Magdalena Eriksson

Magdalena Eriksson

Eriksson after a match with Chelsea in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Magdalena Lilly Eriksson [1]
Date of birth	(1993-09-08) 8 September 1993 (age 30) [2]
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [3]
Position(s)	Centre-back, left-back
Team information
Current team	Bayern Munich
Number	5
Youth career
	Enskede IK
2009–2010	Hammarby IF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011	Hammarby IF	19	(0)
2012	Djurgårdens IF	19	(1)
2013–2017	Linköpings FC	88	(5)
2017–2023	Chelsea	104	(8)
2023–	Bayern Munich	12	(4)
International career‡
2008	Sweden U15	2	(0)
2009	Sweden U16	8	(1)
2009–2010	Sweden U17	18	(3)
2011–2012	Sweden U19	24	(0)
2013	Sweden U23	4	(0)
2014–	Sweden	109 [4]	(12)
Medal record Women's football Representing   Sweden Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team 2020 Tokyo Team FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 France 2023 Australia/New Zealand UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship Winner 2012 Turkey
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 April 2024

Magdalena Lilly Eriksson (also Ericsson, born 8 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Frauen-Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and the Sweden national team. ^[5] Primarily a centre-back, she can also play as a left-back.

At the beginning of her professional career, Eriksson played for the Stockholm clubs Hammarby IF and Djurgårdens IF until she moved to Linköpings FC in 2013, where she won two cup titles and the league title in 2016 during her five years at the club.

In 2017, Eriksson moved to England and signed for Chelsea in the Women's Super League (WSL). There, she established herself as one of the best central defenders in the league and was named team captain in 2019. With Chelsea, she won five WSL titles, and also reached the final of the UEFA Women's Champions League in the 2020–21 season. In 2020, she was named Swedish Footballer of the Year.

Eriksson, like her partner Pernille Harder, is also known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy and LGBTQ+ rights in sport. ^{[6] [7]}

Club career

Eriksson began her football career with local team Enskede IK, but was encouraged by her father to join Hammarby IF in order to improve her game. Aged 17, she broke into Hammarby's first team in the 2011 Damallsvenskan season and made her debut against Umeå IK. ^[8]

In November 2011, Eriksson left relegated Hammarby for their Stockholm rivals Djurgårdens IF. ^[9] After scoring one goal in 19 appearances in the 2012 Damallsvenskan, she left Djurgården, who were facing relegation, and joined Linköpings FC. ^[10]

Eriksson (blue) with Chelsea in 2021

In July 2017, after almost five years with Linköpings FC, Eriksson signed a two-year contract with Women's Super League team Chelsea Ladies. ^{[11] [12]} In August 2018, she extended her contract until 2021, ^[13] and eventually became the team's captain in 2019. ^[14] She extended her contract once again in November 2020, this time until 2023. ^[15] On 9 December 2020, Eriksson made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 5–0 Champions League win over Benfica. ^[16]

Her performances over the years, especially following Chelsea's WSL title-winning 2020–21 season, have seen Eriksson hailed as one of the best defenders in Europe. ^[17] After six years with Chelsea, for whom she made over 180 appearances and won over 10 trophies, Eriksson left the club at the end of the 2022–23 season along with her partner Pernille Harder. ^[18]

On 1 June 2023, Eriksson and Harder were unveiled as a new players of Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, signing three-year contracts. ^{[19] [20]} In December's Champions League clash against Ajax, she suffered a broken metatarsal in her left foot, which required surgery. ^[21] She returned to the team three months later, in March 2024, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 5–0 victory over RB Leipzig. ^[22]

International career

As a Swedish under-19 international, Eriksson was part of the victorious squad at the 2012 U-19 European Championship. ^[23] In November 2013, national team coach Pia Sundhage called her to a senior squad training camp at Bosön. ^[24] Eriksson made her debut for the senior Sweden team in a 3–0 friendly defeat by France in Amiens on 8 February 2014. She was part of the Swedish squad that won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics. ^[25] Eriksson has since represented Sweden at every major tournament, namely UEFA Women's Euro 2017, 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, ^[26] 2020 Summer Olympics, ^[27] UEFA Women's Euro 2022, ^[28] and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. ^[29] At the 2020 Olympics, she won the silver medal after Sweden lost to Canada in the final on penalties. ^[30]

Personal life

Eriksson's mother is of Finnish descent. ^[31] She is openly lesbian and, since 2014, in a relationship with Danish international Pernille Harder. ^{[32] [33] [34]} She and Harder work with the charity Common Goal and pledged 1% of their salaries to help tackle social issues throughout football. The couple also both push for equality and LGBTQ+ rights in sport. ^[35]

During her upbringing, she assumed her last name was spelled with a C because that was how her father spelled it. When she was 17 and looked in her passport she realised it was actually spelled with a K. As such, her last name is often misspelled as "Ericsson" rather than the correct "Eriksson". ^[36]

Eriksson has a bachelor's degree in political science and took a course in feminist theory and intersectional power analysis. ^[37]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 May 2023 ^{[4] [38]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Leagues			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Continental [lower-alpha 3]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hammarby IF	2011	Damallsvenskan	19	0	2	0	—		—		—		21	0
Djurgårdens IF	2012	Damallsvenskan	19	1	2	0	—		—		—		21	1
Linköpings FC	2013	Damallsvenskan	19	2	5	0	—		—		—		24	2
	2014		16	0	4	0	—		—		—		20	0
	2015		22	1	5	0	—		6	1	1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	34	2
	2016		21	2	5	2	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	27	4
	2017		10	0	0	0	—		—		—		10	0
	Total		88	5	19	2	0	0	6	1	2	0	115	8
Chelsea	2017–18	Women's Super League	15	2	5	0	3	0	8	0	—		31	2
	2018–19		19	2	4	0	5	0	7	0	—		35	2
	2019–20		14	1	2	0	7	2	—		—		23	3
	2020–21		20	1	4	0	5	1	6	0	1 [lower-alpha 5]	0	36	2
	2021–22		16	1	2	1	0	0	6	0	—		24	2
	2022–23	20	1	5	0	2	0	9	0	—		36	1
Total		104	8	22	1	22	3	36	0	1	0	185	12
Career total			230	14	45	3	22	3	42	1	3	0	342	21

1. Includes Svenska Cupen Damer and Women's FA Cup
2. Includes FA Women's League Cup
3. Includes UEFA Women's Champions League
4. Appearance(s) in Svenska Supercupen
5. Appearance(s) in Women's FA Community Shield

International

Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Eriksson goal.

List of international goals scored by Magdalena Eriksson

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 January 2016	Prioritet Serneke Arena, Gothenburg, Sweden	Scotland	2–0	6–0	Friendly
2	21 October 2016	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Iran	2–0	7–0	Friendly
3				4–0
4				7–0
5	30 August 2018	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Ukraine	2–0	3–0	2019 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	4 October 2019	Diósgyőri Stadion, Miskolc, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2022 qualifying
7	17 September 2020	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Hungary	4–0	8–0	UEFA Euro 2022 qualifying
8	22 October 2020	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Latvia	4–0	7–0	UEFA Euro 2022 qualifying
9	30 July 2021	Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan	Japan	1–0	3–1	2020 Olympics
10	21 September 2021	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Georgia	2–0	4–0	2023 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	22 September 2023	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Spain	1–0	2–3	2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League
12	27 October 2023	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Switzerland	1–0	1–0	2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League

Honours

Linköpings FC

• Damallsvenskan: 2016
• Svenska Cupen: 2013–14, 2014–15

Chelsea

• Women's Super League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
• Women's FA Cup: 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
• FA Women's League Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
• FA Community Shield: 2020

Bayern Munich

• Frauen-Bundesliga: 2023–24

Sweden U19

• UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship: 2012

Sweden

• Summer Olympic Games silver medal: 2016, 2020 ^[39]
• FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2019, 2023
• Algarve Cup: 2018

Individual

• Diamantbollen: 2020 ^[40]
• Fotbollsgalan – Swedish Defender of the Year: 2020, 2021
• FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2021 ^[41]
• FA WSL PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20, ^[42] 2020–21 ^[43]

References

1. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 List of Players – Sweden" (PDF). FIFA. 27 May 2019. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. "Magdalena Eriksson – Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté". sok.se.
3. "Magdalena Eriksson". Chelsea F.C. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
4. "Magdalena Eriksson – Spelarstatistik Svensk Fotboll" . Retrieved 10 June 2021.
5. Magdalena Eriksson Archived 20 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine . nbcolympics.com
6. Burhan, Asif. "Chelsea's Pernille Harder And Magda Eriksson Proud To Be LGBTQ+ Ambassadors". Forbes. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
7. Chulani, Nikhita (7 August 2019). "'We're powerful together': Harder and Eriksson on being a gay couple in football – video". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
8. Andersdotter, Anna (19 May 2011). "Morsning Magda!". Hammarby IF DFF. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
9. "Hammarby tappar Magdalena Ericsson". Damfotboll.com (in Swedish). 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
10. "Ännu en vinnare till LFC" (in Swedish). Linköpings FC. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
11. "Linköpings FC – Linköpings Fotboll Club". Linköpings Fotboll Club.
12. "Ladies sign Sweden international". Chelsea F.C. 15 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
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15. "Captain Eriksson pens new deal". Chelsea F.C. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
16. "Women's Match Report: Benfica 0 Chelsea 5". Chelsea F.C. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
17. Ruszkai, Ameé (10 May 2021). "Miedema, Kerr and the Women's Super League team of the season". goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
18. "Chelsea: Pernille Harder & Magdalena Eriksson to leave club in summer". BBC Sport. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
19. "Chelsea: Bayern Munich sign Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson from WSL champions". BBC Sport. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
20. "Bayern Munich sign Chelsea pair Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson on three-year deals". Sky Sports. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
21. "Magdalena Eriksson has operation on broken metatarsal". FC Bayern Munich. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
22. "Siegesserie ausgebaut! FCB-Frauen jubeln gegen Leipzig im Sondertrikot" (in German). FC Bayern Munich. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
23. Hammarlund, Pauline (13 July 2012). "Hammarlund's inside track on finalists Sweden". Uefa.com. Antalya: UEFA . Retrieved 29 June 2014.
24. Åhlin, Per. "Ericsson uttagen i landslaget" (in Swedish). Östgöta Correspondenten . Retrieved 29 June 2014.
25. Magdalena Eriksson Archived 26 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine . rio2016.com
26. "Women's World Cup: Magdalena Eriksson is enthusiastic about next stages". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
27. Eriksson, Mia (18 July 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: Can Magda Eriksson be the golden ticket for Sweden?". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
28. "Magdalena Eriksson » Internationals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
29. "Women's World Cup 2023: Sweden veteran Caroline Seger to play at fifth World Cup". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
30. "Women Olympic Games 2021 Tokyo – Final". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
31. "Ruotsin supertähdet odottavat Suomen kohtaamista EM-pettymyksen jälkeen – Chelsea-kapteenilta yllättävä paljastus: "Äitini on suomalainen"". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
32. Wrack, Suzanne (13 February 2018). "Pernille Harder: 'I was the only girl in the team but they wanted to play with me'". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 February 2018.
33. Ames, Nick (7 August 2019). "Harder and Eriksson: 'After the photo people wrote and said how much we'd helped'". The Guardian. Wolfsburg. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
34. "Pernille Harder & Magdalena Eriksson: Chelsea's football power couple". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
35. Chulani, Nikhita (7 August 2019). "'We're powerful together': Harder and Eriksson on being a gay couple in football – video". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
36. Bråstedt, Mats. ""Det är min pappa som har lurat mig"" (in Swedish). Expressen . Retrieved 1 August 2017.
37. "Eriksson hemma" (in Swedish). Sport Bladet. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
38. "M. Eriksson". soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
39. "Magdalena Eriksson". Olympics.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
40. Andersson, Louise (24 November 2020). "Magdalena Eriksson vinner Diamantbollen 2020" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
41. "2020–2021 Women's FIFA FIFPRO World 11 revealed". FIFPRO. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
42. "Bethany England named number one by peers". Chelsea F.C. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
43. "Chelsea players, including Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr, dominate PFA WSL Team of the Year". Sky Sports. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2023.

External links

• Magdalena Eriksson – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Magdalena Eriksson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
• Magdalena Eriksson at Soccerway