Niclas Alexandersson

Jens Niclas Alexandersson (born on 29 December 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a right winger and right back. He won 109 caps for the Sweden national team, and represented his country at two FIFA World Cups (2002 and 2006) and two UEFA European Championships (2000 and 2008).

Niclas Alexandersson
Niclas Alexandersson with Team Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
Personal information
Full name Jens Niclas Alexandersson
Date of birth (1971-12-29) 29 December 1971
Place of birth Halmstad, Sweden
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Vessigebro BK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1995 Halmstads BK 157 (29)
1996–1997 IFK Göteborg 52 (13)
1997–2000 Sheffield Wednesday 75 (8)
2000–2003 Everton 58 (4)
2003–2004 → West Ham United (loan) 8 (0)
2004–2008 IFK Göteborg 119 (18)
2009 IFK Göteborg 5 (1)
Total 474 (73)
National team
1988 Sweden U16 8 (1)
1988–1991 Sweden U18/U20 28 (1)
1991–1993 Sweden U21/O 27 (1)
1996–1997 Sweden B 2 (0)
1993–2008 Sweden 109 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

After starting his career with local club Vessigebro BK he moved to Halmstads BK in 1988. He played for the team until 1995, when he joined IFK Göteborg, with whom he won the Swedish Championships and played in the UEFA Champions League. After one year in Gothenburg, he moved on to England, where he was signed for £750,000 by Ron Atkinson for Sheffield Wednesday.[1] He played for three seasons in Sheffield, where he became a fans favourite and won the Player of The Season award the year the team was relegated from the Premier League.[1] After relegation he was signed by Everton for £2.5 million where he played for from 2000 to 2003, until he moved back to Gothenburg, where he played from 2004 to 2008.

After an initial retirement in 2008 Alexandersson worked at IFK Göteborg's youth academy, Änglagårdskolan. On 27 September 2009, newspapers reported that he was to make a comeback and would start training again on 29 September 2009.[2] On 2 October 2009 it was revealed that Alexandersson has sign a contract for the rest of the season.[3] After the season, he retired for good.

International career

He made his debut for the national team in 1993, and participated in 109 international games, scoring seven goals. His participation in the national team includes the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2008. He was also a member of the Swedish squad that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. One of his goals came in Sweden's 1–1 draw against England, which he shot powerfully from outside the box and passed through David Seaman during the group stages of the 2002 World Cup.

The day after Sweden's exit from Euro 2008 he decided that he would retire from the national team alongside Marcus Allbäck, however he also said that if it was needed, due to injuries, he would play for the national team again.[4]

Career statistics

International

[5][6]

Sweden national team
Year Apps Goals
1993 1 0
1994 2 0
1995 8 2
1996 6 0
1997 12 0
1998 0 0
1999 10 3
2000 8 0
2001 8 1
2002 12 1
2003 1 0
2004 4 0
2005 11 0
2006 13 0
2007 7 0
2008 6 0
Total 109 7

International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 March 1995 Tsirion Athletic Centre, Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus 3–2 3–3 Friendly
2. 15 November 1995 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Turkey 1–0 2–2 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
3. 10 February 1999 Stade Olympique El-Mensah, Tunis, Tunisia  Tunisia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4. 4 September 1999 Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden  Bulgaria 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier
5. 8 September 1999 Josy Barthel Stadion, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier
6. 6 June 2001 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden  Moldova 4–0 6–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
7. 2 June 2002 Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan  England 1–1 1–1 2002 FIFA World Cup

Personal life

Alexandersson was born in Halmstad on 29 December 1971 to father Lennart Alexandersson, a former Halmstads BK player. He grew up in Falkenberg, where he started playing football in the local club Vessigebro BK. In 1978, his brother Daniel Alexandersson, who was also a professional football player, was born. In 1988, he moved to Halmstad to play for Halmstads BK. He attended Falkenbergsgymnasieskola 1987-1990.

Alexandersson married his wife Frida. The couple had first child Tilda in 1999 and son named Noah in 2001.[7] While playing football, Alexandersson's family has lived in numerous places including Sheffield, Liverpool, and London before returning to Gothenborg.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2835&artikel=3129628
  3. http://www.fotbollskanalen.se/1.1247026/2009/10/02/ifk_har_skrivit_kontrakt_med_alexandersson_han_spelar_pa_mandag
  4. "The first blue and yellow to retire". SVT.se. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
  5. "Sverige - Moldavien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  6. "Niclas Alexandersson – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  7. http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotbollsbladet/article78995.ab
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.