Johan Elmander

Football player infobox| playername= Johan Elmander
fullname = Johan Elmander
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|5|27
cityofbirth = Alingsås
countryofbirth = Sweden
height = height|ft=6|in=2
currentclub = Bolton Wanderers
clubnumber = 9
position = Striker, Playmaker, Winger
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1997–1998
1999–2000
2000–2004
2002–2003
2003–2004
2004–2006
2006–2008
2008–
clubs = Holmalunds IF
Örgryte IS
Feyenoord
→ Djurgården (loan)
→ NAC Breda (loan)
Brøndby IF
Toulouse
Bolton Wanderers
caps(goals) = 23 0(5)
39 0(4)
39 0(3)
19 (12)
31 0(7)
58 (22)
62 (22)
02 0(1)
nationalyears = 2000–2004 2002–
nationalteam = Sweden under-21 Sweden
nationalcaps(goals) = 28 (12)
38 (11)
pcupdate = 14:18, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 23 August 2008

Johan Elmander ['juːan ɛl'mɑndɛr] (b. May 27, 1981 in Alingsås, Sweden) is a Swedish football player, who plays as a forward for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League having joined in a record £8.2 million deal from French club Toulouse in the Ligue 1 Championship. [cite news|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1568677.ece|title=Bolton 3 Stoke 1|date=2008-08-18|accessdate=2008-08-18|publisher=The Sun] Elmander has scored eleven goals in 38 games for the Swedish national team, and was chosen to represent his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008.

Career

Elmander started his career as a striker for Swedish clubs but changed to a center midfielder Holmalunds IF and Örgryte, before making the move to Dutch club Feyenoord at the age of 18. Although never a first team regular, he came on as a substitute in the 2004 UEFA Cup final 3-2 win against German team Borussia Dortmund.

Elmander was subsequently put on loan back in Sweden with Djurgården, where he won the Double of both Allsvenskan championship and Swedish Cup title in 2002 and Allsvenskan in 2003, however he wasn't awarded any medal since he played too few matches. He also debuted for the Swedish national team, in a February 2002 friendly match against Greece. In 2003, he was loaned out to Feyenoord's Dutch league rivals NAC Breda.

Brøndby

Before the 2004-05 season, he was bought by Danish Superliga outfit Brøndby. Despite not scoring as many goals for the club as was expected, he was the playmaker and creative spark of the Brøndby team in the 2004-05 Superliga season. The team won the Double of both Superliga championship and Danish Cup title, and Elmander was voted Brøndby's "Player of the Year".

Toulouse

In his two seasons at Brøndby, Elmander scored 22 goals in 58 Superliga games, attracting the attention of several clubs throughout Europe. He was called up to represent Sweden at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he played two games. Elmander signed a four-year contract with French side Toulouse for an undisclosed fee on 7 July 2006.

Elmander scored 11 goals in his first season with Toulouse FC and was nominated as player of the year by his fellow players. This award was subsequently won by Olympique Lyonnais player Florent Malouda. The season was very successful with Elmander guiding Toulouse FC to third place and a berth in the qualifying rounds of UEFA Champions League.

Bolton Wanderers

On 27 June 2008, Elmander completed a move to Premier League club Bolton Wanderers, [cite news|url=http://www.bwfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~1335286,00.html|title=Wanderers land Swede|date=2008-06-27|accessdate=2008-06-29|publisher=Bolton Wanderers] [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/7478332.stm|title=Bolton sign £10m-rated Elmander|date=2008-06-27|accessdate=2008-06-29|publisher=BBC Sport] for an £8.2 million fee [cite news|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1568677.ece|title=Bolton 3 Stoke 1|date=2008-08-18|accessdate=2008-08-18|publisher=The Sun] , with the deal including Daniel Braaten moving to Toulouse FC. He signed a three-year deal, before being given the number 9 shirt by manager Gary Megson.

On 1 August 2008, Elmander made his Bolton debut, at the Keepmoat Stadium, against Doncaster, where he scored two goals, one in each half of the match. His first Premier League goal, a header, came on his competitive debut, against Stoke on 16 August 2008 in a 3-1 win.

Honours

Feyenoord
*UEFA Cup: 2002

Djurgården
*Allsvenskan Champion: 2002, 2003
*Svenska Cupen Winner: 2002

Brøndby
*Danish Superliga Champion: 2004-2005
*Danish Cup Winner: 2004-2005

References

External links

* [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/players/profile.php?id=19 Bolton Wanderers Profile] at [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/ Burnden Aces]
*FIFA player|186297|Johan Elmander
*da icon [http://www.brondby.com/player.asp?sid=110&id=33 Brøndby IF profile]
* [http://resol.dr.dk/sportservice_person.aspx?personid=116994 Career stats] by Danmarks Radio
*soccerbase|id=26544|name=Johan Elmander