF side go to their winning form in the first three league matches to the season.

He then helped the club keep three clean sheets in the three matches between 29 April 2009 and 11 May 2009 against AIK, Malmö and IF Brommapojkarna.

Since the start of the 2009 season, Nilsson continued to establish himself in the first team, forming a centre–back partnership with Ekstrand.

Since the start of the 2009 season, Nilsson was an ever starting player in the first team this season until he was absent on two separate occasions throughout July.

In a match against FK Sarajevo in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League third round, Nilssson played 120 minutes, resulting in a penalty shootout with the opposition team winning 2–1 and successfully converted the penalty, which saw Helsingborgs IF eliminated from the tournament.

Following his return from suspension, he regained his first team place in the centre–back position.

This last until Nilsson was suspended that kept him out for the rest of the season.

At the end of the 2009 season, he went on to make thirty–four appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2010 season, Nilsson was in defensive first team position when he helped Helsingborgs IF keep four clean sheets in the first four league matches.

During which, Nilsson scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Djurgården on 29 March 2010.

Three weeks later on 20 April 2010, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Malmö.

This was followed up by helping the club keep three clean sheets in the next three matches between 26 April 2010 and 3 May 2010.

Since the start of the 2010 season, Nilsson started in every match, which saw Helsingborgs IF went on a twelve match unbeaten until he received a red card after a second bookable, in a 3–1 win over Gefle on 10 May 2010 After serving a one match suspension, Nilsson returned to the starting line–up against Halmstad on 22 May 2010, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win.

However, his return was short–lived when he was suspended for a match against BK Häcken on 26 July 2010 for picking up five yellow cards this season.

Despite being suspended twice during the 2010 season, Nilsson continued to regain his first team place for Helsingborgs IF, forming a centre–back partnership with Ekstrand and helping the club to keep their league title chance alive.

However, in the last game of the season against Kalmar, he started the whole game and helped Helsingborgs IF keep a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw but cost the club to win the league title, as title contender rival, Malmö FF, won the league following their win.

In a follow–up match, Nilsson started in the Svenska Cupen Final against Hammarby and helped Helsingborgs win the tournament by beating the opposition team 1–0 on 13 November 2010.

At the end of the 2010 season, he went on to make thirty-three appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

In the 2011 season, Nilsson started the season well when he scored the opener in a 2–1 win over Malmö to help Helsingborgs IF win the Svenska Supercupen.

Nilsson once again became a first team regular in the centre–back position, forming a partnership with Peter Larsson and Markus Holgersson.

He started the season with a good start by helping the club win the first four league matches, including three clean sheets against Mjällby, Elfsborg and Syrianska.

Since the start of the 2011 season, Nilsson started in every match until he was suspended for two matches for picking up three yellow cards so far this season.

After serving a two match suspension, Nilsson scored on his return from suspension in the last-16 of the Svenska Cupen, in a 2–1 win over Trelleborgs FF.

His performance attracted interests from clubs around Europe, including Danish side Copenhagen, who were interested in signing him and at one point, involved Peter Larsson as part of the exchange.

It came after when Helsingborgs IF began open talks with the player over a new contract.

Amid the transfer speculation, the club's supporters reacted positively towards Nilsson's transfer and welcomed his return in the near future when he played against Djurgårdens on 11 July 2011.

His last appearance for the club in a wake of his transfer move came on 18 July 2011 against Kalmar, in a 2–1 win, which Nilsson was in tears as a result.

Eventually, Nilsson opted to move abroad when he signed for Eredivisie side Utrecht, signing a four-year contract on 12 July 2011.

The transfer fee was reportedly between 10 and 15 million Krone.

Both performance resulted him and Ekstrand signing a contract extension, keeping him until 2012.