Viktor Elm

Viktor Sebastian Elm (born 13 November 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back and midfielder. He is best remembered for his time with Kalmar FF with which he won the 2007 Svenska Cupen and 2008 Allsvenskan. He also represented Heerenveen and AZ in the Netherlands. A full international between 2008 and 2011, he won 10 caps for the Sweden national team.

Viktor Elm
Elm playing for AZ in 2012
Personal information
Full name Viktor Sebastian Elm
Date of birth (1985-11-13) 13 November 1985
Place of birth Kalmar, Sweden
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Kalmar FF
Number 23
Youth career
Johansfors IF
Nybro IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Falkenbergs FF 32 (8)
2006–2008 Kalmar FF 78 (24)
2009–2012 Heerenveen 102 (15)
2012–2015 AZ 83 (6)
2015–2020 Kalmar FF 109 (12)
National team
2006 Sweden U21 2 (0)
2008–2011 Sweden 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 April 2018

He is the older brother of Rasmus Elm and the younger brother of David Elm, both of them also former footballers.

Club career

Falkenbergs FF

Elm played 32 matches scoring 8 goals in 28 games in the 2005 season.

Kalmar FF

Elm joined Kalmar FF from Falkenbergs FF before the 2006 season, where his younger brother Rasmus was a player and at the end of the season his older brother David followed from Falkenbergs FF.[1] On 9 April 2007 they became only the second trio of brothers to be fielded at the same time for one team in Allsvenskan,[2][3] a feat the five Nordahl brothers never managed.[4]

Viktor and his brothers played a big part in the second part of the 2007 season[5] which led to Kalmar equalling their best result in Allsvenskan from 1985 at second place and winning their third Swedish Cup, the first time since 1987.

In the 2008 season Elm was even more instrumental in Kalmars first league title, scoring 15 goals including four in the last home game to effectively seal the title[6] and winning the award "Swedish Midfielder of the Year".[7] In Kalmars UEFA Cup run Elm scored the winning goal for against Feyenoord in the first leg of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup First round.[8]

At the end of the 2008 season Elm's contract was expired and was a free agent after 24 goals in 78 appearances for the Röda bröder.

SC Heerenveen

He signed with Dutch side SC Heerenveen on a bosman during the fall of 2008 and joined the team when the transfer window opened in January 2009. He scored his first two goals for the club against Feyenoord in the Fourth Round of the 2008–09 KNVB Cup.[9]

His first Eredivisie goal came on 8 February 2009, in a match against NAC Breda.[10]

After the 2012 season Elm was out of a contract at sc Heerenveen and after 102 appearances and 15 goals for De Superfriezen decided it was time for a new challenge.

AZ Alkmaar

In June 2012 Elm signed a four-year deal at AZ Alkmaar, teaming up with his brother Rasmus for the first time since their stint at Kalmar FF.

He made his official debut in a 2–2 draw against Ajax on 12 August 2012. He scored his first hattrick on 27 September in a KNVB Cup 4–1 win against SC Veendam. On 30 September he scored his first league goal in a 3–3 draw against RKC Waalwijk. He captained AZ for the first time against VVV Venlo on 25 January 2013 (4–1 win) because Maarten Martens was injured and Nick Viergever was suspended. Elm scored 5 goals in the KNVB Cup, as AZ won the cup for the 4th time in club history and scored 3 in the League.

For the 2013-14 season Elm appeared 49 times out of 58 competitive games, including 11 games en route to the Europa League semi-final. Elm scored 3 goals in the League.

Return to Kalmar FF

On 30 March 2015, it was announced that Elm returned to his former club Kalmar FF, where he reunited with his brothers David and Rasmus.[11] He announced his retirement from professional football on 16 December 2020.[12]

International career

Elm made his début for the Swedish national team against the United States on 19 January 2008. Elm made his 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification début on 6 June 2009 in the 0–1 defeat against Denmark, coming on as a substitute for Daniel Andersson in the 68th minute.[13]

Career statistics
Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalOther[14]Total
SeasonClubLeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoal
SwedenLeagueSvenska CupenEuropeOtherTotal
2004[15]Falkenbergs FFSuperettan4000000040
2005[15]288000000288
2006[16]Kalmar FFAllsvenskan245406100346
2007[17]244400000284
2008[18]30155351104119
NetherlandsLeagueKNVB CupEuropeOtherTotal
2008–09[19]HeerenveenEredivisie124440000168
2009–10[20]HeerenveenEredivisie285226110378
2010–11[20]HeerenveenEredivisie173110000184
TotalSweden 110321331121013537
Netherlands 57127761107120
Career Total 1604120101732019954

Honours

Club

Kalmar FF

SC Heerenveen

AZ

Individual
  • Swedish Midfielder of the Year: 2008[7]

References
  1. "David Elm lämnar Falkenbergs FF" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  2. "Matchinformation: AIK – Kalmar FF – svenskfotboll.se". Svenskfotboll.se. Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  3. Sandqvist, Anders (10 April 2007). "Bröderna Elm historiska". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  4. "Tre BRÖDER mot startelvan". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 3 April 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  5. "Kalmar vann ett silver". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 28 October 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  6. "Kalmar ready to celebrate maiden title". uefa.se. 2 November 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  7. "Årets Mittfältare 2008" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll.se. 20 January 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  8. "UEFA Cup – Fixtures & Results – Match Specific". UEFA. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  9. "Dutch Cup round-up". Skysports.com. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  10. "Heerenveen 3 – 1 NAC Breda". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  11. Update: AZ bevestigt vertrek van middenvelder naar vaderland Zweden (Dutch). Voetbalprimeur. 30 March 2015.
  12. https://www.expressen.se/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/avslutade-karriaren-med-smartor-i-halvtid/
  13. "Europe – Group 1, Sweden – Denmark". FIFA. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  14. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercupen.
  15. "Statistik/ligor" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll.se. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  16. "Matcher A-laget 2006". Kalmarff.se. Archived from the original on 5 August 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  17. "Matcher A-laget 2007". Kalmarff.se. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  18. "Matcher A-laget 2008". Kalmarff.se. Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  19. "Viktor Elm Profile". sc-heerenveen.nl. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
  20. "Viktor Elm Profile". sc-heerenveen.nl. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
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