Alexander Ring

Alexander Ring (born 9 April 1991) is a Finnish professional football midfielder who currently plays for Austin FC in Major League Soccer.

Alexander Ring
Personal information
Full name Alexander Michael Ring
Date of birth (1991-04-09) 9 April 1991
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Austin FC
Youth career
1995–1998 VfL Lannesdorf
1998–2008 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
2001 R.S.C. Anderlecht
2009 HJK Helsinki
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Klubi-04 32 (9)
2010 → Tampere United (loan) 4 (1)
2010–2013 HJK Helsinki 27 (2)
2012–2013 → Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 14 (0)
2013–2017 1. FC Kaiserslautern 76 (8)
2017–2020 New York City 113 (10)
2021– Austin FC 0 (0)
National team‡
Finland U17 6 (1)
2008 Finland U18 10 (0)
2009 Finland U19 7 (2)
2010 Finland U20 2 (1)
2011 Finland U21 3 (0)
2011–2018 Finland 44 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 November 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 September 2017 (UTC)

Ring was born in Helsinki, Finland. He started his football career in German and Belgian youth teams. He began his senior club career playing for Klubi-04, before signing a full professional contract with HJK. He has represented Finland internationally since 2011.

Club career

Early career

He moved to Bonn with his family when aged three, and grew up there and in Belgium. Ring went through the ranks of Bayer 04 Leverkusen before returning to Finland with his family in 2008.

HJK

He signed for HJK's reserve team Klubi-04 in 2009, and represented them until being promoted to the first team, and signed full professional contract with the club in August 2010.[2] However, Ring was loaned out to Tampere United for the rest of that season. He returned to HJK after the season, and was established as the first choice holding midfielder for HJK in early 2011. On 26 September 2011, he signed a contract extension with HJK, keeping him in the Finnish capital until 2015.[3] During December 2011, it was rumored that German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach were interested in signing the young Finn for approximately one million euros.[4]

Loan to Mönchengladbach

On 5 January 2012, it was announced that Mönchengladbach had signed Ring on loan until the summer 2013, with having an option to buy at the end of the season.[5] On 10 March 2012, Ring made his Bundesliga debut for Mönchengladbach against Freiburg, and on 21 August Ring scored his first goal for Mönchengladbach in a 1–3 defeat to Ukrainian Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of 2012–13 UEFA Champions League's playoff-round.[6] However, despite some encouraging displays for the club, Ring soon fell out of favour, and in February 2013 it was announced that Borussia would not use their option to buy the player.[7]

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In June 2013, he signed a contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern to play in 2. Bundesliga.[8][9] The clubs did not publish the transfer fee, but according to newspapers Kaiserslautern paid HJK Helsinki 500.000 Euros.[10] After an encouraging start, and the club sacking of the first team coach Franco Foda in September 2013, he struggled to keep his position in the side. However, he was picked for the opening line-up in the cup games versus both Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern München. He scored his first goal for the club in August 2014 versus SV Sandhausen.[11] Despite a lengthy lay-off due to a knee injury in the home game versus Fortuna Düsseldorf,[12] the season 2014-15 turned out to be his best in Germany, with six goals in 24 league games. During the following seasons, Ring's performances were marred by minor injuries and constant head coach changes, that hindered his progress. In January 2017 the economically ailing club decided to let him move on before his contract would have expired.

New York City

Ring was purchased from 1. FC Kaiserslautern by New York City on January 31, 2017.[13] Ring made himself an invaluable part of New York City's midfield during the 2017 season as he earned 29 appearances in the regular season. Despite New York City losing the Eastern Conference semifinals versus Columbus Crew, Ring's first season in MLS was a major personal success as he was elected the club's Newcomer of the Year.[14] He scored his first MLS goal on April 15, 2018 vs. Atlanta United FC.[15] On February 7, 2019, Ring was named the second captain in New York City FC's history,[16] after David Villa's departure to Vissel Kobe in December.

Austin FC

On 17 December 2020, Ring was traded to new expansion side Austin FC in exchange for up to $1.25 million in General Allocation Money.[17]

International career

Ring's convincing performances in the Finnish League Cup and the Veikkausliiga earned him a call-up to the new coach Mixu Paatelainen's first gathering of the Finland national football team in May 2011.[18] He made his senior national team debut on 7 June 2011 in 5–0 defeat against Sweden. On 11 October 2011, Finnish star Roman Eremenko described Ring as a soon-to-be key player in the Finland national football team, saying: "I knew Alex when he came to the national team, but I hadn't seen any of his games before. When he came, it was immediately obvious that he is here to stay. He plays without fear."[19] He established himself as a regular in the national team during Finland's qualification campaign for the UEFA Euro 2012.[20] Ring scored his first goal for the national team on 26 March 2013 in Luxembourg in a match against Luxembourg.[21] His second international goal came from a direct freekick vs. Iceland in a WC qualifier in September 2017.[22]

In September 2018, Ring announced his retirement from international football.[23]

International goals
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first.[24]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.26 March 2013Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Luxembourg1–03–0Friendly
2.2 September 2017Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland Iceland1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Ring doesn't have German citizenship, even though he has lived most of his life in Germany. In Maali! 3/2011 he stated: "I have not even applied for German citizenship. It has been obvious for me that I represent Finland".[25]

Ring is married with two daughters.[26][27]

In March 2018, Ring earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[28]

Career statistics

Club
As of 1 November 2020[24][29]
Club Season Division League Domestic Cups Continental Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Klubi-04
2009 Ykkönen 1530000 - -153
2010 1760000 - -176
Club Total 32 9 0 0 0 0 - - 32 9
Tampere United (Loan)
2010 Veikkausliiga 410010 - -51
Club Total 4 1 0 0 1 0 - - 5 1
HJK Helsinki
2010 Veikkausliiga 300000 - -30
2011 24211462 - -418
Club Total 27 2 11 4 6 2 - - 44 8
Mönchengladbach (Loan)
2011-12 Bundesliga 800000 - -80
2012-13 601061 - -131
Club Total 14 0 1 0 6 1 - - 21 1
Kaiserslautern
2013-14 2. Bundesliga 2103000 - -240
2014-15 2462000 - -266
2015-16 2121000 - -222
2016-17 1001000 - -110
Club Total 76 8 7 0 0 0 - - 83 8
New York City
2017 MLS 2901000 2 0320
2018 30 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 33 2
2019 31 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 34 4
2020 22 4 - - 2 0 - - 24 4
Club Total 112 10 3 0 2 0 6 0 123 10
Career Total 265 30 22 4 15 3 6 0 308 37

International

Statistics accurate as of matches played on 2 September 2017[24][30]

National teamYearAppsGoals
Finland
201160
201270
201391
201470
201550
201680
201711
Total432

Honours and achievements

Club
HJK

Individual

References
  1. http://www.fck.de/fileadmin/001___PORTAL__/001_downloads/Autogrammkarten/Autogrammkarten_13_14/06_Ring_AK.pdf
  2. "HJK pestasi oman kasvatin" (in Finnish). iltasanomat.fi. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  3. "Ringille jatko kauden 2015 loppuun" [Ring signs until 2015] (in Finnish). HJK Helsinki. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  4. "Saksalaislehden ykkösuutinen: Ring Bundesliigaan" [Ring to Germany?] (in Finnish). mtv3.fi. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  5. "Kicker: HJK vuokraa Ringin Saksaan" [Kicker: HJK loans Ring to Germany] (in Finnish). iltasanomat.fi. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  6. "Mönchengladbach eye return to top table". UEFA.com. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  7. "Auch Ring ist vor dem Absprung" (in German). kicker.de. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  8. "ALEXANDER RING WIRD EIN ROTER TEUFEL" (in German). fck.de. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  9. "ALEXANDER RING BECOMES A RED DEVIL". fck.de. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  10. "Kicker: Näin saksalaisseurat maksoivat suomalaispelaajistaan" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 30 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/fc-kaiserslautern/jetzt-bangen-um-ring-und-demirbay-38307524.bild.html
  13. http://www.espnfc.com/story/3051494/new-york-city-fc-adds-midfielder-alex-ring-from-kaiserslautern
  14. https://www.nycfc.com/post/2017/11/22/alexander-ring-2017-newcomer-year-photos
  15. https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/new-york-city-fc/watch-alexander-rings-stunning-first-goal-for-nycfc-in-atlanta/
  16. Bogert, Tom (7 February 2019). "NYCFC name midfielder Alex Ring second captain in club history". MLS Soccer.
  17. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/12/17/austin-fc-acquire-midfielder-alex-ring-nycfc-blockbuster-deal
  18. "Sweden bid to bridge gap at summit". UEFA.com. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  19. Miettinen, Heikki (10 October 2011). "Roman Eremenko: Alexander Ring tuli maajoukkueeseen jäädäkseen" (in Finnish). hs.fi. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  20. "Alexander Ring" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  21. "Suomelle vakuuttava voitto Luxemburgista" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  22. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-worldcup-fin-ice/ring-free-kick-fires-finland-to-1-0-win-over-iceland-idUKKCN1BD0QP
  23. https://www.nycfc.com/post/2018/09/30/alex-ring-announces-international-retirement
  24. "Alexander Ring". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  25. "Alexander Ring". Maali! 3/2011 (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto (Football Association of Finland). p. 26.
  26. http://www.nycfc.com/post/2017/02/01/ring-i-can-t-wait-play-yankee-stadium
  27. https://www.nycfc.com/post/2017/06/05/ring-celebrates-dominant-return-xi
  28. "NYCFC Duo Receive U.S. Green Cards". NYCFC.com. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  29. https://int.soccerway.com/players/alexander-ring/79353/
  30. Palloliitto
  31. "Veikkausliiga palkinnot" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
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