Alexander Søderlund

Alexander Toft Søderlund (born 3 August 1987) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Haugesund. He has represented the Norway national team.

Alexander Søderlund
Søderlund in 2013
Personal information
Full name Alexander Toft Søderlund[1]
Date of birth (1987-08-03) 3 August 1987
Place of birth Haugesund, Norway
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Haugesund
Number 16
Youth career
Stegaberg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Haugesund 0 (0)
2006–2008 Vard Haugesund 11 (4)
2008 Virtus Lanciano 0 (0)
2008–2010 Treviso 0 (0)
2008 → UR Namur (loan) 3 (0)
2009 → Botev Plovdiv (loan) 0 (0)
2009 → FH (loan) 18 (3)
2010 Lecco 7 (0)
2010 Vard Haugesund 12 (4)
2011–2013 Haugesund 70 (24)
2013–2015 Rosenborg 63 (38)
2016–2018 Saint-Étienne 43 (3)
2018–2020 Rosenborg 55 (16)
2020 Häcken 23 (8)
2021 Çaykur Rizespor 12 (1)
2021– Haugesund 52 (9)
International career‡
2006 Norway U21 1 (0)
2012–2017 Norway 32 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2017

Club career

After playing for Stegaberg IL in his youth, Søderlund played for Haugesund and Vard Haugesund.[2] He later became something of a journeyman, spending time at six different clubs in four different foreign countries between 2008 and 2010 (notably in the third Italian division, fourth Italian division and Belgian Second Division).

His unsuccessful experience abroad ended in summer 2010, when the fourth Italian division club of Calcio Lecco did not renew his probation period of 4 months.

He then returned home, and played for his former club Vard Haugesund (Norwegian Second Division) in the closing stages of the 2010 season.

In January 2011, he moved to FK Haugesund, and on 20 March 2011, Søderlund made his debut in Tippeligaen against Tromsø. He got his first two league goals against Stabæk on 8 May 2011, and finished his debut season with 11 goals.

On 17 June 2013, Rosenborg BK announced that they had bought Søderlund from Haugesund as a replacement for Tarik Elyounoussi who was sold to the German Bundesliga. Søderlund joined the club on 15 July.[3] He played 12 matches and scored three goals for Haugesund in the 2013 season, and as the club eventually finished in third place in Tippeligaen for the first time in the club's history, Søderlund was eligible for bronze medals. But as his new team Rosenborg finished second, he was only awarded silver medals due to a change in the rules after Thomas Holm won both gold and silver with two different teams in the 2011 season.[4] Søderlund won another silver-medal in 2013, as Rosenborg lost the 2013 Norwegian Football Cup Final 4–2 against Molde.

On 4 January 2016, Søderlund joined Saint-Étienne on 3.5-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Rosenborg was estimated at between €1.5 and 2 million.[5] Thirteen days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 derby win against Lyon.[6]

Frequently criticized in France for his lack of speed and technique, he was transferred in January 2018 to his former club Rosenborg. The transfer fee paid was estimated at €500,000.[7]

International career

On 23 November 2011, Søderlund was named in the Norway squad for the three friendly matches in Thailand in January 2012.[8] He made his debut for Norway in a 1–1 friendly draw against Denmark on 15 January 2012.[9] On 1 June 2012, he was added to Norway's squad when Mohammed Abdellaoue was doubtful for the match against Croatia.[10] Søderlund got his first cap at home when he replaced Erik Huseklepp as a substitute in the 84th minute, and later assisted Tarik Elyounoussi equalizing goal against Croatia.[11][12] In the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Slovenia on 11 September 2012, he replaced Elyounoussi after 89 minutes earning a penalty three minutes later which John Arne Riise converted for the match-winning goal as Norway won 2–1.[13] He started his first qualifying match when Norway met Switzerland on 12 October 2012.[14]

Career statistics

Club
As of 22 October 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Treviso 2008–09 Serie B 0000—00
Namur (loan) 2008–09 Belgian Second Division 30——30
FH (loan) 2009 Úrvalsdeild 183—20203
Lecco 2009–10 Lega Pro 70——70
Haugesund 2011 Tippeligaen 291144—3315
2012 Tippeligaen 291032—3212
2013 Tippeligaen 123——123
Total 702476007730
Rosenborg 2013 Tippeligaen 1331121165
2014 Tippeligaen 231331523116
2015 Tippeligaen 2722421464530
Total 6338842199251
Saint-Étienne 2015–16 Ligue 1 14210—152
2016–17 Ligue 1 1712142234
2017–18 Ligue 1 1201000130
Total 4334142516
Rosenborg 2018 Eliteserien 278651014314
2019 Eliteserien 288201354313
Total 5516852368627
Häcken 2020 Allsvenskan 2384000278
Çaykur Rizespor 2020–21 Süper Lig 12100—121
Haugesund 2021 Eliteserien 15400—154
2022 26400—264
2023 11100—111
Total 5290000529
Career total 34610231165017428135

    International goals
    Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Søderlund goal.
    List of international goals scored by Alexander Søderlund
    No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
    110 October 2015Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Malta2–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification[16]
    210 June 2017Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Czech Republic1–11–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification[17]

    Honours

    Rosenborg

    Individual

    References
    1. "Alexander Toft Søderlund" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
    2. "Søderlund i U21-troppen" (in Norwegian). Haugesunds Avis. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
    3. Gravdal, Lena Gundersby (17 June 2013). "Søderlund klar for Rosenborg" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
    4. "Søderlund får ikke bronsemedalje" (in Norwegian). TV 2. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
    5. "Soderlund (Rosenborg) pour trois ans et demi à Saint-Etienne". francetvsport (in French). 4 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    6. "Foot. Ligue 1 : Saint-Etienne gagne son derby contre Lyon (1-0)". Le Parisien (in French). 17 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    7. Alexander Soderlund back to Rosenborg
    8. "14 spillere kan få sin landslagsdebut". vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
    9. "Elyounoussi reddet Norge: – Dette lover godt". vg.no (in Norwegian). VG. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
    10. "Søderlund inn i landslagtroppen". fotball.no (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
    11. "Søderlund inn i landslagtroppen". h-avis.no (in Norwegian). Haugesunds Avis. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
    12. "Elyounoussi fikk peptalk like før scoringen". aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    13. Ramm, Nicolay Andre; Bentsen, Anders Rove (11 September 2012). "Søderlund: – Kunne nok holdt meg på beina" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
    14. Saltbones, Fredrik (12 October 2012). "Søderlund og Forren starter for Norge". 100% Fotball (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
    15. "A. Søderlund". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
    16. "Norway 2 Malta 0". ESPN. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
    17. "Norway 1-1 Czech Republic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
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