Joakim Persson

Björn Joakim Persson (born 3 April 1975) is a Swedish football manager and former player. As a player, he represented Malmö FF, Atalanta, IFK Göteborg, Esbjerg fB, Hansa Rostock, Stabæk, and Landskrona BoIS during a career that spanned between 1992 and 2010. He also represented the Sweden national team, winning three caps and scoring one goal in 1997.

Club career

Early career Born in Helsingborg, Persson began his career as a youth-team player with Högaborgs BK before moving to Malmö FF in 1992. He made his professional debut in a Swedish Cup game against Landskrona in 1994.

Atalanta and return to Sweden Persson moved to the Italian Serie A club Atalanta in 1996. He returned to Sweden after less than two seasons in Italy, having very rarely played for Atalanta's first-team, joining IFK Göteborg in January 1998. Things went little better for him in Sweden. He was often singled out by the media as the main cause of his team's poor performances throughout his two seasons with Göteborg. After the 1998 season he was voted as the "most overrated player" in the Allsvenskan by his fellow players.

Esbjerg fB At the end of the 1999 season, Persson left IFK Göteborg in order to escape the intense scrutiny he had been subjected to. He joined Esbjerg fB, of the Danish Superliga, midway through the league season, at the end of which they were relegated to the Danish 1st Division. Persson stayed with the club and helped them to win the first division championship, and promotion, at the first attempt.

Hansa Rostock In the summer of 2002, after one further season with Esbjerg, Persson moved to Hansa Rostock of the German Bundesliga. Along with Andreas Jakobsson, Marcus Lantz, Peter Wibrån, Magnus Arvidsson and Rade Prica, Persson was one of six Swedes playing for the Mecklenburg club. Under manager Armin Veh he played as a holding midfielder, making 26 appearances in his first season with the club. The following season began with four successive defeats, after which Veh handed in his resignation and was replaced by Juri Schlünz. Schlünz converted Persson from a midfielder into a defender and appointed him as the leader of the team's back four.

Persson also made three appearances for the Sweden men's national football team, all of which came in the 1997 King's Cup. He played in games against Romania and Japan before playing in the final against the hosts Thailand. Persson scored a goal in the final, helping the Swedes to a 3–1 win.

Managerial career After having managed Ängelholms FF and Kristianstad FC, Persson became manager of Varbergs BoIS in 2018.

In June 2023 Persson left Varberg to becamoe new manager of the Danish club AC Horsens. On 13 March 2024 Horsens confirmed that Persson had been fired. The sacking came in the wake of a prolonged period of strong dissatisfaction from the club's fans over the team's performance over a long period of time.

Personal life Persson is the father of three children. National team Year Apps Goals Sweden 1997 3 1

3 1

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

Honours Sweden King's Cup: 1997