Niclas Alexandersson
{{Short description|Swedish footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Niclas Alexandersson
| image = Niclas Alexandersson 2006.jpg
| caption = Alexandersson with Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
| full_name = Jens Niclas Alexandersson
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|12|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Halmstad, Sweden
| height = 1.81 m
| position = Right winger
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Vessigebro BK
| years1 = 1989–1995
| clubs1 = Halmstad
| caps1 = 157
| goals1 = 29
| years2 = 1996–1997
| clubs2 = IFK Göteborg
| caps2 = 52
| goals2 = 13
| years3 = 1997–2000
| clubs3 = Sheffield Wednesday
| caps3 = 75
| goals3 = 8
| years4 = 2000–2004
| clubs4 = Everton
| caps4 = 58
| goals4 = 4
| years5 = 2003–2004
| clubs5 = → West Ham United (loan)
| caps5 = 8
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2004–2008
| clubs6 = IFK Göteborg
| caps6 = 119
| goals6 = 18
| years7 = 2009
| clubs7 = IFK Göteborg
| caps7 = 5
| goals7 = 1
| years8 = 2017
| clubs8 = Västra Frölunda
| caps8 = 1
| goals8 = 0
| totalcaps = 475
| totalgoals = 73
| nationalyears1 = 1988
| nationalteam1 = Sweden U16
| nationalcaps1 = 8
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 1988–1991
| nationalteam2 = Sweden U18
| nationalcaps2 = 28
| nationalgoals2 = 1
| nationalyears3 = 1991–1993
| nationalteam3 = Sweden U21/O
| nationalcaps3 = 27
| nationalgoals3 = 1
| nationalyears4 = 1996–1997
| nationalteam4 = Sweden B
| nationalcaps4 = 2
| nationalgoals4 = 0
| nationalyears5 = 1993–2008
| nationalteam5 = Sweden
| nationalcaps5 = 109
| nationalgoals5 = 7
}}
Jens Niclas Alexandersson ({{IPA|sv|ˈnɪk.las ˌalɛkˈsan.dɛʂˌsɔn}}; born 29 December 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a right winger and right back.
Beginning his career with Halmstad in 1989, he went on to represent IFK Göteborg, Sheffield Wednesday, Everton, and West Ham United before retiring in 2009.
A full international between 1993 and 2008, 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).
Club career
After starting his career with local club Vessigebro, Alexandersson moved to Halmstad in 1988. He played for the team until 1995, when he joined IFK Göteborg, with whom he won Allsvenskan in 1996 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.{{cite web |url=http://sheffieldwednesday.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=894&p=2&stid=7961461 |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302210745/http://sheffieldwednesday.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=894 |archive-date=2 March 2007 }} 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. 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2835&artikel=3129628|title = Sveriges Radio - lokala och rikstäckande radiokanaler|newspaper = Sveriges Radio|date = 28 September 2009}} On 2 October 2009, it was revealed that Alexandersson would sign a contract for the rest of the season.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fotbollskanalen.se/1.1247026/2009/10/02/ifk_har_skrivit_kontrakt_med_alexandersson_han_spelar_pa_mandag|title=IFK har skrivit kontrakt med Alexandersson - "Han spelar på måndag"}} After the season, he retired for good.
In 2017, Alexandersson made a brief comeback when appearing in a Division 3 Sydvästra Götaland game for Västra Frölunda against Kungsbacka, appearing as a substitute in the 78th minute and playing alongside his son Noah Alexandersson in a 6–0 win.{{Cite web|title=Niclas Alexandersson - Lagstatistik|url=https://www.lagstatistik.se/player?playerId=52462|access-date=8 July 2021|website=www.lagstatistik.se|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Serier och resultat|url=https://www.azaleabk.se/Varalag/P04/Serierochresultat/?scr=result&fmid=3505011|access-date=8 July 2021|website=www.azaleabk.se|language=sv}}
International career
Alexandersson made his debut for the Sweden 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.{{cite web|url=http://svt.se/svttext/web/pages/303.html |title=The first blue and yellow to retire |date=19 June 2008 |access-date=19 June 2008 |publisher=SVT.se |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616123014/http://www.svt.se/svttext/web/pages/303.html |archive-date=16 June 2008 }}
Personal life
Alexandersson was born in Halmstad on 29 December 1971 to father Lennart Alexandersson, a former Halmstad player. He grew up in Falkenberg, where he started playing football in the local club Vessigebro. 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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotbollsbladet/article78995.ab |title=Svenska spelarfruarna längtar efter sina gubbar | Fotboll | Sportbladet | Aftonbladet |access-date=28 May 2009 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312132812/http://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/article10285359.ab |url-status=dead }} While playing football, Alexandersson's family has lived in numerous places including Sheffield, Liverpool, Warrington, and London before returning to Gothenborg. His son Noah Alexandersson has gone on to play professional football for IFK Göteborg in Allsvenskan.{{Cite web|title=20 frågor till Noah Alexandersson: "Vissa driver med mig – men de är bara avundsjuka"|url=https://www.expressen.se/gt/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/vissa-driver-med-mig-de-ar-bara-avundsjuka/|access-date=5 March 2021|website=www.expressen.se|date=18 May 2020 |language=sv}}
Career statistics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{Cite web|title=Niclas Alexandersson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll|url=https://www.svenskfotboll.se/spelarfakta/niclas-alexandersson/dd4e5b14-f5cc-4560-a1af-260aaf78f052/|access-date=8 July 2021|website=www.svenskfotboll.se|language=sv}}{{Cite news|title=Niclas Alexandersson – Century of International Appearances|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/alexandersson-intl.html}} | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="16"|Sweden
|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 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!109 !7 |
:Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alexandersson goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Niclas Alexandersson |
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |
|---|
| style="text-align:center"|1
|8 March 1995 |Tsirion Athletic Centre, Limassol, Cyprus |{{fb|Cyprus}} |style="text-align:center"|3–2 |style="text-align:center"|3–3 |
| style="text-align:center"|2
|15 November 1995 |Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |{{fb|Turkey}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|2–2 |
| style="text-align:center"|3
|10 February 1999 |Stade Olympique El-Mensah, Tunis, Tunisia |{{fb|Tunisia}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |Friendly |
| style="text-align:center"|4
|4 September 1999 |Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden |{{fb|Bulgaria}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |
| style="text-align:center"|5
|8 September 1999 |Josy Barthel Stadion, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |{{fb|Luxembourg}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier |
| style="text-align:center"|6
|6 June 2001 |Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden |{{fb|Moldova}} |style="text-align:center"|4–0 |style="text-align:center"|6–0 |
| style="text-align:center"|7
|2 June 2002 |Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan |{{fb|England}} |style="text-align:center"|1–1 |style="text-align:center"|1–1 |
Honours
Individual
- Swedish Midfielder of the Year: 1995{{Cite web|title=Niclas är en av de stora i svensk fotboll - Halmstads BK|url=https://www.hbk.se/nyheter/2020/maj/niclas-ar-en-av-de-stora-i-svensk-fotboll|access-date=9 July 2021|website=www.hbk.se}}{{Cite web|title=Fotbollsgalan - här är ALLA vinnare sedan 1995|url=https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/allsvenskan/fotbollsgalan---har-ar-alla-vinnare-sedan-1995/|access-date=9 July 2021|website=fotbollskanalen|language=sv}}
- Sheffield Wednesday Player of the Year: 1999–2000{{Cite web|title=Sheffield Wed Player of the Year 1969-2021|url=https://www.myfootballfacts.com/premier-league/premier-league-clubs-2/sheffield-wednesday-player-of-the-year/|access-date=9 July 2021|website=My Football Facts|language=en-US}}
- Årets Ärkeängel: 2004{{Cite web|title=Alla 47 ärkeänglar {{!}} ifkdb.se|url=https://ifkdb.se/listor/arkeanglar|website=ifkdb.se|access-date=2020-05-06}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Soccerbase}}
- {{ifkdb|name=#10 Niclas Alexandersson}}
{{Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Sweden squads
|bg= #FFF01C
|fg= #005B99
|bordercolor= #005B99
|list1=
{{Sweden Squad 1992 Summer Olympics}}
{{Sweden UEFA Euro 2000 squad}}
{{Sweden Squad 2002 World Cup}}
{{Sweden Squad 2006 World Cup}}
{{Sweden Squad 2008 Euro}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandersson, Niclas}}
Category:Footballers from Halmstad
Category:Swedish men's footballers
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Sweden men's international footballers
Category:Sweden men's youth international footballers
Category:Olympic footballers for Sweden
Category:Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Category:UEFA Euro 2000 players
Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players
Category:FIFA Men's Century Club
Category:Premier League players
Category:English Football League players
Category:Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Category:West Ham United F.C. players
Category:Swedish expatriate men's footballers