Kalle Björklund (footballer, born 1999)

Kalle Nils Björklund (born 31 May 1999) is a footballer who plays as a centre-back for Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan. Born in Spain, he was a youth international for Sweden.

For the Swedish footballer who was born in 1953, see Kalle Björklund.
Kalle Björklund
Personal information
Full name Kalle Nils Björklund
Date of birth (1999-05-31) 31 May 1999
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Hammarby IF
Number 26
Youth career
0000–2017 Valencia CF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Torre Levante 36 (0)
2018– Hammarby IF 14 (1)
2020 → IK Frej (loan) 5 (0)
2021 → Falkenbergs FF (loan) 10 (1)
2021 → Västerås SK (loan) 14 (0)
2022– → Hammarby TFF (res.) 4 (0)
International career
2017–2018 Sweden U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2022

Early life

Björklund was born in Valencia, Spain. He also lived in England and Italy before the age of six, due to his father Joachim Björklund being a professional footballer.[1][2]

Club career

Torre Levante

He started to play football with Valencia CF and was part of their youth academy up until 2017, when he moved to Torre Levante to start his professional career.[2] Björklund made 36 appearances for the club in the 2017–18 campaign of Tercera División, Spain's fourth tier.[1]

Hammarby IF

On 16 August 2018, Björklund signed a two and half-year deal with Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, Sweden's top tier.[3] He spent the vast majority of the 2018 and 2019 seasons nursing a serious knee injury.[1][4]

In 2020, Björklund made his debut in Allsvenskan, playing 14 league games for Hammarby, as the club disappointingly finished 8th in the table. On 21 January 2021, Björklund was sent on loan to Falkenbergs FF in Superettan, the Swedish second tier.[5][6] On 12 July 2021, he was sent on loan to fellow Superettan club Västerås SK for the remainder of the season.[7][8]

International career

Björklund was called up to the Sweden under-19 national team in March 2018, and featured in two qualification games to the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship against Romania and Serbia.[9]

Personal life

Björklund also holds a Spanish citizenship.[10] He is the son of former Swedish international footballer Joachim Björklund, and the grandson of football coach Karl-Gunnar Björklund.[11]

References
  1. "Son till tränaren - Bajen-löfte berättar om annorlunda resa: "Därför jag är i Hammarby nu"" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. "Kalle Björklund inför P19-avslutningen" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. "Hammarby knyter till sig två spelare inför nästa säsong – överens med Söderström och Björklund" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  4. "Truppen borta mot Norrköping" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  5. "Kalle Björklund lånas ut till Falkenberg" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. "Kalle Björklund från Hammarby klar för FFF" (in Swedish). Falkenbergs FF. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  7. "Klart: VSK förstärker i backlinjen – lånar in Kalle Björklund" (in Swedish). Västerås SK. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. "Kalle Björklund fortsätter låneperiod i Västerås" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. "Landslagsdatabasen: Kalle Björklund" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  10. "K. Björklund" (in Spanish). BeSoccer. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  11. "Fotboll Sthlm möter Jocke Björklund: "Pappa är snabbast!"" (in Swedish). Fotboll STHLM. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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