Hjalmar Ekdal

Hjalmar Ekdal (born 21 October 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF.

Hjalmar Ekdal
Personal information
Full name Hjalmar Ekdal
Date of birth (1998-10-21) 21 October 1998
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden[1]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Central defender
Club information
Current team
 Djurgårdens IF
Number 3
Youth career
–2017 IF Brommapojkarna
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 UNC Wilmington Seahawks 20 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 IK Frej 30 (3)
2018 → Assyriska FF (loan) 1 (0)
2019–2020 Hammarby IF 0 (0)
2019 → IK Frej (loan) 15 (0)
2020 → IK Sirius (loan) 26 (0)
2021– Djurgårdens IF 32 (4)
National team‡
2018 Sweden U19 2 (0)
2020 Sweden U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2020

Club career

Early career

Ekdal was born in Stockholm and started to play football with IF Brommapojkarna as a youngster.[3] In 2017, he left to club to study in the United States and play college soccer for UNC Wilmington Seahawks.[4] While in the US, he played in 20 games and scored two goals as the Seahawks reached the final of the 2017 CAA Men's Soccer Tournament before losing 2–4 to College of William & Mary.[5]

IK Frej

In May 2018, Ekdal returned to his native country and signed a two-year deal with IK Frej in Superettan, Sweden's second tier.[6] He played 15 league games throughout the year, scoring once, as the club finished 9th in the table.[7] Ekdal also made one appearance out on loan with Assyriska FF in Division 1, the third tier.[8]

In 2019, Ekdal had a major breakthrough and established himself in the starting eleven at IK Frej.[9] He played all 30 league games in Superettan during the season, scoring twice, but was unable to save the club from relegation.[7]

Hammarby IF

On 19 July 2019, Ekdal transferred to Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, signing a two-year deal.[10] It was also announced that he would remain eligible for affiliated club IK Frej for the rest of the season.[9] On 3 March 2020, Ekdal was sent on loan to fellow Allsvenskan club IK Sirius for the remainder of the season.[11]

Djurgårdens IF

On 4 January 2021, Ekdal joined Djurgårdens IF on a four-year contract.[12] He was named the Allsvenskan player of the month for the month of September 2021.[13]

International career

Ekdal was called up to the Sweden under-19 national team in October 2018,[14] and featured in two friendlies against Denmark (3–1 win) and Russia (1–1 draw) the same month.[15] He was called up to the Sweden U21 team for the first time on 26 August 2020.[16]

Personal life

He is the son of journalist Lennart Ekdal and the brother of fellow footballer Albin Ekdal, who represents Sampdoria and the Swedish national football team.[1][3]

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "2017 Men's Soccer Roster: Hjalmar Ekdal". UNC Wilmington Sports. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. "Hjalmar Ekdal" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. "Hjalmar Ekdal vill gå i brorsans fotspår" (in Swedish). Expressen. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. "Stensson och Ekdal till USA – Fors tränar med herrlaget" (in Swedish). IF Brommapojkarna. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  5. "Men's Soccer vs William & Mary (CAA Championship) on 11/12/2017 - Box Score". UNC Wilmington Athletics. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
  6. "Officiellt: IK Frej Täby värvar Hjalmar Ekdal" (in Swedish). Fotbolltransfers.com. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. "Spelarstatistik: Hjalmar Ekdal" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  8. "Samarbetsavtal med IK Frej" (in Swedish). Assyriska FF. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  9. "Hjalmar Ekdal lämnar IK Frej Täby för Hammarby IF" (in Swedish). IK Frej. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. "Hjalmar Ekdal klar för Hammarby" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. "Hjalmar Ekdal lånas ut till IK Sirius" (in Swedish). Hammarby IF. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  12. "Hjalmar Ekdal klar för DIF". Djurgården Fotboll. 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  13. "Hjalmar Ekdal och Henrik Rydström är september månads vinnare i Allsvenskan". Föreningen Svensk Elitfotboll (in Swedish). 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  14. "Dusan Jajic och Hjalmar Ekdal uttagna till U20-landslaget" (in Swedish). IK Frej. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  15. "Landslagsdatabasen: Hjalmar Ekdal" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  16. "U21-truppen till EM-kvalet - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  17. "UNCW's Hjalmar Ekdal named CAA Rookie of the Year". WECT. Retrieved 2021-10-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. "Hjalmar Ekdal - Men's Soccer". UNC Wilmington Athletics. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
  19. "NCCSIA Announces 2017 University Division All-State Men's Soccer Teams - North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association". www.nccsia.org. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
  20. "UNCW freshman named CAA player of the week". WECT. Retrieved 2021-10-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. "Hjalmar Ekdal utsedd till Årets försvarare i Allsvenskan". Djurgården Fotboll. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
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