Håkan Mild

Stig Håkan Mild (born 14 June 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is best remembered for his time with IFK Göteborg, with which he won four Swedish Championships. A full international between 1991 and 2001, he won a total of 74 caps for the Sweden national team and was a part of the Sweden team that finished third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented his country at the 1992 Summer Olympics and UEFA Euro 2000.

Håkan Mild
Personal information
Full name Stig Håkan Mild
Date of birth (1971-06-14) 14 June 1971
Place of birth Trollhättan, Sweden
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1993 IFK Göteborg 92 (9)
1993–1995 Servette 21 (1)
1995–1996 IFK Göteborg 23 (5)
1996–1998 Real Sociedad 50 (1)
1998–2001 IFK Göteborg 66 (6)
2001–2002 Wimbledon 9 (0)
2002–2005 IFK Göteborg 65 (6)
Total 326 (28)
National team
1987 Sweden U17 2 (0)
1988–1989 Sweden U19 9 (3)
1990–1992 Sweden U21/O 23 (4)
1991–2001 Sweden 74 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland, Mild started his career with the local club Trollhättans FK, and was early on scouted by the at that time leading Swedish club IFK Göteborg which he joined in 1988. He made his debut in the first team of IFK Göteborg the same year, in a friendly match against IF Elfsborg, 29 September. He played his first league game the following season, when he came on as a substitute against Halmstads BK, 26 July. He then scored his first goal in a competitive match in 1990, and became Swedish champion for the first time that same year, playing in a majority of the club's matches during the season.

He became a regular in the team and won another championship title the next season, as well as winning Svenska Cupen. He also scored his first goal in Allsvenskan in 1991, and played four matches in the European Cup. He was at the time a member of the Swedish Olympic team that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where he played all four matches. He returned to European football and played all ten matches in the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, against amongst others A.C. Milan and FC Porto. Mild also scored a goal against Lech Poznań in the qualifying round of the tournament. He became Swedish champion with IFK again in 1993.

Håkan Mild then moved abroad to Swiss club Servette FC where he won the Swiss Super League title the first season. He then played in the 1994 World Cup, where he was substituted on in two games, and played the last three games—quarter-final, semi-final and third place match—from start scoring one goal and assisting one. He returned to Servette FC to play another season but his first visit on the continent was not very successful and he returned to IFK Göteborg for the second half of the 1995 season. He led the club to another Swedish Championship the following season, but left the club again, this time to play in Spain and Real Sociedad.

He played 49 matches in Primera Division over two seasons, and was a member of the squad that finished third in 1997–98, the club's best result during the 1990s. He returned home to Gothenburg and IFK a second time, but had to tamper with injury problems the second half of 1998. He played another three seasons before trying his luck in another club abroad, this time Wimbledon F.C. in England. This proved to be his least successful stay abroad, playing only nine matches over a little more than one season. The low, but undisclosed, fee for his transfer to Wimbledon gave Mild a bad conscience, so he chose to not accept the almost 500,000 SEK (around US$50,000 at that time) of match bonuses he had not yet been paid.[1] This, amongst other things, has given Håkan Mild a special status amongst the IFK fans.

He returned in time to help IFK stay in Allsvenskan during the worst season of the club since 1976—when the club played in Division 2—as they barely avoided relegation by winning a play-off after the season's end. Mild then played another three seasons, partially interrupted by injury problems. He played his last match 11 December 2005 home against FC Lyn Oslo in the Royal League tournament, and his name was sung during all 90 minutes of the match, as a final farewell.[2] He then assumed the position of director of sports in the club.

He played a total of 459 matches over 18 years for IFK Göteborg, and is regarded as one of the club's greatest players ever not only due to his work on the field, but also for his club spirit, leader qualities and work ethics.[2] He has only represented one Swedish club on higher levels, and statements such as "IFK is my home"[3] and "IFK has always meant so much to me that it sometimes has become a problem"[4] has only cemented the view on him amongst supporters as one of the greatest.

He played 74 games for the Swedish national team, scoring eight goals, and besides participation in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1992 Summer Olympics, he also played in Euro 2000.

In 2001, he did a running test called the Pacer test and scored a record high of 19.2 which is the best ever recorded.

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IFK Göteborg 1988 Allsvenskan 0000002020
1989 Allsvenskan 100000111121
1990 Allsvenskan 1901100213414
1991 Allsvenskan 282604[5]0204586
1992 Allsvenskan 272106[6]1181524
1993 Allsvenskan 215104[6]0174439
Total 96991141891320824
Servette 1993–94 Nationalliga A 111111
1994–95 Nationalliga A 100100
Total 211211
IFK Göteborg 1995 Allsvenskan 92100061163
1996 Allsvenskan 143312[6]081275
Total 2354120142438
Real Sociedad 1996–97 La Liga 25100251
1997–98 La Liga 24000240
Total 49100491
IFK Göteborg 1998 Allsvenskan 101213[7]010162
1999 Allsvenskan 210605[7]160381
2000 Allsvenskan 232640021317
2001 Allsvenskan 123220011156
Total 6661678110210016
Wimbledon 2001–02 First Division 900090
2002–03 First Division 000000
Total 90??0090
IFK Göteborg 2002 Allsvenskan 8[8] 100000081
2003 Allsvenskan 181310040252
2004 Allsvenskan 232403[9]020322
2005 Allsvenskan 1821014[10]2101435
Total 6768117216110810
Career total 3482937104141291855561

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[11]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 199161
199230
199311
1994112
199552
199680
199790
199850
199980
200090
200192
Total748
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mild goal.
List of international goals scored by Håkan Mild
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 17 April 1991 Neas Philadelphias, Nea Filadelfeia, Greece  Greece 2–1 2–2 Friendly [12]
2 10 November 1993 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Leopoldstadt, Austria  Austria 1–0 1–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier [13]
3 24 February 1994 Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, United States  Mexico 1–2 1–2 Friendly [14]
4 16 July 1994 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States  Bulgaria 2–0 4–0 1994 FIFA World Cup [15]
5 8 June 1995 Elland Road, Leeds, England  England 1–0 3–3 Friendly [16]
6 2–0
7 28 February 2001 National Stadium Ta' Qali, Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta 3–0 3–0 Friendly [17]
8 10 November 2001 Old Trafford, Manchester, England  England 1–1 1–1 Friendly [18]

Honours

Club

IFK Göteborg

International

Sweden

References
  • Göransson, Mattias (2005). Blåvit gryning. Göteborg: Offside Fanatik. ISBN 91-85279-03-X
  • UEFA.com (2005). IFK hero Mild gets his due. Retrieved 27 June 2006.
  • Fagerlin, Hans (July 2006). Överkörd på mitten av Mild. Blått&Vitt, 6.
  • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Håkan Mild". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011.

Notes
  1. Göransson, p. 108.
  2. Uefa.com, IFK hero Mild gets his due
  3. Fagerlin, p. 22
  4. Göransson, p. 97.
  5. European Cup matches only.
  6. UEFA Champions League matches only.
  7. UEFA Cup matches only.
  8. Allsvenskan (6 matches, 1 goal) and Allsvenskan qualification play-off (2 matches, 0 goals).
  9. Royal League matches only.
  10. Royal League (10 matches, 2 goals) and UEFA Intertoto Cup (4 matches, 0 goals).
  11. "Håkan Mild - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  12. "Grekland - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  13. "Österrike - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  14. "Mexiko - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  15. "Sverige - Bulgarien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  16. "England - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. "Malta - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  18. "England - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
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