Niclas Alexandersson

Niclas Alexandersson

Alexandersson with Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Jens Niclas Alexandersson
Date of birth	(1971-12-29) 29 December 1971
Place of birth	Halmstad, Sweden
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
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)
International career‡
1992	Sweden U23	3	(0)
1993–2008	Sweden	109	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:39, 6 May 2012 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 June 2008

Jens Niclas Alexandersson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɪklɑs ɑlɛkˈsɑndɛʂɔn] (born on 29 December 1971 in Halmstad, Sweden) is a retired Swedish football midfielder. He played as a right winger and right full back. Apart from his versatility, he is known for his dribbling and stamina.

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. He played for three seasons in Sheffield, where he became a fan's favorite and won the Player of The Season award the year the team was relegated. After relegation he was signed by Everton for £2.5m where he played for from 2000–2003, until he moved back to Gothenburg, where he played from 2004–2008. After the retirement last season he has been working on IFK Göteborg project Änglagårdskolan. Is a school where you can combine school and football in the spirit of IFK Göteborg. 27 September 2009, newspapers told that Niclas is going for a comeback and will be start training again on 29 September 2009. On 2 October 2009 it was revealed that Alexandersson has sign a contract for the rest of the season. After the season, he retired for good.

International career

He made his debut for the national team in 1993, and has since participated in 100 international games, scoring seven goals. His participation in the national team includes the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup and one European Championship (Euro 2000). 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.

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 is also a professional football player, was born. In 1988, he moved to Halmstad to play for Halmstads BK. While living in Halmstad, he attended Sannarpsgymnasiet, the same school Swedish footballer Fredrik Ljungberg attended.

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

Career table

Club	Season	Dom. league		Dom. cup		Int. cup		Other		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Vessigebro BK	−1988	Youth football
Total	–1988	Youth football
Halmstads BK	1989	4	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥4	≥0
	1990	22	2	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥22	≥2
	1991	28	7	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥28	≥7
	1992	27	7	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥27	≥7
	1993	25	4	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥25	≥4
	1994	25	4	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥25	≥4
	1995	26	5	?	?	4	0	?	?	≥30	≥5
Total	1988–95	157	29	?	?	4	0	?	?	≥161	≥29
IFK Göteborg	1996	26	7	6	2	7	1	15	2	54	12
	1997	26	6	2	0	7	0	15	1	50	7
Total	1996–97	52	13	8	2	14	1	30	3	104	19
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.	1997–98	6	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥6	≥0
	1998–99	32	3	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥32	≥3
	1999–2000	37	5	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥37	≥5
Total	1997–2000	75	8	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥75	≥8
Everton F.C.	2000–01	20	2	3	0	0	0	?	?	≥23	≥2
	2001–02	31	2	4	0	0	0	?	?	≥35	≥2
	2002–03	7	0	1	1	0	0	?	?	≥8	≥1
	2003–04	0	0	0	0	0	0	?	?	≥0	≥0
Total	2000–04	58	4	8	1	0	0	?	?	≥66	≥5
West Ham United F.C. (on loan)	2003–04	8	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥8	≥0
Total	2003–04	8	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	≥8	≥0
IFK Göteborg	2004	26	4	6	2	3	0	5	0	40	6
	2005	26	6	1	0	13	2	6	1	46	9
	2006	24	0	1	0	6	1	8	2	39	3
	2007	20	2	3	0	0	0	5	0	28	2
Total	2004–	96	12	11	2	22	3	24	3	153	20
IFK Göteborg totals	1996–	148	25	19	4	36	4	54	6	257	39
Career totals	1988–	446	66	≥27	≥5	40	4	≥54	≥6	≥567	≥81

Notes

Sporting positions
Preceded by Håkan Mild	IFK Göteborg Captain 2006–2008	Succeeded by Adam Johansson