Alexander Östlund

Infobox Football biography


playername = Alexander Östlund
fullname = Jan Alexander Östlund
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|11|2
cityofbirth = Åkersberga
countryofbirth = Sweden
height = height|m=1.93
currentclub = Esbjerg fB
clubnumber = 3
position = Right back
youthyears =
youthclubs = IFK Österåker
years = 1994-1996 1997 1998 1998-1999 1999-2002 2003-2004 2004-2006 2006-2008 2008-present
clubs = AIK IF Brommapojkarna AIK
Vitória S.C. IFK Norrköping Hammarby IF Feyenoord Southampton F.C. Esbjerg fB
caps(goals) = 22 (2) 13 (2) 24 (1) 00 (0) 77 (3) 45 (0) 33 (0) 44 (0) 00 (0)
nationalyears = 2004-2006
nationalteam = Sweden
nationalcaps(goals) = 22 (0)
pcupdate = 17:37, 05 April 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 22 July, 2006

Jan Alexander Östlund (born 2 November, 1978 in Åkersberga) is a Swedish football player, currently playing for Esbjerg fB, after being released on a free transfer by Southampton F.C.

Club career

weden

Östlund started playing for hometown club IFK Österåker. At the age of 16 he was drafted for AIK Fotboll, where he played as a striker. He scored the club's last goal of the 1998 season, which meant AIK won Allsvenskan, the Swedish championship. He had a loan period at Birmingham City but was not offered a contract, being subsequently transferred to IFK Norrköping and converted into a defender.

Feyenoord

In July 2004, Östlund signed with Eredivisie's Feyenoord Rotterdam, playing his first match against Vitesse Arnhem.

outhampton

His nickname is "Salle", although the fans of Southampton have been calling him "Jesus" due to his flowing locks and beard, and he emerged as a cult hero for his hard tackles and marauding runs. On the final day of the 2005-06 Championship season, replica number 2 shirts flew out of the club shop, as Saints fans could be heard in matches chanting "Jesus is our right-back".

For the early part of the 2006-07 season he was in and out of the side but towards the end cemented his right-back position. He has always given whole-hearted commitment to the team and provided a more than useful option which allowed Chris Baird to move into the centre of the defence.

Östlund started 2007-08 well, having to compete for the No. 2 position with on-loan players Phil Ifil and Christian Dailly, who both departed from the team in January 2008.

On July 2nd 2008 he was released by the Saints as a free agent.

Esbjerg fB

On August 25th he was presented as a new player in Danish club Esbjerg fB, where he will be competing with Frank Hansen for the right-back postition.

International career

Östlund played for Sweden at the 2004 European Championship. Despite being a regular fixture in the international side, he was overlooked for the 2006 World Cup squad.

External links

*soccerbase|38159