Junior Eldstål

Junior Eldstål (born 16 September 1991) is a Malaysian-Swedish footballer who plays for Chonburi in Thailand.

Junior Eldstål
Eldstål training with Johor Darul Ta'zim in 2014
Personal information
Full name Junior Gunnar Putera Eldstål
Date of birth (1991-09-16) 16 September 1991
Place of birth Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Chonburi
Number 15
Youth career
2004–2007 Aldershot
2008–2011 Reading
2010–2013 Hartpury College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Slimbridge 11 (2)
2013–2014 Sarawak 55 (2)
2015–2018 Johor Darul Ta'zim 40 (3)
2018 → Johor Darul Ta'zim II (loan) 10 (0)
2019 Metropolitan Police 1 (0)
2020– Chonburi 1 (0)
National team‡
2013–2015 Malaysia U23 11 (1)
2013–2014 Malaysia XI 8 (0)
2014–2018 Malaysia 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 July 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 May 2017

He plays as a defensive midfielder by nature, often playing as a box-to-box midfielder due to his natural stamina and tends to carry the ball forward to where he can opt to play a quick pass upfield or launch a powerful shot towards goal. Due to his stature and defensive abilities he has also been deployed as a defender.

He started his career with Aldershot Town, but has mostly represented the reserve team, going on to have spells with Farnborough and Reading. In May 2013, he signed with Sarawak FA after a successful trial only to be bought by JDT after the 2014 transfer window.

Eldstål has represented Malaysia at various levels, namely appearing with the under-23s at the 2013 Pesta Bola Merdeka.

Early life

Born in Kota Kinabalu to a Malaysian mother from Sabah and Swedish father. Eldstål's family moved to London when he was at the age of two.[1]

Club career

Youth academy

Eldstål previously played for two English (Aldershot and Reading) clubs, before having a trial with Malaysian outfit. With a Swedish father, Eldstål holds a Swedish passport but decided to pursue Malaysian citizenship because his mother is Sabahan.[2]

When he turned 19, he was enrolled in UWE Hartpury College Football Academy, where he studied a Sports Coaching degree while also being a part of the elite football programme.[3][4] During his time with UWE, he also played for Slimbridge in 2012 on a part-time basis in the Hellenic Football League before he decided to play for Sarawak in the Malaysia Premier League.

2013–14 season

In April 2013, Eldstål signed with Sarawak FA and made his league debut on 17 April 2013 in a second leg FA Cup Malaysia 0–2 home defeat against Kelantan FA as a last minute substitution.[5] Since Eldstål joined the Crocs in April, he helped Sarawak FA win their first premiership domestic trophy in almost 16 years. Sarawak had an unbeaten run which was the league record.[6] Eldstål, who had yet to score his first goal for Sarawak, had the distinction of providing two assists leading to two goals as the other goal scored by Zamri Morshidi was a similar result provided by his back-flick again. Sarawak officially booked their spot in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Malaysia Cup as they smashed in six goals against Perak to secure an impeccable 6–1 win.[7]

In 2014, Sarawak was back in the Malaysia Super League since 2012, Eldstål was awarded a new, improved contract for his progress that would keep him at Sarawak FA until the end of 2014 season, but his debut for the league was delayed after suffering a back injury setback on 14 September 2013, followed by his operation in November then a two month program of rehabilitation. His first full start of the season started in March and assisted a good few goals for Suppiah Chanturu and Ryan Griffiths. On 15 April, he produced a display with influential in scoring a goal to a 3–2 win at home over ATM FA.[8] Eldstål subsequently ended 2013–14 season with 55 appearances in all.[9]

Johor Darul Ta'zim

On 11 November 2014, Eldstål announced that he had signed a contract with one of the top teams in Southeast Asia, Johor Darul Ta'zim FC under coach Bojan, playing in the Malaysia Super League,[10] until 2015.[11] On his move, he was promptly inserted into the starting eleven playing as a centre back for the first pre-season matches against Johor Darul Ta'zim II, PKNS and Penang FA.

Eldstål would also like to break into the Malaysia national football team, unfortunately being unselected to Dollah Salleh's squad for the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.[11] Despite all that, Eldstål has made an impressive debut against Pahang FA in the MSL 2015 opener.[12] He led the team to their first silverware of the season winning the Charity Shield Malaysia.

On 14 March, JDT fell behind to a 35th-minute goal by Sime Darby to trail 0–1 at halftime. Eldstål was then played in midfield again alongside Hariss Harun and regular defender Marcos António, where Junior scored his first-ever Super League goal of this season in the 61st-minute equaliser in a 1–1 away game over Sime Darby.[13] He scored his second goal for the club on 24 April 2015 in the 2–1 defeat for Perak.

On 29 October 2018, Eldstål uploaded a video and a statement to his personal social media, confirming his end of stay in Johor Darul Ta'zim and return to UK.[14]

Metropolitan Police F.C.

On 5 March 2019, Eldstål debuted for English non-league side Metropolitan Police F.C. in a 2-1 win over Kings Langley F.C., Eldstål's inclusion in the team was not announced publicly prior to the fixture and was formally announced by the club a couple of days later, confirming Eldstål had signed until the end of the 2018/19 season. [15]

International career

Malaysia XI

In July 2013, Eldstål was called up to join the Harimau Muda A squad for the World University Games in Kazan, but due to some technical issues he was not allowed to be registered for the tournament.[16] On 11 July 2013, Eldstål was named in the senior squad for the first time in K. Rajagopal 23-man shortlist for the upcoming July friendly against Chonburi FC on 16 July 2013.[17] He later received a call-up for a match against Chelsea and Barcelona.[18]

Malaysia U-23
Eldstål playing at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

On 7 September 2013, Eldstål earned his first under-23 cap in a game against Singapore U-23 and scored his first goal for the squad on 14 September 2013 in the Merdeka Cup final against Myanmar U-23 and Malaysia emerged as Asia Cup Champion after defeating Myanmar 2–0 at the Darul Makmur Stadium, which concluded with his goal in the 90th minute.[19][20]

In September 2014, Ong Kim Swee named Eldstål in his final 23-man squad for the 2014 Asian Games, playing in Group A for the tournament in Incheon, South Korea. Eldstål played just two games in the tournament, a 0–3 loss in the first round match against the host South Korea.[21] He missed the second round match, a 4–0 win over Laos, due to a minor calf injury.[22] With only playing two games during the tournament, Malaysia finished third in the group after being knocked out as they lost 0–3 to Saudi Arabia on 21 September.[23]

Personal life
Eldstål received the FAM Football Awards (FAM) Most Promising Player Award 2013.

Eldstål is half-Swedish and half-Malaysian. [24][25] He received the FAM Most Promising Player Award in 2013.[26]

Honours

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Sarawak FA

Malaysia u-23

References
  1. Astro Arena (12 September 2013). "Pestabola Merdeka 2013: Temubual Ekslusif (11/09/13)". Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  2. "Sarawak may enlist M'sian-born footballer in England". Bernama. New Straits Times. 30 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. "From Hartpury to Malaysia: Junior's star is on the rise". Hartpury College. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  4. "Former Hartpury College pupil Junior Eldstal rises to prominence in Malaysia". Gloucester Citizen. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  5. "Alberts kecewa, Bojan puji anak buahnnya" (in Malay). Stadium Astro. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  6. Matthew T. Umpang (17 September 2013). "Junior Eldstal back for Crocs clash with Lions". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  7. "Sarawak FA vs Perak FA Report [Sarawak FA 6–1 Perak FA]". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  8. "ATM 2–2 Sarawak". Match en direct. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  9. Seng-Foo Lee (7 October 2014). "Junior Eldstal: "I'm Malaysian, lah!"". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  10. Seng-Foo Lee (11 November 2014). "JDT sign Junior Eldstal". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  11. Jason Dasey (13 November 2014). "Junior hopes JDT move will boost his Malaysia national team hopes". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  12. Seng-Foo Lee (30 January 2015). "The FourFourTwo Preview: JDT vs Pahang". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  13. K. Rajan (14 March 2015). "JDT held to a draw against Sime Darby". The Star. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  14. Gary Lugard (29 October 2018). "VIDEO: Junior Eldstal Ucap Terima Kasih & Selamat Tinggal Malaysia". SemuanyaBola.com. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  15. Lucas Flanders (7 March 2019). "Junior Eldstål joins the Met". Metropolitan Police F.C. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  16. Vijhay Vick (11 July 2013). "Eldstål the unknown to make Malaysia proud". Sports247. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. Zulhilmi Zainal (16 July 2013). "Malaysia XI vs Chonburi FC Report [Malaysia XI 0-0 Chonburi FC: Dominant Tigers stumped by the Sharks]". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  18. Matthew T. Umpang (11 July 2013). "Croc gets national team call-up". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  19. "Thamil Arasu's Goal sinks Singapore". Pestabola Merdeka. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  20. "Malaysia beat Myanmar to clinch Merdeka Cup". Astro Awani. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  21. Darren Goon (16 September 2014). "2014 Asian Games Review: South Korea U23 3 Malaysia U23 0". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  22. "Coach says red card cause of Harimau Muda's failure at Incheon". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  23. K. Rajan (18 September 2014). "Eldstal banking on birthday luck to beat Saudis". The Star. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  24. Seng-Foo Lee (30 June 2015). "A starting XI of Malaysians with foreign heritage". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  25. Junior Eldstål (29 July 2013). "Open letter from Malaysia's Junior Eldstal". Goal.com. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  26. Matthew T. Umpang (30 July 2013). "Junior Eldstal: From Japan with thanks". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
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