Simon Tibbling

Simon Tibbling

Tibbling celebrating the 2015 win.
Personal information
Full name	Simon Hjalmar Friedel Tibbling
Date of birth	(1994-09-07) 7 September 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth	Stockholm, [1] Sweden
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Sarpsborg 08
Number	11
Youth career
2000–2004	Grödinge SK
2005–2010	IF Brommapojkarna
2010–2012	Djurgårdens IF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2014	Djurgårdens IF	73	(3)
2015–2017	Groningen	74	(2)
2017–2020	Brøndby	90	(9)
2020–2021	Emmen	15	(0)
2021–2022	Randers	26	(0)
2022–	Sarpsborg 08	40	(3)
International career
2009–2011	Sweden U17	16	(4)
2012–2013	Sweden U19	13	(0)
2012–2017	Sweden U21/O	33	(2)
2019	Sweden	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:42, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

Simon Hjalmar Friedel Tibbling (born 7 September 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sarpsborg 08 in the Eliteserien. ^[2] He has made one appearance for the Sweden national team.

Born in Stockholm, Tibbling joined Djurgårdens IF in 2010 after having spent five years at the Brommapojkarna academy. He debuted in the Allsvenskan in 2012, and moved to Eredivisie club FC Groningen in 2015. In 2017, he was signed by Brøndby IF in the Danish Superliga, with whom he won the Danish Cup in his first season. He moved back to the Netherlands in 2020 where he signed with FC Emmen.

Tibbling has represented Sweden at different youth levels and made his under-21 debut in 2012. He won the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Sweden. In 2019, Tibbling was called up to the senior team, making his debut in a 1–0 loss to Finland.

Career

Early career

Tibbling started out playing football at age six when his mother brought him to play with the local lower league club Grödinge SK. At age nine Tibbling was invited by Stockholm based club IF Brommapojkarna, known for its youth academy to come train with them and six months later he joined them permanently. ^{[3] [4]} During his years there Tibbling drew a lot of attention from some of the biggest clubs in the world. He went on trials with Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Ajax. ^[5] In the summer of 2010 Ajax met and negotiated with Brommapojkarna, but Tibbling wanted to stay in Sweden. ^[6] Before the 2011 season Tibbling instead chose to move to the bigger Stockholm club Djurgårdens IF. ^[7]

Djurgården

Tibbling playing for Djurgårdens IF.

Simon Tibbling made his senior debut in Djurgårdens IF coming on as a sub in the top Swedish division Allsvenskan against Kalmar FF in the 91st minute. ^[8] He then made his starting debut in the league against IFK Göteborg on 3 July 2012. ^[9] Four days after his 18th birthday Tibbling signed a first team contract, extending his deal with Djurgården by another 4.5 years. ^[10]

Groningen

On 28 November 2014, Tibbling was presented as a new FC Groningen player on 1 January 2015 ^[11] before helping the Green-White Army win the KNVB Cup in the 2014–15 season against defending champions PEC Zwolle. It was their first major trophy and they qualified for the UEFA Europa League. ^{[12] [13]}

Tibbling was voted "Player of the Season" of the 2015–16 season by the fans of the club. ^[14]

Brøndby

On 21 July 2017, Tibbling signed a five-year deal with Danish top tier side Brøndby. ^{[15] [16]} He scored his first goal for the club in his Superliga debut, a 1–0 victory against rivals FC Copenhagen, after having come on as a substitute for Besar Halimi in the 88th minute. ^[17] Tibbling quickly established himself in head coach Alexander Zorniger's side, and was nominated for a goal he scored against Silkeborg IF in October 2017, which ended up being awarded ‘Goal of the Season’ by the Danish Football Union, beating out fellow nominees including Christian Eriksen and Peter Ankersen. ^{[18] [19]} His first season in Brøndby was highly successful, making 35 appearances across all competitions and scoring three goals, ^[20] as Brøndby made a failed push for the league championship, ending in second place behind FC Midtjylland. ^[21] However, Tibbling appeared as a starter as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the 2017–18 Danish Cup final. ^{[22] [23]}

In his second season at Brøndby, controversy arose in September 2018, as tabloid B.T. revealed a confrontation between Tibbling and head coach Zorniger after a match in October the previous year. This had led to Tibbling contacting director of football, Troels Bech the following day. ^[24] The case came a month after league rivals Midtjylland had offered DKK 7.5 million (€1 million) in an effort to sign him, efforts which were not immediately dismissed by Tibbling and his agent, fuelling doubts about his commitment to his club. ^{[25] [26]} Tibbling would personally experience a strong 2018–19 season, making 43 appearances in which he scored five goals, ^[20] as Brøndby, however, went through a tumultuous period. The club had dropped off to fourth place and lost the cup final to Midtjylland, while head coach Zorniger had been dismissed halfway through the season. ^[27]

In the following season, Tibbling slowly saw his playing time diminished under new head coach Niels Frederiksen, as a foot injury suffered in August 2019 kept him out for three months. ^[28]

Emmen

On 27 July 2020, Tibbling agreed to sign for Dutch Eredivisie club FC Emmen, joining the club on a two-year contract with an option of another year. ^{[29] [30]}

Randers

In May 2021, Tibbling returned to the Danish Superliga, signing a four-year contract with Randers FC. ^{[31] [32]}

Sarpsborg 08

On 29 July 2022, Randers announced that Tibbling had been sold to the Norwegian Eliteserien club Sarpsborg 08. ^[33] He signed a two-year contract with the club. ^[34] He made his debut for 08 on 7 August, starting in a 3–1 away loss to Strømsgodset. ^[35] On 11 September, he scored his first goal for the club, helping his side to a 3–1 away victory against Aalesund. ^[36]

International career

Youth

Tibbling represented Sweden at the U17, U19 and U21 levels. ^[37] In the final group match against Portugal in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Tibbling scored an equalizer in 89th minute which put Sweden through to the semi-final. ^[38] He again scored in a 4–1 victory in the semi-final against Scandinavian rival Denmark, ^[39] which saw Sweden advance to the final for the first time since 1992. He also started the final against Portugal. The game ended 0–0 and eventually went to penalties, where Sweden won 4–3, securing their first under-21 title. ^[40]

Senior

On 8 January 2019, Tibbling made his senior international debut for the Sweden in a 1–0 loss against Finland. ^[41]

Personal life

Tibbling credited his mother bribing him with Pokémon cards as the reason he kept his motivation to attend football training sessions when he was a child. ^[42]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 December 2023 ^{[43] [20]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup [lower-alpha 1]		Continental [lower-alpha 2]		Other [lower-alpha 3]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Djurgårdens IF	2012	Allsvenskan	15	1	1	0	—		—		16	1
	2013	Allsvenskan	28	1	4	0	—		—		32	1
	2014	Allsvenskan	30	1	3	0	—		—		33	1
	Total		73	3	8	0	0	0	—		81	3
Groningen	2014–15	Eredivisie	17	1	3	0	—		—		20	1
	2015–16	Eredivisie	31	0	2	0	6	0	1	0	40	0
	2016–17	Eredivisie	26	1	2	0	—		—		28	1
	Total		74	2	7	0	6	0	1	0	88	2
Brøndby	2017–18	Superliga	30	3	4	0	1	0	—		35	3
	2018–19	Superliga	36	5	4	0	3	0	—		43	5
	2019–20	Superliga	24	1	0	0	5	1	—		29	2
	Total		90	9	8	0	9	1	—		107	10
Emmen	2020–21	Eredivisie	15	0	2	0	—		—		17	0
Randers	2021–22	Superliga	26	0	4	0	10	0	0	0	40	0
Sarpsborg 08	2022	Eliteserien	14	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	2
	2023	Elitserien	26	1	4	2	0	0	0	0	30	3
	Total		40	3	4	2	0	0	0	0	44	5
Career total			317	17	33	2	25	1	1	0	376	20

1. Includes Svenska Cupen, KNVB Cup, Danish Cup
2. Includes UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Includes Eredivisie playoffs

Honours

Groningen

• KNVB Cup: 2014–15

Brøndby

• Danish Cup: 2017–18 ^[44]

Sweden U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2015

References

1. "Simon Tibbling". Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
2. "Simon Tibbling". Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
3. "Simon Tibbling: "Blev mutad med Pokémonkort"". SvenskaFans.com . Retrieved 24 April 2015.
4. "Det är bra att inte hinna tänka". Östermalmsnytt. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
5. "Så tränar Simon Tibbling". Expressen. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
6. "Agenten tror att Simon Tibbling kan nå Serie A eller La Liga". Fotbolltransfers. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
7. "Nyförvärv till ungdomselit". Djurgårdens IF. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
8. "Allsvenskan, herrar Matchinformation: Djurgården - Kalmar FF". SvFF. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
9. "Allsvenskan, herrar Matchinformation: Djurgården - IFK Göteborg". SvFF. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
10. "Simon Tibbling förlänger med Djurgården". Djurgårdens IF. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
11. "Persconferentie: presentatie Tibbling" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
12. "Groningen claim first trophy with KNVB Cup triumph". Goal.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
13. "PEC Zwolle vs. Groningen - 3 May 2015". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
14. "Tibbling nu al Speler van het Jaar bij FC Groningen". fcupdate.nl. FC Update. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
15. "Simon Tibbling skifter til Brøndby IF - Brøndby IF". brondby.com. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
16. Hoffskov, Ole (21 July 2017). "Simon Tibbling: Brøndby er en stor klub i Skandinavien". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Retrieved 23 July 2017.
17. Johnsen, Emil (6 August 2017). "Brøndby i HIMLEN: Akrobatiske Tibbling til 1-0 mod FCK". tv3sport.dk. TV 3 Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
18. Forsberg, Aron (2 March 2018). "Simon Tibbling gjorde årets mål i Danmark". fotbollskanalen.se. Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
19. Petersson, Martin (16 February 2018). "Tibbling nominerad till årets mål i Danmark". fotbollskanalen.se. Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
20. "Sweden - S. Tibbling - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
21. Taidal, Lærke (21 May 2018). "Brøndby dummer sig igen og taber mesterskabet". tv2lorry.dk. TV2/Lorry. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
22. Ritzau (10 May 2018). "Brøndby er pokalmester - ender ti års pokaltørke". sport.tv2.dk. TV 2 . Retrieved 2 June 2020.
23. "LIVE Brøndby IF - Silkeborg IF - DBU Pokalen - 10 May 2018 - Eurosport". eurosport.com. Eurosport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
24. Nøjsen Fallah, Daniel (28 September 2018). "Se videoen: Her er Zorniger i konfrontation med Tibbling". bt.dk. B.T. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
25. Hanghøj Kristensen, Søren (28 August 2018). "Utilfredshed og millionbud skal bane vejen: Derfor kan Brøndby-stjerne ende i FC Midtjylland!". bt.dk. B.T. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
26. "Tibbling afslører: FCM var ikke alene - anden topklub bød OGSÅ på mig". tv3sport.dk. TV 3 Sport. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
27. Jensen, Kenneth (18 February 2019). "Stor overraskelse i Brøndby: Fyrer Alexander Zorniger". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet . Retrieved 20 July 2020.
28. Margren, Sara (14 August 2019). "Skadet Simon Tibbling ude i tre måneder". bold.dk. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
29. "Welkom, Simon Tibbling!". fcemmen.nl. FC Emmen. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
30. Bye Marbroe, Mads (27 July 2020). "Brøndby sælger Tibbling til hollandsk klub". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet . Retrieved 27 July 2020.
31. "Randers FC henter Simon Tibbling". Randers FC (in Danish). 24 May 2021.
32. Hoffskov, Ole (2 June 2021). "Tibbling valgte Randers: Talte også med denne klub". Tipsbladet.dk (in Danish).
33. "Randers FC har solgt midtbanespilleren Simon Tibbling til norske Sarpsborg 08 FF". Randers FC (in Danish). 6 August 2022.
34. El-Itr, Obaida (29 July 2022). "Sarpsborg 08 køber Simon Tibbling i Randers". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
35. "Strømsgodset vs. Sarpsborg 08 3–1: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
36. "Tannløst Aalesund med selvmål og tap: 3–1-seier til Sarpsborg". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 11 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
37. "U21 äldre: Trupp mot Serbien och Ryssland". Swedish Football Association . Retrieved 24 April 2015.
38. "match overview". UEFA. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
39. "match overview". UEFA. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
40. "match overview". UEFA. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
41. Kristoffersson, Daniel (8 January 2019). "Tibbling lämnar lägret - mittfältaren är skadad". expressen.se. Expressen . Retrieved 22 July 2020.
42. "Tibbling: Without Pokemon, I wouldn't be a footballer". fifa.com. FIFA. 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
43. "Simon Tibbling » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
44. "Brøndby vs. Silkeborg - 10 May 2018". us.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

External links

• Simon Tibbling at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
• Elitefootball profile
• Simon Tibbling at National-Football-Teams.com