Alexander Ludwig (footballer, born 1993)

Alexander Ludwig (born 30 June 1993) is a Danish professional footballer who plays for AC Horsens as a centre-back in Danish Superliga.

Alexander Ludwig
Personal information
Full name Alexander Ludwig
Date of birth (1993-06-30) 30 June 1993
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Horsens
Number 33
Youth career
1998–2005 Fremad Amager
2005–2008 Tårnby
2008–2009 Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Midtjylland 1 (0)
2012–2014 Vendsyssel 57 (2)
2014–2017 HB Køge 91 (4)
2017–2018 Horsens 38 (3)
2018–2019 OB 28 (1)
2019– Horsens 100 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:15, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

After playing in the youth academies of various clubs in the Copenhagen area, Ludwig made his senior debut for FC Midtjylland in 2011. He would then go on to become a regular starter for Vendsyssel and HB Køge in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system, before returning to top tier football at AC Horsens in 2017. Strong performances led to him being picked up by Odense Boldklub, but after a disappointing season where he was benched after suffering a knee injury halfway through the season, Ludwig returned to Horsens in August 2019.

Career

Early career

Born in Copenhagen, Ludwig started his career in 1998 at Fremad Amager before moving to Tårnby Boldklub in 2005.[2] At age 15, he was signed by FC Midtjylland and attached to their youth academy in Ikast. Ludwig made his senior debut on 30 April 2011, at age 17, in a Danish Superliga match against AaB, which Midtjylland lost 0–2.[3]

Vendsyssel

Ludwig was signed by Vendsyssel FF in July 2012, which at that time still went under the name FC Hjørring.[4]

After he had established himself as a starter for the club, Vendsyssel offered him a new contract in 2014, but Ludwig declined.[5] As Ludwig's contract expired, clubs from the Superliga and Danish 1st Division were keen to sign him, but in the end he chose to sign with HB Køge, penning a three-year contract with the Danish second tier club.[6]

HB Køge

Ludwig made his debut for Køge in a 1–1 away draw against Skive IK on 25 July 2014.[7] He scored his first goal for the club two months later, netting the 1–1 equalizer the 84th minute in a home match against Brønshøj, before Bruninho scored the winner for Køge four minutes later.[8][9] Ludwig finished the season with 31 total appearances, in which he scored two goals.[1]

Ludwig had a bad start to his 2015–16 season, suffering a knee injury in the season debut against Lyngby Boldklub on 30 July 2015 which kept him out for two months.[10] He made his return to the starting eleven on 27 September, helping Køge advance in Danish Cup by scoring in a 2–0 win over AC Horsens.[11][12] In the following league match Ludwig was in the starting eleven again and contributed to keeping another clean sheet as his club drew 0–0 away against FC Fredericia on 27 September.[13]

On 29 November 2016, Ludwig was named Player of the Year for HB Køge after making 36 appearances and keeping 15 clean sheets throughout 2016.[14]

Horsens

On 8 June 2016, Ludwig signed a two-year contract with Danish Superliga club AC Horsens, after their head coach Bo Henriksen had referred to him as his "dream player".[15][16] He made his debut on 14 July, playing the full match in a 2–1 away win over rivals AGF, marking his return to Danish top-tier football since his sole appearance for Midtjylland in 2011.[17] Ludwig would have a strong season in the centre of defense alongside Bubacarr Sanneh,[18] helping an overperforming Horsens-team reach the championship round where they eventually ended sixth in the league table. He capped off his season with 38 total appearances in which he scored three goals.[1]

OB

On 12 June 2018, Ludwig signed a four-year deal with OB.[19] He made his debut for the club on 15 July against newly promoted Vendsyssel FF, his former club, which ended in a disappointing 3–2 loss away at Nord Energi Arena.[20] After a challenging first half of the season, where he was in and out of the starting lineup, Ludwig suffered a tear in the posterior cruciate ligament of his knee, which kept him out for some months.[21] He made his return to the pitch in a 2–1 win over AGF in March,[22] but would increasingly appear as a substitute for OB, especially into the next season.[23]

Return to AC Horsens

On 14 August 2019, AC Horsens announced that Ludwig had returned to the club on a four-year contract,[24] as a replacement for the outgoing defender Sivert Heltne Nilsen.[25][24] He made his return to the pitch for Horsens on 19 August, five days after signing, in a 2–0 away loss to AGF on Aarhus Stadium, where he started in the centre of defense next to Malte Kiilerich.[26] On 3 June 2020, Ludwig was voted into the "Team of the Week" of the Danish Superliga, after stringing together some strong performances in a rejuvenated Horsens-defense, beating league leader FC Midtjylland 1–0.[27]

References
  1. "Denmark - A. Ludwig - Profile". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  2. "OB køber Alexander Ludwig". ob.dk. Odense Boldklub. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. "AaB 2-0 FC Midtjylland". superstats.dk.
  4. Jesper Helmin (27 June 2012). "Forsvarsduo afslutter FCH's indkøbsraid". bold.dk.
  5. Claus Jensen (21 June 2014). "Dropper både Vendsyssel og Hobro". Nordjyske.
  6. Anker-Møller, Kristian (22 June 2014). "Officielt: HB Køge giver tre år til Ludwig". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  7. "Skive vs. HB Køge - 25 July 2014 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. "Hvor ondt kan det blive for BB ?". 2700-netavisen.dk. 2700 Netavisen. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  9. "HB Køge vs. Brønshøj - 5 September 2014". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  10. Nøhr, Mikkel (30 July 2015). "HB Køge-forsvarer ude i to måneder". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  11. Helmin, Jesper (23 September 2015). "HB Køge skød hul på Horsens". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  12. Helmin, Jesper (23 September 2015). "Ludwig: Kunne ikke være skrevet bedre". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  13. "Fredericia vs. HB Køge - 27 September 2015". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  14. Blond, Mikael (29 November 2016). "Ludwig årets spiller i HB Køge". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  15. Nøhr, Mikkel (8 June 2017). "AC Horsens henter Alexander Ludwig". bold.dk. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  16. Jensen, Kenneth (8 June 2017). "Horsens forstærker sig: Henter 23-årig midtstopper". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. Nøhr, Mikkel (18 July 2017). "Ludwig: Fantastisk start i AC Horsens". bold.dk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  18. Skovsgaard Tøfting, Nicolai (28 November 2017). "Bo H: Ludwig har gjort Sanneh god". bold.dk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  19. Schmidt, Martin (12 June 2018). "Alexander Ludwig skifter fra Horsens til OB". bold.dk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  20. Lillelund, Benjamin (19 July 2018). "Ludwig faldet godt til i OB". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  21. Rasmussen, Leif (18 December 2018). "OB-stoppers hemmelige skade". fyens.dk. Fyens Stiftstidende. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  22. Dalgård, Jonas (13 March 2019). "OB-stopper i comeback: Kæmpe forløsning". bold.dk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  23. Ritzau (10 August 2019). "Bænket forsvarer overvejer sin situation i OB". midtjyllandsavis.dk. Midtjyllands Avis. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  24. "AC Horsens forstærker defensiven med Ludwig". achorsens.dk. AC Horsens. 14 August 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  25. Margren, Sara (14 August 2019). "Horsens henter gammel kending i OB". bold.dk. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  26. "AGF vs. Horsens - 19 August 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  27. "Rundens Hold i 25. spillerunde - 3F Superliga". superliga.dk. 3F Superliga. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
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