Sander Svendsen

Sander Svendsen (born 6 August 1997) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Eliteserien club Viking.

Sander Svendsen
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-08-06) 6 August 1997
Place of birth Molde, Norway
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Viking
Number 29
Youth career
Molde
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2017 Molde 80 (17)
2017–2019 Hammarby 29 (6)
2019 → Odd (loan) 15 (0)
2019–2022 OB 54 (17)
2020 → Brann (loan) 10 (1)
2021 → Odd (loan) 28 (8)
2022– Viking 15 (3)
International career
2012 Norway U15 7 (4)
2013 Norway U16 9 (4)
2014 Norway U17 7 (4)
2014–2015 Norway U18 8 (1)
2014–2017 Norway U19 4 (1)
2015–2017 Norway U21 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 May 2023

Early life

Sander Svendsen was born in Molde, and started to play football at a young age at the local club Molde FK. Both his parents, mother Ellen and father Svend Jarle, had represented the club at senior level. At age 14, Svendsen began to train regularly with Molde's senior team.[1]

Club career

Molde FK

Svendsen made his first team debut on 9 May 2013, aged only 15, against Aalesund in a 4–1 win. He was brought on shortly before the final whistle by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.[2] He scored his first competitive goal for the side on 21 April 2014, in a 5–1 win against Sarpsborg.[3] Aged 16 years and 259 days, he is the fifth-youngest goalscorer in Eliteserien history.[4] Amid his breakthrough at Molde, Svendsen trialed with the Dutch giants Ajax on several occasions. At the end of 2013, however, Svendsen signed a new three-year contract with Molde.[5]

In 2014, Svendsen became the youngest player ever to win the Norwegian top flight, Eliteserien. Molde secured the championship title following a 2–1 victory against Viking on 4 October.[6] Svendsen made 12 league appearances throughout the campaign.[7] The same year, The Guardian rated him as one of the most promising football players in Europe born in 1997.[8] The Danish newspaper BT also named Svendsen as one of the 20 best Scandinavian players under the age of 20.[9]

Sander Svendsen made his continental debut during the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, on 24 July 2014, in a 1–1 draw against the Slovenian club Gorica in the second qualifying round.[10] He scored his first goal in the tournament in the third qualifying round about a week later, against Zorya Luhansk from Ukraine on away turf. The game finished 1–1 as Svendsen scored a late equalizer in the 88th minute.[11]

In 2015, Svendsen played 26 league games for Molde.[7] He scored a brace in a local derby against Aalesund on 20 April, in a 5–1 win.[12] He scored another two goals on 16 May, in a 3–3 draw against Stabæk.[13] At the end of the season, Svendsen was prized as the domestic "Talent of the Year" by the Norwegian Football Association.[14] Roughly at the same time, Svendsen also renewed his contract with Molde, with his new deal lasting until the end of 2017.[15]

During the upcoming season, Svendsen made 25 league appearances for Molde and scored 4 goals.[7] He was used as a utility player, appearing as a striker, winger and central midfielder throughout the 2016 season.[1] In April 2017, Tuttosport named Svendsen as one of the 98 best young players in Europe under the age of 21. The Italian newspaper nominated Svendsen for the Golden Boy award.[16]

Hammarby IF

On 11 August 2017, Sander Svendsen transferred to Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan.[17] The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 4 million Swedish kronor (approximately £0,4 million), as Svendsen only had six months left on his previous contract with Molde.[18][19] Svendsen signed a four-year deal with the Stockholm-based side.[20] He made his debut for the club only a few days later in a 2–2 home draw against Östersund, coming on as a second half sub.[21] Svendsen scored his first competitive goal for the club on 16 August, in a 3–1 win against Akropolis IF in round 2 of the 2017–18 Svenska Cupen.[22] On 21 August, he scored his first goal in Allsvenskan, in a 3–0 away win against Örebro SK.[23] Svendsen scored his first brace for Hammarby in a 3–3 home draw against IK Sirius on 23 October.[24] He scored another two goals, and also provided one assist, as Hammarby won 4–1 away against GIF Sundsvall on 29 October.[25]

Odd (loan)

On 26 March 2019, Odds BK announced the signing of Svendsen on a loan deal until the summer.[26]

OB

On 8 July 2019, Danish Superliga club Odense Boldklub announced that they had signed Svendsen on a four-year contract.[27]

Brann (loan)

On the last day of the transfer window 2020, SK Brann announced that they had signed Svendsen on a six-month loan deal.[28]

Odd (loan)

On 19 April 2021, Odd announced the signing of Svendsen on a loan deal.[29] On 16 August 2021, Odd confirmed that Svendsen had returned to OB.[30] However, on 31 August 2021, it was confirmed that the loan-spell at Odd had been extended until the end of 2021.[31]

Viking

On 29 August 2022, Viking FK announced the signing of Svendsen on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[32]

International career

From 2012 and onwards, Svendsen has won caps for several of the Norwegian youth national teams. For example, he established himself as a prolific member of the U17's in 2014, scoring 4 goals in 7 matches throughout the year.[33]

Svendsen made his debut for the Norwegian U21s on 13 June 2015, aged 17, in a 2–0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.[34]

Style of play

Sander Svendsen has been prized for his great ball control and vision,[8] with fine technique and dribbling skills.[9] His former teammate at Molde, Mattias Moström, has compared Svendsen's style of play to that of Lionel Messi. "He can shoot with both feet ... He is excellent in small spaces, gets past his opponent and then a swift finish", Moström said.[35]

Personal life

He is the older brother of fellow footballer Tobias Svendsen, a midfielder born in 1999. The duo played together at Molde between 2015 and 2017.[36]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 November 2022[37][38]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Molde 2013 Eliteserien 201000–30
2014 Eliteserien 1213321–175
2015 Eliteserien 2684260–3610
2016 Eliteserien 2542120–295
2017 Eliteserien 1543100–185
Total 8017137101–10325
Hammarby 2017 Allsvenskan 10611––117
2018 Allsvenskan 19041––231
2019 Allsvenskan 0031––31
Total 29683––379
Odd (loan) 2019 Eliteserien 15031––181
OB 2019–20 Danish Superliga 321310––3313
2020–21 Danish Superliga 2010––30
2021–22 Danish Superliga 13430––164
2022–23 Danish Superliga 7000––70
Total 541750––5917
Brann (loan) 2020 Eliteserien 101–––101
Odd (loan) 2021 Eliteserien 28832––3110
Viking 2022 Eliteserien 11110––121
Career total 227503313101–27064

Honours

Molde

Individual

References
  1. "Nyförvärvet: "Därför valde jag Hammarby"". Expressen (in Swedish). Expressen. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  2. Arvid Steen; Sten Simonsen; Christian M. Hugsted (9 May 2013). "Sander (15) og Håkon (15) debuterte i Tippeligaen" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  3. Ole Kristian Strøm (21 April 2013). "Elyounoussi-dobbel mot gamleklubben" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. "Her blir Sander (16) tidenes nest yngste målscorer i Tippeligaen". aftenposten.no. Aftenposten. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  5. Trond Hustad (29 October 2013). "Molde-brødre i søkelyset til Ajax" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. "Skullerud: - Har utviklet oss etter at jeg tok over etter Solskjær - Norsk fotball - VG". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 4 October 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  7. "Sander Svendsen". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV2. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  8. "Next Generation 2014: 40 of the best young talents in world football | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  9. Michel Wikkelsø Davidsen (27 August 2014). "BT kårer: Her er Skandinaviens 20 bedste fodbold-teenagere" (in Danish). BT. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  10. "Sander Svendsen". UEFA. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  11. "Sander reddet Molde". Aftenposten. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  12. Øyvind Godø; Håvard Røyrvik (20 April 2015). "- Å score to mål i derby som 17-åring må være en utrolig følelse" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  13. Martin Brøste (16 May 2015). "Tomålsscorer Svendsen (17) nekter å gi opp håpet om seriegull" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  14. "Svendsen kåret til årets fotballtalent i Norge". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 22 November 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  15. "Brødrene Svendsen med nye Molde-avtaler". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  16. "Golden Boy shortlist: 14 Premier League players included among the nominees". Mirror. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  17. "SVENDSEN TIL HAMMARBY". www.moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  18. "Officiellt: Hammarby värvar anfallare från Molde - för fyra miljoner". www.fotbollskanalen.se (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  19. "PÅ FD: Bajens klipp – bara 4 miljoner för tre jättetalanger". Fotbolldirekt. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  20. "Bajen värvar Sander Svendsen". Hammarby Fotboll. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  21. "Bittert men hoppingivande kryss mot ÖFK". Hammarby Fotboll. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  22. "Bajen återställde ordningen mot släkten". Hammarby Fotboll. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  23. "Tigerrandig utklassningsseger i Örebro". Hammarby Fotboll. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  24. "Bittert kryss efter holmgång mot Sirius". Hammarby Fotboll. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  25. "Tillbaka i vinnarspåret igen efter storseger i Sundsvall". Hammarby Fotboll. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  26. "Sander Svendsen er klar for Odd". Odds BK (in Norwegian). 26 March 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  27. OB køber Sander Svendsen i Hammarby, ob.dk, 8 July 2019
  28. , nrk.no, 8 October 2020
  29. "Svendsen er tilbake". Odds BK (in Norwegian). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  30. OB har kaldt Sander Svendsen retur, bold.dk, 16 August 2021
  31. Sander Svendsen fortsætter på udleje, ob.dk, 31 August 2021
  32. "– Håper dette blir et fantastisk eventyr". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  33. "Sander Svendsen, kampstatistikk" (in Norwegian). Norges Fotballforbund. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  34. "Kampreferat av Norge - Bosnia-Herzegovina - 13.06.2015" (in Norwegian). Norges Fotballforbund. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  35. "Hyllar Bajens nyförvärv: "Han är en mini-Messi"". Aftonbladet. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  36. Hustad, Trond (12 July 2016). "Nå er Tobias blitt voksen". Romsdals Budstikke (in Norwegian). pp. 12–13.
  37. Sander Svendsen at Soccerway
  38. "Sander Svendsen". Norsk & Internasjonal Fotballstatistikk (in Norwegian). NTB.
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