Mikael Lustig

Totally miss his cheeky character. But love how the banter continues after he’s gone!


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Against them

 

Love him. He proper gets it and will be one of us forever.

 

Haha the mad Bassa

 

He should have stuck on a polis hat before filming that.

 

One of my favourite all time Tims.

Injuries held him back at the beginning a wee bit and then at the end as well, but he’s right up there as an absolute icon of our most dominant period in history.

Just a pure shithouse against that mob as well, he * loved skelping them.

 

Agree with everything @Doogs. has said there. In all honesty he's a bit under appreciated due to his ability declining in the last season or two.

 

Some of the stuff said on here at the end of his time infuriated me. Aye, he was looking finished and struggled but he was undoubtedly one of the main men in that period of domination.

A proper Tim as well, hopefully he’s back here in some capacity one day.

 

One of our most decorated players ever as well.

 

* bless our Mike

 

Would love to see him back at Celtic some day in a coaching role.

 

2022 will be the last year for Mikael Lustig in the AIK jersey as the experienced defender has decided to end his long football career. Mikael Lustig signed for AIK in August 2020 and contributed a lot to the club's strong autumn.


Thank you AIK Football. Immediately when I arrived at AIK, I felt warmly welcomed by everyone. It has been a great honor for me to play in AIK and I will remember this time in my life for a long time to come. I want to say a big thank you to the supporters, the staff at Karlberg, my fellow players and everyone else I have met over the years at the club. Now we're running into the tile, five games remain and the first is a derby on Sunday, says Mikael Lustig.

- Mikael joined AIK when the club was swaying in terms of results and was in the middle of a pandemic with challenging conditions. His entrance was natural and positive in every way. Mikael has taken on a great deal of responsibility in the team during training and matches. I want to thank Mikael for his efforts in the club on and off the pitch. A big thank you also for his efforts for Swedish football, says the men's team's sporting director Henrik Jurelius.

35-year-old Mikael Lustig, born on Saturday 13 December 1986 at Norrland University Hospital in Umeå, started playing football at the age of five in the parent club Sandåkerns SK from Umeå where he played youth and junior football. In 2002, as a 15-year-old, Mikael Lustig played his first senior match with Sandåkerns SK in Division 4 Södra in Västerbotten under the leadership of the head coach, and former animal farm profile, Steve Galloway. Before the 2004 season, he changed his club to Umeå FC, who played in Division 2 Norrland, and with the new addition to the team, they also won the series nine points ahead of runner-up IFK Timrå.

Mikael Lustig played 21 series matches during the year, the most in the team. In the qualifying game for Superettan, Umeå FC faced Degerfors IF and Mikael Lustig started both games. In the first meeting, Umeå FC fell at home at Gammliavallen in Umeå with 0–1 and the return at Stora Valla in Degerfors ended 2–2 after the home team equalized in the 84th minute of the match.

In July 2004, Mikael Lustig auditioned with AIK at Karlberg's training facility, but there was no contract offer from sporting director Peter Kisfaludy during the turbulent year that ended in October with relegation in front of empty stands at the Råsunda football stadium in Solna. In 2005, there were eleven league matches and a goal for him in Division 2 Norrland before he left his hometown for Allsvenska Gif Sundsvall during the summer transfer window. The goal came at home against Friska Viljor FC (3–1) in front of 755 spectators at Gammliavallen on June 7, 2005 when he gave the home team a 2–1 lead in the 63rd minute of the match.

On August 1, 2005, Gif Sundsvall's club manager Urban Hagblom announced that they had signed an agreement with the then 18-year-old Mikael Lustig, which spanned 2008. The debut for Gif Sundsvall took place on August 22, 2005, at home against Assyriska FF (5–0) in the Allsvenskan in front of 5,828 spectators at the Sports Park in Sundsvall.

Mikael Lustig played the entire match in jersey number 28 under head coach Anders Högman's leadership and he was joined in the starting eleven by former AIK player Hans Bergh who, among other things, played eleven games for Gnaget during the SM golden year in 1998.

He scored the first goal for the Giffarna against BK Häcken (3–0) in front of 5,290 spectators at Idrottsparken on 3 October 2005 when he determined the final result in the 80th minute of the match, and he also followed up with a goal in the series epilogue at home against Örgryte IS (3–2). The Giffarna finished in 13th place in the table in 2005 and were thus relegated to the Superettan, and Lustig played eight Allsvenskan matches during the autumn and scored two goals. In 2006 and 2007, there were a total of 57 series matches for Gif Sundsvall and five goals for him in the Superettan.

In the fall of 2007, Gif Sundsvall finished in third place in the Superettan and the club thus made a comeback in the country's highest league. During 2008, Mikael Lustig played 16 Allsvenskan matches and scored one goal before he signed for the Norwegian club Rosenborg BK at the end of July 2008. He played the last match for Giffarna away against Gais (2–0) at Ullevi in Gothenburg on July 28, 2008 when he played the entire match in the back line in shirt number 3.

The debut for Rosenborg BK took place on 3 August 2008, away against Tromsø IL (0–4) in the Tippeligaen in front of 6,023 spectators at Alfheim Stadion in Tromsø. Mikael Lustig played the entire match as right back in jersey number 2 under the Swedish head coach Erik Hamrén's leadership. In the same match, AIK's current goalkeeper coach Kyriakos Stamatopoulos sat on the bench as a substitute for the home team. He scored the first goal for his new club against Vålerenga Fotboll (2–1) in front of 18,295 spectators at the Lerkendal stadium in Trondheim on August 31, 2008 when he was played for by Slovakian Marek Sapara and answered for the 2–0 goal in the 35th minute of the match .

Rosenborg BK finished fifth in the Tippeligaen in his first season at the club, 15 points behind champions Stabæk Fotball. In 2009 and 2010, Mikael Lustig became Norwegian champion with Rosenborg BK, in 2009 they finished 13 points ahead of Molde FK and in 2010 they were seven points ahead of Vålerenga Football when the season was summed up. In 2011, Rosenborg BK finished third in the table behind first Molde FK and second Tromsø IL. In November 2011 it was clear that there would be no continuation for Mikael Lustig in RBK and his result in the Norwegian club was 137 competitive matches played and 21 goals scored.

On 23 November 2011, Celtic FC announced that they had agreed with the Swedish national team defender on a contract over three and a half years starting on 1 January 2012. Celtic's Northern Ireland manager Neil Lennon commented on the transfer with the words "We are delighted to bring Mikael to Celtic. We believe he has the qualities to make a real impact at the club. He is a player with international pedigree and a defender with great versatility. He is someone who I feel will be a very positive addition to the squad.”

The debut for the Scottish club came in the 29th round of the Scottish Premiership when Celtic faced Aberdeen FC (1–1) in front of 13,127 spectators at the Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on 3 March 2012. Mikael Lustig started the match at right back in shirt number 23 under manager Neil Lennon's management and picked up a yellow card before being replaced by South Korean Cha Du-ri in the 68th minute of the match. The first goal for Celtic came in his second season at the club, at home to Hibernian FC (2–2) in front of 50,000 spectators at Celtic Park in Glasgow on 1 September 2012 when he volleyed home from a right corner to give the home side the lead in the tenth minute . It was a total of eight seasons with Celtic FC for Mikael Lustig and he played 273 competitive matches, scored 21 goals and he became Scottish champion in all eight seasons in Glasgow.

There were 58 games in the Uefa Champions League for Mikael Lustig in Celtic, 55 of which from the start, and he accounted for two goals. The best international season for Celtic during the Swede's years at the club was the 2012/2013 season when they made it to the round of 16 against Italian Juventus FC where they fell by a total of 0–5. He also played 18 games in the Uefa Europa League, 16 of which were starts, and was noted for a goal away to Dutch side AFC Ajax (2–2) during his years in Glasgow.

He played his last game in the green and white Celtic shirt on 12 May 2019 against Rangers FC (0–2) in front of 49,844 spectators at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. Mikael Lustig started the Old Firm derby, but was forced to throw in the towel during the break due to an injury. The injury occurred at the end of the first half and Lustig received love from the Celtic supporters when, sitting on the pitch, he stretched out both hands towards the home team's centre-back Connor Goldson and showed eight fingers, one finger for each successive league title the Swede has won with Celtic.

On 21 June 2019, Mikael Lustig signed a three-year contract with Belgian KAA Gent and made his competitive debut for them on 25 July 2019, in the second qualifying round of the 2019/2020 Uefa Europa League group stage when, in front of 13,398 spectators at home at the Ghelamco Arena in Gent, they faced FC Viitorul (6–3) from Romania. Lustig played right back the entire match in shirt number 23 under Danish manager Jess Thorup. The league debut for KAA Gent came in the second round of the Jupiler Pro League 2019/2020 when they faced KAS Eupen (6–1) in front of 17,780 spectators at the Ghelamco Arena on 4 August 2019. KAA Gent finished second in the Jupiler Pro League 2019/ 2020 which was not completed, 15 points behind the series victories Club Brugge KV.

The Belgian league announced on 15 May 2020 that league play ended after only 29 regular season rounds played due to covid-19 and there was no subsequent playoff.

There were a total of 30 competitive matches in KAA Gent for the experienced Swedish national team defender during the season when, in addition to second place in the league, they reached the round of 16 in the Uefa Europa League 2019/2020 against Italian AS Roma. Mikael Lustig played the entire match in the first leg in front of 28,248 spectators at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 20 February 2020 as the home side won 1–0 after an early goal by Spaniard Carles Pérez. The return leg in Belgium a week later, with the Swedish defender on the bench, ended 1–1 and KAA Gent were thus eliminated from the tournament.

The match was his last in the Gent jersey when manager Jess Thorup placed the Swede in the freezer. During the summer, the club removed him from the player presentations on the website and he was also not included in the team photo for the 2020/2021 season. "Right now Lustig is training with the second team," club director Michel Louwagie commented on the situation in August 2020.

At the end of the month, the parties agreed to an end where the agreement was broken and on August 25, 2020, AIK Football announced that it had signed an agreement with the then 33-year-old Mikael Lustig. The contract between the parties ran until July 31, 2021. "I auditioned for AIK back in 2004 and it feels good that it finally paid off. The wait has been long, but now I'm finally here. I long to pull on the black and yellow match shirt," said Mikael Lustig in the press release in connection with the transfer.

AIK had a difficult start to the season and were badly placed in the Allsvenskan table when Mikael Lustig and the other new signings (Sotirios Papagiannopoulos, Filip Rogić and Bojan Radulovic Samoukovic) arrived during the transfer window and contributed, among other things, the necessary energy to a team with sprained confidence. On 30 August 2020, AIK took on BK Häcken (0–1) at the Friends Arena in Solna in the 18th round and Mikael Lustig started on the bench in jersey number 33 under the leadership of head coach Bartosz Grzelak who took up the position a month earlier. The away team took the lead in the 57th minute of the match and five minutes later it was time for Mikael Lustig's AIK debut when he replaced Robert Lundström. The match was his first in the Allsvenskan in 4,416 days.

In the following round, AIK were drawn away to Malmö FF (0–0) and Mikael Lustig was selected in the starting eleven and played the entire long match (a full ten minutes of stoppage time in the second half) as Gnaget took an important point after finishing with only nine players on the field after red cards for Ebenezer Ofori and Sotirios Papagiannopoulos. The score gave wind in the hitherto sluggish black and yellow sails and at home at Friends Arena on September 20, 2020, Hammarby (3–0) was run over. In the 77th minute of the match, Mikael Lustig decided the final result in the Stockholm derby when he slotted the ball behind away goalkeeper David Ousted after catching the post rebound from Sebastian Larsson's hard free kick.

With Mikael Lustig's entrance as a starting player in AIK becoming familiar, the club lined up nine Allsvenskan matches in a row without a loss after the result line 6W-3O-0F and all of a sudden they were the strongest in form in the series and secured the Allsvenskan contract by a good margin. From the debut in Gnaget on August 30, 2020, it would take until the home meeting with Örebro SK (0–2) at Friends Arena on November 22, 2020 before AIK conceded a goal with Mikael Lustig on the pitch and then it was an unfortunate own goal by Eric Kahl in the 39th match minute that ended the fine streak. During his debut season in AIK, he played in 13 competitive matches, eleven of which were starts, and he accounted for two goals and a goal-scoring pass. The second goal came in the series epilogue away to IF Elfsborg (2–2) at Borås Arena on December 6, 2020, when Mikael Lustig set the final score in the 70th minute of the match, eleven minutes after playing Nabil Bahoui for the reduction - and the score meant that AIK finished in ninth place in the Allsvenskan table. His disciplinary record ended with a yellow card and no red card.

Ahead of AIK's first competitive match of the season, away against Oskarshamn's AIK (2–1) in the first round of the group stage in the Swedish Cup 2020/2021, Mikael Lustig was in the selected match squad that traveled down to Småland the day before the match, but he started feeling unwell early in the evening and was therefore immediately isolated from the rest of the squad. He therefore missed the cup match at Arena Oskarshamn when he left the hotel at lunchtime to go home. The first competitive match of the year was instead the home meeting with Athletic FC Eskilstuna (4–0) on February 27, 2021 when he played the entire match. On March 5, 2021, AIK Fotboll announced that it had agreed with Mikael Lustig on a contract extension and the new agreement was valid until December 31, 2022.

The continued pandemic meant that the Allsvenskan could only take in a maximum of eight spectators during the opening eight rounds, but after the EC break, significantly more spectators were allowed on site. AIK was in third place in the table ahead of the EC after noting the result line 4W-2O-2F. When the Allsvenskan started again after the EC tournament, Sebastian Larsson and Mikael Lustig were not selected in the match squad when AIK met BK Häcken (1–2) in front of 1,005 spectators at Bravida Arena on July 4, 2021.

AIK was in the fight for the SM gold right into the final seconds of the 30th and final round of the Allsvenskan, but in the end they had to settle for the big silver. AIK overturned 0–2 to 4–2 at home to IK Sirius FK in front of 27,731 spectators at Friends Arena in the series epilogue and did their part to keep the drama alive going into the final seconds of the season. However, AIK needed help from Halmstads BK in their away meeting with Malmö FF, but the match at Eleda Stadium in Malmö ended 0–0. AIK thus finished in second place with the same number of recorded points (59) as the Swedish champions, but with a worse goal difference of eight plus goals.

He played in 29 competitive matches, all of which were starts, and he was responsible for two goal-scoring passes during the year, to Nabil Bahoui at home against IFK Göteborg (3–1) and to Zachary Elbouzedi at home against Östersunds FK (3–0). There were also three yellow cards for him in the Allsvenskan, which resulted in a suspension in the away meeting with Malmö FF (0–1) in front of 18,821 spectators at the Eleda stadium on October 27, 2021 when Ebenezer Ofori was moved down to the back line.

2022 began for AIK with the group stage in the Swedish Cup 2021/2022 and Mikael Lustig started the three matches when AIK won the group. The tussle started with 2–0 at home to Örgryte IS on 19 February 2022 and 4–0 away to Eskilsminne IF on 27 February 2022, but 1–1 at home to Örebro SK in the final group stage match on 7 March 2022 meant that AIK did not get home ground advantage in the quarter finals. In the home match against ÖSK, the AIK defender had to see the red card. With exactly 15 minutes left of regular time, Mikael Lustig drew a yellow card in midfield when he was going to stop a turnaround for the away team. In the 78th minute of the match, the great calamity broke out at Skytteholm's IP. Sebastian Larsson drew a yellow card when he stopped the onrushing left-back Samuel Dahl in midfield and after a few seconds the referee Glenn Nyberg also showed a red card which many in the audience understood went to AIK's team captain. But instead, it was the consequence of another yellow card that was shown to Mikael Lustig in the subsequent situation for a protest at the end of the sentence and the experienced defender had to leave the field for the first time in the AIK shirt.

Malmö FF became AIK's opponent at Malmö IP on 14 March 2022, but Mikael Lustig was missing as he was suspended after the red card against Örebro SK. The match went to extra time after AIK lost a 1–0 lead in the second half, but equalized at 2–2, giving 30 minutes of extra time after two goals by Nabil Bahoui. Malmö FF finally won 3–2 after two decisive verdicts regarding penalty kicks, both against the away team.

A missed penalty kick for AIK when Amar Abdirahman Ahmed was brought down in a free position and a cheap penalty kick for the home team after a possible handball in a messy situation in the first quarter of extra time decided and AIK's cup journey was over.

On April 2, 2022, AIK started the Allsvenskan at a sunny Bravida Arena in the white away venue and went on a real blow against BK Häcken. Mikael Lustig formed a centre-back pair with Alexander Milošević. The home team was 2–0 up after 14 minutes of play and eventually won 4–2 after a hat trick from Alexander Jeremejeff. But the team came back and recorded some heavy wins at home during the spring in the form of 1–0 against IFK Norrköping, 1–0 against Djurgården, 1–0 against IFK Gothenburg and 2–0 against Malmö FF. AIK went to the summer break as second in the table after a strong spring. However, the game began to slow down significantly for AIK after the restart of the Allsvenskan and only in the fourth match did they record their first victory in the home meeting with Kalmar FF (1–0) on July 17, 2022 after Mikael Lustig answered for the winning goal in the 40th minute of the match.

On August 14, 2022, AIK took on IFK Värnamo (2–2) at home at Friends Arena in front of 19,576 spectators and the home team was headed for a heavy loss after two goals by Marcus Antonsson. Mikael Lustig started on the bench, but replaced Alexander Milošević for the second half. The score was 1–2 in the 78th minute of the match when Erik Ring lifted the ball into the penalty area from the left wing and Mikael Lustig headed in the equaliser.

AIK progressed to the play-offs and answered for a really weak effort in the away match with Czech 1.FC Slovácko on 18 August 2022 when the teams met at the Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty in Uherské Hradiště. Gnaget fell by as much as 0–3 after two late goals and with that result were almost eliminated in the play-off even before the return at home.

AIK Football's board decided during an extraordinary board meeting on the afternoon of August 19, 2022 that Bartosz Grzelak would no longer lead the men's team after 80 competitive matches as head coach of AIK. Henok Goitom became acting head coach for the rest of the season. Two days later it was time for games in the Allsvenskan again when IFK Norrköping FK waited at the PlatinumCars Arena in Norrköping. A crowd of 12,765 saw AIK fly to a 3-0 lead in the first half after beautiful goals from Yasin Ayari, Nicolás Stefanelli and Nabil Bahoui. AIK offered by far the best game of the year, but an unnecessary sending off of Vincent Thill at the end of the first half stopped the away team's fine play.

Glysisvallen in Hudiksvall was the venue for AIK in the second round of the Swedish Cup 2022/2023 and Hudiksvall's Förenade FF (4–2) was the opposition where 1,371 spectators had gathered on August 31, 2022. AIK were under pressure in the match and the score was 1– 1 when Sebastian Larsson, Nicolás Stefanelli and debutant Taha Ayari were substituted in the 57th minute of the match and two minutes later Gnaget tightened their grip on promotion when Nicolás Stefanelli put in a rebound behind substitute Sebastian Jonsson in the home goal and AIK eventually won 4–2 . Mikael Lustig started the cup match on the bench and replaced Sotirios Papagiannopoulos before the second half.

During 2022, Mikael Lustig has so far played in 30 competitive matches, of which 24 from the start, and he has recorded two goals, two goal-scoring passes and one yellow card and one red card. The goal-scoring passes have been made to Nabil Bahoui away to BK Häcken (2–4) on April 2, 2022 and to Erick Otieno away to IFK Norrköping FK (4–2) on August 21, 2022.

So far, there have been 72 competitive matches for him in the AIK jersey, of which 64 from the start, and he has accounted for four goals and five goal-scoring passes. His disciplinary record is five yellow cards and one red card.

On October 13, 2004, Mikael Lustig made his debut for the Swedish J18 national team in the first qualifying round for the U19 EC against Liechtenstein (4–0), which was played in front of approximately 150 spectators in the Croatian city of Žminj. Mikael Lustig was selected in the starting eleven by the national team captain Hans Lindbom and played right back the entire match. Already in the fifth minute of the match, Patrik Ståhl from Spårvägens FF scored 1–0, played by national team debutant Lustig. AIK's centre-back Per Karlsson also played from the start in Lustig's debut international. He was also involved in taking the U21 national team to a semi-final at the home European Championship in 2009, where he played every single minute. There were then 21 international matches for the Swedish U21 national team for Mikael Lustig and he accounted for one goal,

The debut for the Swedish A national team took place away against the USA (0–2) in front of 14,878 spectators at the Home Depot Center in Carson City in the state of California on January 19, 2008. Mikael Lustig played the entire match as a right back under the leadership of national team captain Lars Lagerbäck. He scored the first goal in the A national team at home against Moldova (2–1) in the European Championship qualifiers in front of 25,544 spectators at the Råsunda football stadium on March 29, 2011. In the 30th minute of the match, Mikael Lustig gave the home team the lead when he, played by Kim Källström's elegant deep pass, from the short line to the right of the penalty area hit the ball in front of the goal and via a small touch on an opponent the ball went into the goal at the far left post. Lustig was also involved in the preparation for Sweden's 2–0 goal in the 81st:

The second national team goal was scored by Lustig in the World Cup qualifier against Germany on 16 October 2012 when the match ended 4–4 after Sweden in front of 72,369 spectators at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin miraculously came back from a 0–4 deficit in the second half.

When Sweden qualified for the WC in Russia, Mikael Lustig played in eight of the ten qualifying matches and he contributed, among other things, with three goals to the important points. Sweden finished in second place behind France in Group A and was pitted against Italy in the Play off. Sweden advanced to the World Cup after winning the home match at the Friends Arena 1–0 on 10 November 2017 and three days later fighting to a 0–0 draw in the second leg in front of 72,696 spectators at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. Mikael Lustig missed the home game due to suspension, but played 90 minutes in the return leg in Milan. The World Cup finals in Russia were his first after playing 19 World Cup qualifiers and play offs between 2012 and 2017.

Sweden qualified for European Championship 2020, but the tournament was postponed until 2021 and AIK players Sebastian Larsson and Mikael Lustig were selected by national team captain Janne Andersson. Sweden faced Spain (0–0), Slovakia (1–0) and Poland (3–2) in Group E and won the group ahead of Spain. In the round of 16 against Ukraine (1–2) at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 29 June 2021, Sweden fell to stoppage time in extra time. Mikael Lustig started all four games. Mikael Lustig represented Sweden in four different championships; EC 2012 in Poland and Ukraine (not further from the group stage), EC 2016 in France (not further from the group stage), WC 2018 in Russia (quarter-final) and EC 2021 (round of 16). On July 13, 2021, Mikael Lustig announced that he is quitting the men's national team. "Putting on the Sweden jersey and singing the national anthem with my family in the stands,

"Micke has been a key player during all the years that I have been national team captain. A very wise player with a great understanding of the game. His commitment, routine, warmth and humor have to a great extent contributed to the fact that we had such good cohesion in the squad," said national team captain Janne Andersson.

Mikael Lustig accounted for six goals in his 94 A international matches played for Sweden; home vs. Luxembourg (2017 World Cup qualifier), away vs. Bulgaria (2017 World Cup qualifier), away vs. Luxembourg (2016 World Cup qualifier), home vs. Wales (2016), away vs. Germany (2012 World Cup qualifier) and home vs. Moldova (EC qualifiers 2011). The 94 international matches played mean that Mikael Lustig is in joint 13th place in the marathon list of the most A international matches played for the Swedish men's national team before 2023.

 

Terrific club and international career, and a fantastic servant to Celtic, who always wore his heart on his sleeve.

Hope he has a great life in retirement and whatever is next for him, be it in football, coaching, media or whatever other challenge that lays ahead. He deserves it.

 

Get him back here in any capacity possible please.

 

What a player thus man was for us. Best right back we've had this century and a Celtic great. All the best Mika, you mad *.

 

Some bhoy our Mika, absolute legend.