Sander Svendsen (born 6 August 1997) is a Norwegian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
or a
winger for
Eliteserien
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
club
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
.
Early life
Sander Svendsen was born in
Molde
Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord.
The administrative centre of the m ...
, and started to play football at a young age at the local club
Molde FK
Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name to ...
. 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.
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
Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his care ...
. He scored his first competitive goal for the side on 21 April 2014, in a 5–1 win against
Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg.
Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...
. Aged 16 years and 259 days, he is the
fifth-youngest goalscorer in
Eliteserien
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
history. Amid his breakthrough at Molde, Svendsen trialed with the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
giants
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
on several occasions. At the end of 2013, however, Svendsen signed a new three-year contract with Molde.
In 2014, Svendsen became the youngest player ever to win the Norwegian top flight,
Eliteserien
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
. Molde secured the championship title following a 2–1 victory against
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
on 4 October. Svendsen made 12 league appearances throughout the campaign.
The same year,
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
rated him as one of the most promising football players in Europe born in 1997.
The Danish newspaper
BT also named Svendsen as one of the 20 best Scandinavian players under the age of 20.
Sander Svendsen made his continental debut during the
2014–15 UEFA Europa League
The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League was the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final was ...
, on 24 July 2014, in a 1–1 draw against the
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
n club
Gorica in the second qualifying round. He scored his first goal in the tournament in the third qualifying round about a week later, against
Zorya Luhansk
FC Zorya Luhansk ( uk, ФК «Зоря» Луганськ ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk is based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, because of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team play their games at Slavutych-Arena in Zapori ...
from
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
on away turf. The game finished 1–1 as Svendsen scored a late equalizer in the 88th minute.
In 2015, Svendsen played 26 league games for Molde.
He scored a brace in a local derby against
Aalesund on 20 April, in a 5–1 win. He scored another two goals on 16 May, in a 3–3 draw against
Stabæk. At the end of the season, Svendsen was prized as the domestic "Talent of the Year" by the
Norwegian Football Association
The Norwegian Football Federation ( nb, Norges Fotballforbund, nn, Noregs Fotballforbund; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems ...
.
Roughly at the same time, Svendsen also renewed his contract with Molde, with his new deal lasting until the end of 2017.
During the upcoming season, Svendsen made 25 league appearances for Molde and scored 4 goals.
He was used as a utility player, appearing as a striker, winger and central midfielder throughout the 2016 season.
In April 2017,
Tuttosport
''Tuttosport'' is an Italian sport newspaper published in Turin, Italy.
History and profile
''Tuttosport'' was first published on 30 July 1945. Renato Casalbore (who later died in the 1949 Superga air disaster alongside the Il Grande Torino foo ...
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.
Hammarby IF
On 11 August 2017, Sander Svendsen transferred to
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
in
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...
. 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. Svendsen signed a four-year deal with the
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
-based side. He made his debut for the club only a few days later in a 2–2 home draw against
Östersund
Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...
, coming on as a second half sub. Svendsen scored his first competitive goal for the club on 16 August, in a 3–1 win against
Akropolis IF
Akropolis IF is a Swedish football club formed by Greek immigrants in 1968 in Spånga.
The club is named after the Acropolis of Athens, and the Parthenon is depicted on its badge.
Background
Akropolis IF is a sports club which was founded in ...
in round 2 of the
2017–18 Svenska Cupen
The 2017–18 Svenska Cupen was the 62nd season of the Svenska Cupen and the sixth season with the current format. The winners of the competition earned a place in the second qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, unless they had a ...
. On 21 August, he scored his first goal in Allsvenskan, in a 3–0 away win against
Örebro SK
Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn A ...
. Svendsen scored his first brace for Hammarby in a 3–3 home draw against
IK Sirius
IK Sirius is a Swedish bandy club located in Uppsala, currently playing in Elitserien. IK Sirius were formed in 1907 and play their home games at Studenternas Idrottsplats.
History
IK Sirius' first success was becoming Swedish runners-up in 1 ...
on 23 October. He scored another two goals, and also provided one assist, as Hammarby won 4–1 away against
GIF Sundsvall
Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...
on 29 October.
Odd (loan)
On 26 March 2019,
Odds BK
Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics.
Odds also have ...
announced the signing of Svendsen on a loan deal until the summer.
OB
On 8 July 2019,
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...
club
Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
announced that they had signed Svendsen on a four-year contract.
Brann (loan)
On the last day of the transfer window 2020,
SK Brann
Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...
announced that they had signed Svendsen on a six-month loan deal.
Odd (loan)
On 19 April 2021, Odd announced the signing of Svendsen on a loan deal. On 16 August 2021, Odd confirmed that Svendsen had returned to OB. However, on 31 August 2021, it was confirmed that the loan-spell at Odd had been extended until the end of 2021.
Viking
On 29 August 2022,
Viking FK
Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, having won 8 ...
announced the signing of Svendsen on a three-and-a-half-year contract.
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.
Svendsen made his debut for the
Norwegian U21s on 13 June 2015, aged 17, in a 2–0 win against
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
in the
2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Poland in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament ...
.
Style of play
Sander Svendsen has been prized for his great ball control and vision,
with fine technique and dribbling skills.
His former teammate at Molde,
Mattias Moström
Mattias Kent Moström (born 25 February 1983) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder for SK Træff. He played most of his career for Norwegian Eliteserien club Molde. He started his career with AIK, before he made hi ...
, has compared Svendsen's style of play to that of
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
. ”He can shoot with both feet ... He is excellent in small spaces, gets past his opponent and then a swift finish”, Moström said.
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.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Molde
*
Eliteserien
Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...
:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
*
Norwegian Football Cup
The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...
:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Individual
*Talent of the Year in Norway:
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svendsen, Sander
1997 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Molde
Norwegian men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Norway men's youth international footballers
Norway men's under-21 international footballers
Molde FK players
Hammarby Fotboll players
Odds BK players
Odense Boldklub players
SK Brann players
Viking FK players
Eliteserien players
Allsvenskan players
Danish Superliga players
Norwegian expatriate men's footballers
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden
Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
Footballers from Møre og Romsdal