Johan Helge Dahlin (born 8 September 1986) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Malmö FF.[1]

Johan Dahlin
Dahlin playing for Malmö FF in 2023
Personal information
Full name Johan Helge Dahlin
Date of birth (1986-09-08) 8 September 1986 (age 39)
Place of birth Trollhättan, Sweden
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Malmö FF
Number 27
Youth career
–2003 FC Trollhättan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003 FC Trollhättan 1 (0)
2004 Åsebro IF 18 (0)
2005–2009 Lyn 30 (0)
2008Trelleborgs FF (loan) 14 (0)
2009–2013 Malmö FF 104 (0)
2014–2015 Gençlerbirliği 20 (0)
2015–2017 FC Midtjylland 39 (0)
2017– Malmö FF 171 (0)
International career
2006–2009 Sweden U21 24 (0)
2009–2014 Sweden 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 May 2026

Club career

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FC Lyn

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Dahlin was born in Trollhättan. He began his senior career at Åsebro IF in 2004. After one season with the Swedish Division 3 side, he was invited to Oslo to train with Lyn and was subsequently signed until the end of the 2009 season.

In 2005, Dahlin was the third choice as goalkeeper behind Ali Al-Habsi and Nuno Marques. With both Al-Habsi and Marques gone after the season, and having made a good impression during the winter months, Dahlin became manager Henning Berg's preferred choice in goal, ahead of newcomer Eddie Gustafsson. He made thirteen appearances in the first half of the 2006 season. His debut came against Start in the league opener on 9 April, a game that ended in a goalless draw. After the summer, the roles were reversed and Dahlin received little playing time, only making one more appearance when he came on a substitute for an injured Gustafsson. For his performance in 2006, Dahlin received his first call-ups to the Swedish under-21 team, making six appearances in total that year.

In 2007, Dahlin acted mainly as a reserve for Eddie Gustafsson, making only four appearances all season, and it became clear that Gustafsson would also be the first choice in goal in 2008. Therefore, in a bid to receive playing time at a high level, Dahlin agreed to a loan deal with Swedish side Trelleborgs FF. He returned to Lyn in August 2008, having made fourteen appearances in the Allsvenskan.

Malmö FF

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On 8 July 2009, Dahlin was announced as a Malmö FF player. He instantly became first choice as goalkeeper and played for a majority of the games of the later season, 2009. However, it emerged that Dahlin had chronic back pains which made him unable to play in a couple of games. These problems continued during the 2010 season but as Dahlin himself and club doctors worked hard to minimize the pain he was able to play all games except one and a half. For the 2010 league winning season he kept a clean sheet for 15 games.

Dahlins injury problems continued for the 2011 season and he missed the majority of the league matches but recovered to play 12 league matches and played for the club in the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. On 13 June 2012 Dahlin signed a new two-year-long contract until the end of the 2014 season.[2] In the 2012 season Dahlin wasn't as affected by his back injury as in the previous season and played 29 out of 30 matches for Malmö FF, he missed one match due to racking up three yellow cards.

During the league title winning 2013 season Dahlin played 22 matches out of 30. He missed some matches due to injury and was briefly replaced as first choice goalkeeper by Robin Olsen after some solid performances by the latter. Dahlin held seven clean sheets during the season. He also played all six matches for the club during its participation in the qualifying stages of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. His performance throughout the season earned him a nomination for goalkeeper of the year.

Gençlerbirliği

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On 23 December 2013, Malmö FF confirmed the transfer of Johan Dahlin to the Turkish Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği under contract until 2017.[3] The transfer went through on 7 January 2014 when the Turkish transfer window opened.

International career

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Dahlin made his first cap for the Sweden national team against USA in January 2009.[4] He was selected for the annual training camp for the Sweden national team in January 2012. The squad selection for the camp traditionally feature the best Swedish players in domestic and other Scandinavian leagues.[5]

Career statistics

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Club

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Dahlin playing for Malmö FF in 2011
Dahlin playing for Malmö FF in 2011
Dahlin playing for Gençlerbirliği in 2014
Dahlin playing for Malmö FF in 2021
As of 24 May 2026[6][7]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Trollhättan 2003 Division 2 100010
Åsebro IF 2004 Division 3 18000180
Lyn 2005 Tippeligaen 000000
2006 Tippeligaen 1201010140
2007 Tippeligaen 400040
2008 Tippeligaen 100010
2009 Tippeligaen 13010140
Total 3002010330
Trelleborgs FF (loan) 2008 Allsvenskan 14000140
Malmö FF 2009 Allsvenskan 12000120
2010 Allsvenskan 29010300
2011 Allsvenskan 1200060180
2012 Allsvenskan 29000290
2013 Allsvenskan 2203060310
Total 1040401201200
Gençlerbirliği 2013–14 Süper Lig 10000100
2014–15 Süper Lig 10000100
Total 2000000200
FC Midtjylland 2014–15 Danish Superliga 10000100
2015–16 Danish Superliga 40005090
2016–17 Danish Superliga 2503080360
Total 39030130550
Malmö FF 2017 Allsvenskan 1101000120
2018 Allsvenskan 25070140460
2019 Allsvenskan 29020120430
2020 Allsvenskan 1406020220
2021 Allsvenskan 19010120320
2022 Allsvenskan 1905090330
2023 Allsvenskan 29020310
2024 Allsvenskan 2005080330
2025 Allsvenskan 00000000
2026 Allsvenskan 50100060
Total 17103005702580
Career total 39703907405130

International

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As of 5 March 2014[4]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden 200910
201010
201100
201210
201300
201410
Total40

Honours

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References

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  1. Agent: Johan Dahlin forlader FCM, bold.dk, 23 June 2017
  2. "Nytt kontrakt för Johan Dahlin" (in Swedish). mff.se. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  3. "Johan Dahlin går till Turkiet". mff.se (in Swedish). Malmö FF. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Johan Dahlin". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  5. "Landslaget blir himmelsblågult: "Vi är stolta"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  6. "Johan Dahlin". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. "Johan Dahlin career stats". Altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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