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Johan Elmander
Personal information
Full name	Johan Elmander
Date of birth	May 27, 1981 (1981-05-27) (age 28)
Place of birth	Alingsås, Sweden
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Striker, Winger
Club information
Current club	Bolton Wanderers
Number	9
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–1998 1999–2000 2000–2004 2002–2003 2003–2004 2004–2006 2006–2008 2008–	Holmalunds IF Örgryte IS Feyenoord → Djurgården (loan) → NAC Breda (loan) Brøndby IF Toulouse Bolton Wanderers	23 0(5) 39 0(4) 39 0(3) 19 (12) 31 0(7) 58 (22) 64 (22) 36 0(7)
National team2
2000–2004 2002–	Sweden U21 Sweden	28 (12) 45 (12)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:48, 22 November 2009 (UTC. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 20:02, 13 August 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Johan Elmander ['juːan ɛl'mɑndɛr] (born 27 May 1981 in Alingsås) is a Swedish football player, who plays as a striker 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.^[1] 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.

[edit] 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 where he continued to be used as a midfielder. Although never a first team regular, he came on as a substitute in the 2002 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.

[edit] 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, playing mainly as the a free roaming forward behind the sole striker in Laudrup's 4-3-3 formation. The team won the Double of both the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup title, and Elmander was voted Brøndby's Player of the Year.

In his two seasons at Brøndby, Elmander scored 22 goals in 58 Danish 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 of around EUR 4,500,000 on 7 July 2006.

Elmanders personalized boot at Brøndby

[edit] Toulouse

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.

[edit] Bolton Wanderers

On 27 June 2008, Elmander completed a move to Premier League club Bolton Wanderers,^[2][3] for an £8.2 million fee^[4], 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, in a friendly match 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. Elmander played 30 games in 2008-09 season, scored 5 goals and 2 assists.^{[citation needed]}

From December 2008 to September 2009, Elmander went on a nine-month goal drought, which ended during the Carling Cup fixture against West Ham as he scored in extra-time.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Personal life

Elmander has two brothers Peter and Patrik who also play professional football in Sweden.^[5]

Elmander was married on December 27, 2007 to highschool sweetheart Amanda Calvin in a lavish ceremony in her home town of Hemsjö, Sweden. The couple had over 200 guests including fellow former teammates Kim Källström and Jon Jönsson. At their wedding, Swedish-idol Christoffer Hiding performed.^[6] In August 2008, the couple announced the birth of their first child.^[7] Elmander has been nicknamed "TheHomie Elmander" by soccer fans worldwide.

[edit] 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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Johan Elmander FIFA competition record
• (Danish) Brøndby IF profile
• Career stats by Danmarks Radio
• Johan Elmander career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Sweden squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Lucic • 5 Edman • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 A. Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Larsson • 12 Alvbåge • 13 Hansson • 14 Stenman • 15 K. Svensson • 16 Källström • 17 Elmander • 18 Jonson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Shaaban • Coach: Lagerbäck

v • d • e Sweden squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Isaksson • 2 Nilsson • 3 Mellberg • 4 Hansson • 5 Stoor • 6 Linderoth • 7 Alexandersson • 8 Svensson • 9 Ljungberg • 10 Ibrahimović • 11 Elmander • 12 Shaaban • 13 Wiland • 14 Majstorović • 15 Granqvist • 16 Källström • 17 H. Larsson • 18 S. Larsson • 19 Andersson • 20 Allbäck • 21 Wilhelmsson • 22 Rosenberg • 23 Dorsin • Coach: Lagerbäck