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Albin Ekdal

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Albin Ekdal
Ekdal playing for Sweden at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Albin Ekdal[1]
Date of birth (1989-07-28) 28 July 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Djurgårdens IF
Number 8
Youth career
1996–2006 IF Brommapojkarna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 IF Brommapojkarna 24 (0)
2008–2010 Juventus 3 (0)
2009–2010 → Siena (loan) 26 (1)
2010–2011 Bologna 22 (1)
2011–2015 Cagliari 116 (8)
2015–2018 Hamburger SV 54 (1)
2018–2022 Sampdoria 122 (3)
2022–2023 Spezia 40 (0)
2024– Djurgårdens IF 17 (0)
International career
2004–2006 Sweden U17 18 (5)
2007–2008 Sweden U19 8 (2)
2008–2010 Sweden U21 12 (2)
2011–2023 Sweden 70 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:59, 10 November 2024 (UTC)

Albin Ekdal (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈǎlːbɪn ˈêːkdɑːl]; born 28 July 1989) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF.

Formed at IF Brommapojkarna, Ekdal has spent most of his career in Italy, where he has made over 300 Serie A appearances. He has represented Cagliari, Juventus, Siena, Bologna, Sampdoria and Spezia in the competition. He also spent three years in Germany's Bundesliga with Hamburger SV.

A full international between 2011 and 2023, Ekdal won 70 caps for the Sweden national team. He represented his country at UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

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Brommapojkarna

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Albin Ekdal started his professional playing career with Brommapojkarna at the beginning of the 2007 Allsvenskan season. He played mainly as a central midfielder but also as an attacking midfielder or right midfielder.

Juventus

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On 23 May 2008, Ekdal signed a four-year contract with Juventus of Italy's Serie A.[2] He made his Serie A and club debut on 18 October in a 2–1 away defeat to Napoli, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute for Christian Poulsen.[3]

Loan to Siena

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On 15 July 2009, fellow Italian top-flight club Siena signed Ekdal on loan for a season.[4] He made 27 appearances for the Tuscans, who were ultimately relegated at the end of the season, and scored once, in a 4–3 loss away to eventual treble winners Inter Milan on 9 January 2010.[5]

Bologna

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On 28 June 2010, Juventus sold 50% of their ownership rights of Ekdal to Bologna. As per the deal, the two clubs would agree at the start of each season who would have him as a player.[6] He played 23 total games for the Rossoblu and scored on the anniversary of his last goal, to open a 2–0 win at Bari.[7]

Cagliari

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Ekdal with Cagliari in 2012

On 23 August 2011, Ekdal was sold to fellow Serie A team Cagliari on a three-year deal for €3 million.[8]

On 28 September 2014, Ekdal scored a hat-trick as Cagliari won 4–1 at Inter Milan.[9]

Hamburger SV

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On 18 July 2015, German club Hamburger SV signed Ekdal from Cagliari on a four-year deal for €4.5 million with wages of €600,000 per season.[10] He was given the number 20 shirt.

He played 57 games for the side in total, who struggled against relegation in each of his three years with the team, ending with their ultimate descent into the 2. Bundesliga in 2018. He scored once for the team from Hamburg, the only goal of a home win against Hertha BSC on 5 March 2017.[11]

On 21 January 2017, Ekdal received the first red card of his career, after 33 minutes of a 1–0 loss at VfL Wolfsburg.[12]

Sampdoria

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On 14 August 2018, following Hamburg's relegation from the Bundesliga, Ekdal returned to Serie A by signing for Sampdoria.[13]

Spezia

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On 13 July 2022, Ekdal signed a two-year contract with Spezia.[14]

Djurgården

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On 30 December 2023, Ekdal moved back to Sweden and Stockholm after 16 years abroad, he signed for Djurgårdens IF, the club he supported as a child.

International career

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Ekdal (left) and Pierre Bengtsson playing against Spain in October 2019

Ekdal made his debut for Sweden on 10 August 2011 in a friendly game away to Ukraine in Kharkiv. He came on as a 60th-minute substitute for Sebastian Larsson in a 1–0 win.

Ekdal was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016 in France, despite a deep cut in his back from celebrating Hamburg's recent Bundesliga survival putting his involvement at risk.[15] He played each match as the Swedes came bottom of their group.

In June 2018 Ekdal was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[16] He played all five games of a run to the quarter-finals.

Ekdal was included in Sweden's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[17]

After Sweden failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024, Ekdal announced his retirement from international football. On 20 November 2023, he made his final appearance in Sweden's qualifier against Estonia in Stockholm, captaining the team and playing 72 minutes before being substituted to a standing ovation from the Friends Arena crowd.[18]

Personal life

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Ekdal grew up in Höglandet, an affluent suburb in Västerort, Stockholm. He is the son of Lennart Ekdal, an award-winning Swedish journalist, TV personality and newscaster known for his work for the newspaper Dagens Nyheter and the financial magazine Veckans Affärer, as well as hosting TV shows such as Kalla fakta, Halvtid för Reinfeldt (with Fredrik Reinfeldt), Kvällsöppet med Ekdal & Hakelius and Hetluft.[19][20]

Ekdal's younger brother, Hjalmar Ekdal, is also a professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Burnley as well as the Sweden men's national football team.[21]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 4 June 2023[22]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brommapojkarna 2007 Allsvenskan 15 0 – – – 15 0
2008 Superettan 9 0 – – – 9 0
Total 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
Juventus 2008–09 Serie A 3 0 0 0 0 0 – 3 0
2009–10 Serie A 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
2010–11 Serie A 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 1 0
Total 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Siena (loan) 2009–10 Serie A 26 1 1 0 – – 27 1
Bologna 2010–11 Serie A 22 1 1 0 – – 23 1
Cagliari 2011–12 Serie A 30 1 1 0 – – 31 1
2012–13 Serie A 31 1 3 0 – – 34 1
2013–14 Serie A 22 1 1 0 – – 23 1
2014–15 Serie A 33 5 1 0 – – 34 5
Total 116 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 122 9
Hamburger SV 2015–16 Bundesliga 14 0 1 0 – – 15 0
2016–17 Bundesliga 21 1 2 0 – – 23 1
2017–18 Bundesliga 19 0 0 0 – – 19 0
Total 54 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 57 1
Sampdoria 2018–19 Serie A 32 0 1 0 – – 33 0
2019–20 Serie A 32 0 1 0 – – 33 0
2020–21 Serie A 32 2 1 0 – – 33 2
2021–22 Serie A 26 1 1 0 – – 27 1
Total 122 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 126 3
Spezia 2022–23 Serie A 31 0 2 1 – 0 0 33 1
Career total 376 14 17 1 1 0 0 0 394 15

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[22]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2011 1 0
2012 1 0
2013 5 0
2014 6 0
2015 7 0
2016 8 0
2017 4 0
2018 10 0
2019 8 0
2020 5 0
2021 10 0
2022 1 0
2023 4 0
Total 70 0

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. ^ Albin Ekdal signs 4-year contract with Juventus Archived 26 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Al San Paolo Amauri illude la Juve, ora per Ranieri si fa buio pesto". La Repubblica (in Italian). 18 October 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. ^ Mancini, Riccardo (15 July 2009). "Ekdal in prestito al Siena" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Search Results Web results Serie A: Inter 4-3 Siena". Inter Milan. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2020.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Albin Ekdal flyttar till Bologna". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 28 July 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Ekdal apre, Di Vaio chiude, Il Bari crolla: è tutto da rifare". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 9 January 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Accordo con la societa' Cagliari Calcio relativo al calciatore Albin Ekdal" (PDF) (in Italian). Juventus F.C. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Inter 1 Cagliari 4: Ekdal hat-trick inspires sensational away win". Four Four Two. 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Hamburg announce Albin Ekdal signing". Soccernews. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Ekdal gives Hamburg's survival hopes boost; Freiburg edge Eintracht". ESPN FC. PA Sport. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  12. ^ Fredriksson, Emelie; Jönsson, Fredrik. "Albin Ekdal fick karriärens första röda kort". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Ekdal arrives from Hamburg on a permanent deal". U.C. Sampdoria. 16 August 2018.
  14. ^ "ALBIN EKDAL IS A NEW SPEZIA PLAYER". Spezia. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Injury doubt Ekdal included in Sweden's Euro 2016 squad". Goal. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  16. ^ Crawford, Stephen (4 June 2018). "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". Goal. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Sweden Euro 2020 squad: Full team profile". FourFourTwo. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Why Lindelof Gave Up The Sweden Armband". Manchester United F.C. 21 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Lennart Ekdal prisad för sin journalistik – Kvällsöppet – tv4.se". Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Sveriges Radio – Sidan finns ej". Retrieved 17 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ ""Försämrar inte chansen att få hem Albin Ekdal"" (in Swedish). Expressen. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  22. ^ a b Albin Ekdal at Soccerway
  23. ^ "Årets mittfältare 2013: Bachmann och Ekdal — fogis.se". fogis.se. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Årets mittfältare 2014: Ekdal och Seger — fogis.se". fogis.se. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Årets mittfältare 2015: Seger och Ekdal — fogis.se". fogis.se. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Stora Grabbars Märke - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 September 2021.
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