Joel Ekstrand
Encyclopedia
Joel Ekstrand is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 footballer who play defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 at Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

.

Ekstrand started playing football for his home town club Lunds BK
Lunds BK
Lunds BK is a football club from Lund, Sweden founded in 1919. The club currently plays in Division 1 Södra and at the same time time also plays in the Tipselit....

. In 2005 he moved to Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF
Helsingborgs IF , commonly referred to as Helsingborg and locally HIF, is a Swedish football club located in Helsingborg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan...

. He made his first team debut against PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup Round of 32, at Philips Stadion
Philips Stadion
Philips Stadion is the 35,000 seater stadium of football club, PSV Eindhoven. It was first inaugurated on 31 August 1913. The stadium is located in the Philipsdorp part of the Eindhoven borough of Strijp, close to Eindhoven's city centre....

.

Udinese

On January 18, 2011 Ekstrand penned a four-year deal with Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

 through to 2015. He debuted for the club when Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

 faced Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...

 in a 2-1 victory. Ekstrand came off the bench in the 70th minute.

He made his first game from start in a Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 qualifying game against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

. That match Udinese changed from last season's 3–5–2 formation to 4–1–4–1, where wing-backs Mauricio Isla
Mauricio Isla
Mauricio Aníbal Isla Isla is a Chilean footballer who plays for Italian Serie A team Udinese and for the Chilean national team. He can play in numerous positions, including right, centre, and left back as well as a winger or centre midfielder...

 and Pablo Armero became midfielders, thus using 4 defenders instead of 3 centre-backs last season. Ekstrand was the starting right-back.

Ekstrand picked up a yellow card after 50 seconds after tackling The Gunners'
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 Marouane Chamakh
Marouane Chamakh
Marouane Chamakh is a French-Moroccan footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the Moroccan national team as a striker. He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "tall stature" and "excellent heading ability".Chamakh started his career...

.

Ekstrand remained in starting XI in the return leg in 4–4–1–1 formation.

International career

He made his Sweden debut in a friendly against Syria
Syria national football team
The Syria national football team represents Syria in association football and is controlled by the Syrian Football Association, the governing body for football in Syria. Syria's home grounds are Abbasiyyin Stadium and Aleppo International Stadium...

.

External links

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