Kim Källström facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Kim Källström
Personal information
Källström in 2015
Date of birth	(1982-08-24) 24 August 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth	Sandviken, Sweden
Height	1.85 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1986–1989	Sandvikens IF
1990–1996	Partille IF
1997–1998	BK Häcken
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1999–2001	BK Häcken	69	(14)
2002–2003	Djurgårdens IF	48	(26)
2004–2006	Rennes	83	(20)
2006–2012	Lyon	204	(17)
2012–2015	Spartak Moscow	58	(5)
2014	→ Arsenal (loan)	3	(0)
2015–2017	Grasshoppers	49	(1)
2017	Djurgårdens IF	28	(3)
Total		542	(86)
National team
1997–1999	Sweden U16	32	(12)
1999	Sweden U18	2	(0)
2000–2003	Sweden U21	21	(5)
2001–2016	Sweden	131	(16)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Kim Mikael Källström (born 24 August 1982) is a Swedish former professional footballer. He played as a midfielder and was known for his great passes and powerful free-kicks.

Källström started his career in Sweden, winning two league titles with Djurgården. He then moved to France, playing for Rennes and Lyon. With Lyon, he won many trophies. In 2012, he joined Spartak Moscow. He also had a short loan spell at Arsenal in 2014, where he helped them win the 2013–14 FA Cup. After playing for Grasshoppers, he finished his career back at Djurgården in 2017.

Källström played for the Swedish national team from 2001 to 2016, earning 131 caps. This makes him Sweden's fourth most capped player ever. He played in four European Championships and one FIFA World Cup.

Early Life and First Steps in Football
Kim's Club Football Journey
Kim's International Career with Sweden
Playing Style
Career Statistics
- Club Appearances and Goals
- International Appearances and Goals
Honours and Awards
See also

Early Life and First Steps in Football

Kim Källström was born in Sandviken, Sweden, on 24 August 1982. His father, Mikael, was also a footballer. Kim started playing football at Sandvikens IF in 1986. In 1989, his family moved to Partille, near Gothenburg, and he joined Partille IF. When he was 17, Källström had a tryout with the Dutch club PSV.

Kim's Club Football Journey

Starting Out at BK Häcken

Källström began his professional career with BK Häcken in Gothenburg. In his first season in 1999, his team won the Division 1 Södra and moved up to the top league, the Allsvenskan. In 2001, Häcken was relegated, but Källström's eight goals in the Allsvenskan caught the eye of bigger clubs. He then moved to Djurgårdens IF.

Winning Titles with Djurgårdens IF

At Djurgården, Källström quickly found success. In his first season in 2002, the team won both the Allsvenskan league title and the national cup, the Svenska Cupen. He was the team's top scorer with 12 league goals. The team won the Allsvenskan title again in 2003. Källström scored 14 goals that season, making him the team's top scorer and the second-highest scorer in Sweden. He also scored twice in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup against Shamrock Rovers and Copenhagen.

Moving to France: Rennes

In January 2004, Källström moved to France to play for Rennes in Ligue 1. He played his first game for Rennes in the French Cup on 4 January. A week later, he scored his first goal in a 4–0 win against Sochaux. He finished the 2003–04 season with seven goals in 18 games.

During the 2004–05 season, Källström scored five goals in 31 league matches. This helped Rennes finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Cup. In 2005–06, he scored a personal best of eight Ligue 1 goals. In June 2006, Rennes accepted an offer of about €8 million from league champions Lyon. Källström played two and a half years at Rennes, scoring 20 goals in 83 league games.

Success at Lyon

After his time at Rennes, Källström joined Lyon in June 2006. He went on to win many trophies with the club. He scored in his first game for Lyon, helping them win the Trophée des Champions against Paris Saint-Germain. Five days later, he made his league debut.

Källström playing for Olympique Lyonnais in 2010.

On 17 October 2006, Källström scored his first Lyon goal in the Champions League against Dynamo Kyiv. Lyon won the French championship for the sixth season in a row.

The 2007–08 season started with rumors that Valencia wanted to sign Källström. He stayed at Lyon and scored his first goal of the season on 29 September 2007. He scored again a week later. On 8 November, he scored in a Champions League game against VfB Stuttgart. Lyon won their seventh league title in a row. On 28 May 2008, he played in the 2008 Coupe de France Final, where Lyon won 1–0 against Paris Saint-Germain. This completed the club's first league and cup "double".

In the 2008–09 season, Källström scored his first goal on 16 November 2008. He scored only one other goal that season. Lyon finished third in the league.

Källström scored four goals in Ligue 1 during the 2009–10 season. He scored twice in a 3–1 win at Lorient. The 2009–10 Champions League was Lyon's most successful in the competition. Källström scored in a 4–0 win against Debreceni and played in 11 games, helping Lyon reach the semi-finals.

During 2010–11, Källström sometimes played as a left-back. He scored three goals in Ligue 1. The 2011–12 season was Källström's last at Lyon. He played 32 league games without scoring.

Källström with Lyon against Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid in 2011.

In the Coupe de France, he scored one goal and assisted another as Lyon beat Paris Saint-Germain 3–1. Lyon reached the final and won 1–0 against Quevilly.

In August 2012, Källström left Lyon after six seasons. He played 283 games for the club. He won two Ligue 1 titles, two French Cups, and two French Super Cups.

Time in Russia: Spartak Moscow

On 28 July 2012, Källström signed with Spartak Moscow for €3 million. On 15 September, he played his first game in the Russian Premier League. On 29 September, he scored his first goal for the club. He played in all of Spartak's 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group matches.

Loan to Arsenal

On 31 January 2014, Källström joined Arsenal on loan for the rest of the 2013–14 season. He had a back injury, but Arsenal still decided to sign him and help him recover. Källström played his first game for Arsenal on 25 March in the Premier League. His next game was in the FA Cup semi-finals against Wigan Athletic. He came on as a substitute and scored a penalty in the shootout, helping Arsenal win. Källström called this moment "the greatest 15 minutes of my life." Arsenal went on to win the FA Cup. Källström made four appearances in total for Arsenal. He said he enjoyed his time there.

Playing for Grasshoppers

After three years in Russia, Källström left Spartak and joined the Swiss club Grasshoppers on 6 June 2015. He scored his only goal for the club on 29 November 2015. He was also named captain of the team. After a year and a half, Källström decided to leave Grasshoppers for personal reasons. He ended his contract on 31 January 2017.

Back to Djurgårdens IF and Retirement

On 10 February 2017, Källström returned to Djurgårdens IF in the Allsvenskan, signing a two-year deal. The news of his return caused Djurgården's official website to crash because so many people visited it! After playing 28 league games in 2017, scoring three goals and assisting seven, Källström announced his retirement from football on 15 December 2017.

Kim's International Career with Sweden

Källström and Zlatan Ibrahimović preparing a free kick in May 2012

Källström made his first international appearance for Sweden in 2001 against Finland. He was part of the Swedish squad for the UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and UEFA Euro 2012 tournaments. He scored Sweden's first goal in a 3–2 win over the Netherlands, which helped Sweden qualify for Euro 2012.

In a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Germany on 16 October 2012, Källström came on as a substitute when Sweden was losing 3–0. With three assists from him, Sweden made an amazing comeback to draw 4–4.

In the return match against Germany, Källström comforted Max, a team mascot who has Williams Syndrome. A photo of this moment became very popular online. Max's father thanked Källström, saying that because of his actions, Max felt "pride, a sense of being special, 'I did it' and an immense joy."

Källström retired from the national team after Euro 2016. He played 131 games for Sweden and scored 16 goals. He is Sweden's fourth most capped player of all time.

Playing Style

Kim Källström was a central midfielder. He could also play on the left side of the midfield. He was known for being a playmaker, meaning he could create chances for his teammates. He was also very good at taking free kicks with his left foot.

Career Statistics

Here are Kim Källström's statistics for his club and international career.

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
BK Häcken	1999	Division 1 Södra	22	4	2	1	–		–		24	5
	2000	Allsvenskan	23	2	3	1	–		–		26	3
	2001	Allsvenskan	24	8	1	0	–		–		25	8
	Total		69	14	6	2	0	0	0	0	75	16
Djurgården	2002	Allsvenskan	24	12	6	3	–		6	1	36	16
	2003	Allsvenskan	24	14	3	1	–		2	0	29	15
	Total		48	26	9	4	0	0	8	1	65	31
Rennes	2003–04	Ligue 1	18	7	3	0	–	–	–		21	7
	2004–05	Ligue 1	31	5	1	0	1	1	–		33	6
	2005–06	Ligue 1	34	8	5	1	0	0	4	0	43	9
	Total		83	20	9	1	1	1	4	0	97	22
Lyon	2006–07	Ligue 1	33	3	3	0	4	0	6	1	46	4
	2007–08	Ligue 1	37	5	6	0	2	0	8	1	53	6
	2008–09	Ligue 1	32	2	2	0	1	0	6	0	41	2
	2009–10	Ligue 1	32	4	2	0	0	0	13	1	47	5
	2010–11	Ligue 1	33	3	2	0	1	0	5	0	40	3
	2011–12	Ligue 1	32	0	6	1	4	1	9	0	51	2
	Total		199	17	21	1	12	1	47	3	279	22
Spartak Moscow	2012–13	RFPL	20	2	1	0	–		6	0	27	2
	2013–14	RFPL	10	1	1	0	–		1	0	12	1
	2014–15	RFPL	28	2	0	0	–		–		28	2
	Total		58	5	2	0	0	0	7	0	67	5
Arsenal (loan)	2013–14	Premier League	3	0	1	0	–		0	0	4	0
Grasshoppers	2015–16	Swiss Super League	33	1	2	0	–		–		35	1
	2016–17	Swiss Super League	16	0	1	0	–		4	0	21	0
	Total		49	1	3	0	0	0	4	0	56	1
Djurgården	2017	Allsvenskan	28	3	3	0	–		–		31	3
Career total			537	86	54	8	13	2	70	4	674	100

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Sweden	2001	2	0
	2002	5	0
	2003	7	1
	2004	10	1
	2005	7	2
	2006	12	2
	2007	9	2
	2008	10	3
	2009	9	2
	2010	7	0
	2011	11	3
	2012	9	0
	2013	10	0
	2014	8	0
	2015	9	0
	2016	6	0
Total		131	16

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

List of international goals scored by Kim Källström
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2003	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	San Marino	4–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2	28 April 2004	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal	Portugal	1–0	2–2	Friendly
3	8 June 2005	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Norway	1–0	2–3	Friendly
4	12 October 2005	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Iceland	3–1	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying
5	2 September 2006	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
6	11 October 2006	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik, Iceland	Iceland	1–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
7	22 August 2007	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	United States	1–0	1–0	Friendly
8	21 November 2007	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Latvia	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
9	20 August 2008	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	France	2–3	2–3	Friendly
10	10 September 2008	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Hungary	1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
11	19 November 2008	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands	Netherlands	1–2	1–3	Friendly
12	11 February 2009	UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria	Austria	2–0	2–0	Friendly
13	10 June 2009	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Malta	1–0	4–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying
14	7 June 2011	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Finland	1–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
15	6 September 2011	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
16	11 October 2011	Råsunda, Solna, Sweden	Netherlands	1–0	3–2	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying