Viktor Claesson
Claesson playing for Sweden in 2019
Personal information
Full name Viktor Johan Anton Claesson[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Värnamo, Sweden
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Copenhagen
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2008 IFK Värnamo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 IFK Värnamo 71 (29)
2012–2016 IF Elfsborg 134 (32)
2017–2022 Krasnodar 114 (32)
2022– Copenhagen 53 (16)
International career‡
2008 Sweden U17 2 (0)
2009–2010 Sweden U19 9 (3)
2011–2015 Sweden U21 20 (1)
2012– Sweden 74 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:49, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Viktor Johan Anton Claesson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈvɪ̌kːtɔr ˈklɑ̌ːsɔn]; born 2 January 1992) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for the Danish Superliga club Copenhagen and the Sweden national team. He is known for his passing and set piece abilities.[2][3]

Club career

Early career

Claesson started his career with local club IFK Värnamo. After progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut in 2009 in a Division 1 Södra match. After a breakthrough campaign during the 2011 Superettan season, Claesson join IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football.

Krasnodar

On 25 January 2017, Claesson signed a 3.5-year contract with Russian Premier League team FC Krasnodar.[4] He scored on his debut on 16 February 2017 in a 1–0 Europa League Round of 32 win against Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe, scoring a header on his first touch in any competitive Krasnodar game in the 4th minute. He was selected by UEFA as "Man of the Match".[5] He continued his form with two goals in a Russian Cup game against FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast on 28 February 2017[6] and a goal against Celta de Vigo in the first leg of Europa League Round of 16 on 9 March 2017.[7]

Claesson missed all of the 2019–20 season with a serious knee injury.[8]

2020–21 season

Out of action for over 14 months, Claesson returned from injury on 18 August 2020, playing the last 15 minutes of Krasnodar's 2–0 home win over Arsenal Tula in the Russian Premier League.[8] On 18 September, he scored his first two goals since his return from injury in a 7–2 thrashing of Khimki.[9] Four days later, Claesson scored from the penalty spot in the club's first-leg play-off round match against PAOK for qualification to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[10] Krasnodar would win the second leg against PAOK by the same scoreline and secure progression to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.[11]

2021–22 season

On 3 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Krasnodar announced that his contract was suspended and he would not train with the team, but the contract was not terminated and remained valid.[12] On 5 March 2022, his contract was terminated and he was released from the club.[13]

Copenhagen

On 30 March 2022, Claesson signed with Copenhagen in Denmark until the end of the season.[14] On 3 April, he scored the winning goal in his debut match for the club after coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute.

On 16 June 2022, Claesson signed an extension with Copenhagen until 2026.[15]

International career

In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden’s 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[16] He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.

In a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Spain on 10 June 2019, Claesson suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing the cruciate knee ligaments, after a clash with Jordi Alba.[8]

He was named in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 squad, and appeared in all four games as Sweden was eliminated in the round of 16 by Ukraine.[17] He scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win against Poland in the group stage.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 June 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
IFK Värnamo 2009 Division 1 Södra 16 5 – – – 16 5
2010 Division 1 Södra 25 11 1 0 – 2 0 28 11
2011 Superettan 29 13 1 0 – – 30 13
Total 70 29 2 0 – 2 0 74 29
IF Elfsborg 2012 Allsvenskan 27 5 0 0 6[b] 2 – 33 7
2013 Allsvenskan 23 3 3 0 8[c] 3 – 34 6
2014 Allsvenskan 26 5 7 2 6[b] 0 – 39 7
2015 Allsvenskan 29 11 5 3 6[b] 1 – 40 15
2016 Allsvenskan 29 8 3 2 – – 32 10
Total 134 32 18 7 26 6 0 0 178 45
Krasnodar 2016–17 Russian Premier League 13 1 1 2 4[b] 2 – 18 5
2017–18 Russian Premier League 30 10 0 0 4[b] 2 – 34 12
2018–19 Russian Premier League 29 12 4 1 9[b] 2 – 42 15
2019–20 Russian Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
2020–21 Russian Premier League 24 6 1 0 8[d] 2 – 33 8
2021–22 Russian Premier League 18 3 2 0 – – 20 3
Total 114 32 8 3 25 8 0 0 147 43
Copenhagen 2021–22 Danish Superliga 10 1 – – – 10 1
2022–23 Danish Superliga 30 13 7 3 8[e] 1 – 45 17
Total 42 14 7 3 8 1 – 55 18
Career total 358 107 35 13 59 15 2 0 454 135
  1. ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Russian Cup, Danish Cup
  2. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
Claesson playing for Krasnodar in 2017.

International

As of match played 19 November 2023[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2012 2 1
2013 2 0
2014 0 0
2015 0 0
2016 3 0
2017 12 2
2018 14 1
2019 4 3
2020 5 1
2021 15 3
2022 8 2
2023 9 2
Total 74 15
As of match played 19 November 2023.[20]
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Claesson goal.
List of international goals scored by Viktor Claesson
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 23 January 2012 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Qatar 2–0 5–0 Friendly [21]
2 28 March 2017 Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, Portugal  Portugal 1–2 3–2 Friendly [22]
3 2–2
4 10 September 2018 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Turkey 2–0 2–3 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B [23]
5 23 March 2019 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Romania 2–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying [24]
6 26 March 2019 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 1–2 3–3 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying [25]
7 7 June 2019 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Malta 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying [26]
8 17 November 2020 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France  France 1–0 2–4 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A [27]
9 25 March 2021 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Georgia 1–0 1–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [28]
10 23 June 2021 Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia  Poland 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 2020 [29]
11 2 September 2021 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Spain 2–1 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [30]
12 24 September 2022 Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 1–0 1–4 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B [31]
13 19 November 2022 Stadion, Malmö, Malmö, Sweden  Algeria 2–0 2–0 Friendly [32]
14 9 September 2023 Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia  Estonia 5–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [33]
15 19 November 2023 Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Estonia 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [34]

Honours

Elfsborg

Copenhagen

Sweden

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Viktor Claesson". Svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Elfsborg.se". Elfsborg.se. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Краснодар укрепил рядыВиктором Клаэссоном". fckrasnodar.ru (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Krasnodar-Fenerbahce game report". UEFA. 16 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Ural-Krasnodar game report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 28 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Celta-Krasnodar game report". UEFA. 9 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b c ""It's like learning to walk again." Viktor Claesson returns after a year on the sidelines". Premier Liga. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Krasnodar thrash Khimki in a goal frenzy". Dugout. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Krasnodar 2-1 PAOK: Cabella edges hosts in front". UEFA. 22 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Krasnodar, Midtjylland, Salzburg advance to Champions League". Washington Post. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  12. ^ ""КРАСНОДАР" ПРИОСТАНОВИЛ КОНТРАКТЫ С НЕСКОЛЬКИМИ ИГРОКАМИ" (Press release) (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  13. ^ ""Краснодар" расторг контракт с Виктором Классоном. Официальный сайт ФК "Краснодар"" (Press release) (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  14. ^ "VIKTOR CLAESSON BLIVER FCK-SPILLER RESTEN AF SÆSONEN" (Press release) (in Danish). Copenhagen. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Viktor Claesson signs until 2026". Copenhagen. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Viktor Claesson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  18. ^ Viktor Claesson at Soccerway
  19. ^ "Viktor Claesson". EU-Football.info. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Claesson, Viktor". National Football Teams. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Qatar - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Portugal - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  23. ^ "Sverige - Turkiet - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Sverige - Rumänien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Norge - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Sverige - Malta - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  27. ^ "Frankrike - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  28. ^ "Sverige - Georgien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Sverige - Polen - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Sverige - Spanien - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  31. ^ "Serbien - Sverige - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  32. ^ "Svenskfotboll livescore".
  33. ^ "Scenskfotboll livescore".
  34. ^ "Scenskfotboll livescore".
  35. ^ "FC Copenhagen win 14th Danish league title". www.dailytimes.com.pk. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  36. ^ "FCK win 2022/23 Danish Cup". Copenhagen. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Stora Grabbars Märke - Svensk fotboll". Svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  38. ^ "Лауреаты сезона и список "33-х лучших игроков"". rfs.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 14 February 2022.

External links

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