Christian Wilhelmsson

Christian "The Magician" Wilhelmsson (IPA:) (born December 8, 1979 in Malmö) is a professional football (soccer) player who plays for Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League in midfield and for the Sweden national football team. His pace and dribbling are key to the Sweden national football team

Wilhelmsson started his career with Mjällby AIF in 1997 where he stayed for three seasons. In 2000 he played for Norwegian team Stabæk Fotball before joining Anderlecht in 2003.

Wilhelmsson represented Sweden at 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is often said to be one of Sweden's upcoming stars and manager Lars Lagerbäck said about him prior the tournament that "his game is suited to the big stage." Leading Swedish midfielder Niclas Alexandersson also stated that, Wilhelmsson was "easily the fastest member of the squad."

In 2006, Wilhelmsson moved to French side FC Nantes and was featured in every one of Sweden's four 2006 FIFA World Cup games, either from the start or as a substitute. He was commonly referred to as one of the game's "unsung heroes", due to his exciting, passionate, and explosive performances.

He is now a household name, particularly in the countries of Belgium, France, and Sweden. On January 10th 2007, Wilhelmsson joined A.S. Roma on loan until the end of the AS Roma 2006-07 with an option to buy for €3m making his Serie A debut on January 14 against F.C. Messina Peloro.
Roma opted against making his transfer permanent preferring signing Mauro Esposito and Ludovic Giuly, and so the player returned to FC Nantes and started seeking a new club following their relegation from Ligue 1.

After being linked with a move to the Premier League with reported interest from Middlesbrough FC, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur FC. He has also been linked with a move to the Scottish Premier League with interest from Celtic FC.
However, Wilhelmsson signed for Bolton Wanderers FC on a 12-month loan with an option to make the deal permanent after 20 games.

Trivia

- He is currently dating Swedish model Oksana Andersson.

- In September 2006 he was one of three players from the Swedish national team sent home, because they broke a curfew during a night out. The other two players were Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

- His nickname is usually "Chippen".