Jens Niclas Alexandersson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɪk.las ˌalɛkˈsan.dɛʂˌsɔn]; born 29 December 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a right winger and right back.

Niclas Alexandersson
Alexandersson with 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 (age 52)
Place of birth Halmstad, Sweden
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right winger
Youth career
Vessigebro BK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1995 Halmstad 157 (29)
1996–1997 IFK Göteborg 52 (13)
1997–2000 Sheffield Wednesday 75 (8)
2000–2004 Everton 58 (4)
2003–2004West Ham United (loan) 8 (0)
2004–2008 IFK Göteborg 119 (18)
2009 IFK Göteborg 5 (1)
2017 Västra Frölunda 1 (0)
Total 475 (73)
International career
1988 Sweden U16 8 (1)
1988–1991 Sweden U18 28 (1)
1991–1993 Sweden U21/O 27 (1)
1996–1997 Sweden B 2 (0)
1993–2008 Sweden 109 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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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.[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 would sign a contract for the rest of the season.[3] 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.[4][5][6]

International career

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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.[7]

Personal life

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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.[8] 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.[9]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[4][10]
National team Year Apps Goals
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
Total 109 7
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alexandersson goal.
List of international goals scored by Niclas Alexandersson
No. 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

Honours

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IFK Göteborg[11]

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Sveriges Radio - lokala och rikstäckande radiokanaler". Sveriges Radio. 28 September 2009.
  3. ^ "IFK har skrivit kontrakt med Alexandersson - "Han spelar på måndag"".
  4. ^ a b "Niclas Alexandersson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Niclas Alexandersson - Lagstatistik". www.lagstatistik.se. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Serier och resultat". www.azaleabk.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ "The first blue and yellow to retire". SVT.se. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Svenska spelarfruarna längtar efter sina gubbar | Fotboll | Sportbladet | Aftonbladet". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  9. ^ "20 frågor till Noah Alexandersson: "Vissa driver med mig – men de är bara avundsjuka"". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 18 May 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Niclas Alexandersson – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  11. ^ "Niclas Alexandersson - ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Niclas är en av de stora i svensk fotboll - Halmstads BK". www.hbk.se. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Fotbollsgalan - här är ALLA vinnare sedan 1995". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Sheffield Wed Player of the Year 1969-2021". My Football Facts. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Alla 47 ärkeänglar | ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
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