An energetic box-to-box midfielder, Samuel Holmén has been a Swedish international since 2006. Despite playing no part in his country's successful qualification for UEFA EURO 2012, he has been selected for the finals, where he will hope to participate in a major tournament for the first time.

• Became a mainstay of Swedish Allsvenskan club IF Elfsborg at 18, winning the Swedish Cup at the end of his first season, 2003, and making his European debut – against Glentoran FC – the following year.

• Won the Swedish title with the Boras club in 2006, starting all 26 matches and scoring seven goals; rewarded with a first senior cap on 15 November 2006 in a friendly against Ivory Coast in Le Mans, France.

• Scored 18 goals in 112 Allsvenskan games for Elfsborg before departing in summer 2007 for Brøndby IF, with whom he won the Danish Cup in his first season, opening the scoring in the final against Esbjerg fB.

• Appeared in eight of Sweden's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scoring one goal, but was overlooked by new national coach Erik Hamrén throughout the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying competition.

• Left Brøndby for Turkish club İstanbul BB SK in 2010 after a proposed move to England fell through; enjoyed consistent form in the Süper Lig, his 2011/12 figures of eight goals in 38 appearances helping to restore him to the Sweden squad.