Simon Hedlund
Simon Fredrik Hedlund (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈhêːdlɵnd]; born 11 March 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF and the Sweden national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Fredrik Hedlund | ||
| Date of birth | 11 March 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Trollhättan, Sweden[1] | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) |
Forward Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Brøndby | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| IFK Trollhättan | |||
| FC Trollhättan | |||
| 2009–2012 | Elfsborg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2016 | Elfsborg | 93 | (14) |
| 2016–2019 | Union Berlin | 70 | (8) |
| 2019– | Brøndby | 60 | (13) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2008–2010 | Sweden U17 | 18 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | Sweden U19 | 9 | (0) |
| 2013 | Sweden U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020– | Sweden | 2 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 December 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 January 2020 | |||
Born in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland County, Hedlund joined IF Elfsborg at the age of 16 and debuted in the Allsvenskan in 2012. In 2016, he moved to Union Berlin for a club record €850,000 before signing for Brøndby IF for €250,000 two and a half years later, in January 2019.[2] In Denmark, he developed a strong partnership in attack with topscorer Kamil Wilczek, scoring four goals and assisting seven in 16 league appearances in his first six months.
Hedlund has represented Sweden at different youth levels and made his under-21 debut in 2012. He was called up to the senior team in 2020, and scored his first goal for the national team in his second appearance.[3]
Club career
Elfsborg
Born in Trollhättan, Hedlund joined the youth system of IF Elfsborg when he was 16 years old, after having played for hometown clubs IFK Trollhättan and FC Trollhättan. There, he made his professional debut on 12 August 2012 in a 4–1 league win over Malmö FF, coming on as a late substitute for Niklas Hult.[4] At the end of the season, Elfsborg won the Swedish league title. He was also a part of the Elfsborg team that won the Swedish Cup in 2014.[5] On 31 July 2014, Hedlund made his first goal in European competition, scoring on a penalty kick in the 89th minute in a 4–1 win over Icelandic club FH in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.[6]
During his time in Elfsborg, Hedlund made 93 league appearances in which he scored 14 goals. He also scored nine goals in 20 appearances in the Swedish Cup and made 17 total appearances in the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Union Berlin
On 29 August 2016, Hedlund signed a four-year contract with 2. Bundesliga club, 1. FC Union Berlin.[7] The transfer made him the most expensive purchase by the club at the time.[8] Hedlund made his debut on 21 September, as a substitute in an away game against Würzburger Kickers which Union won 1–0.[9] He finished the 2016–17 season with 29 appearances in which he scored three goals.[10]
Hedlund missed just three league matches during the 2017–18 season as Union finished eighth in the league.[10] However, the following season he saw less playing time, as Union would eventually push for promotion to the Bundesliga just months after he left the club.[11] Hedlund departed the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in January 2019, after making 75 appearances and scoring 11 goals for the club.[10]
Brøndby
On 11 January 2019, Hedlund moved to Denmark to join Superliga club Brøndby IF on a four-and-a-half year contract for a fee rumoured to be around €250,000.[2] He was assigned shirt number 27 by the club.[12] Hedlund scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 home draw against OB on 29 March.[13] He made the final of the Danish Cup in his first six months in Brøndby, a match against FC Midtjylland which was eventually lost on penalties.[14] Hedlund finished the 2018–19 season with four goals from 19 appearances. On 30 June 2020, Hedlund and teammate Samuel Mráz tested positive for COVID-19, ruling them out for at least a week.[15]
Before a match against FC Midtjylland on 24 October, Hedlund was not selected for the matchday squad, giving rise to speculation to about the reasons. Brøndby head coach Niels Frederiksen explained that other players had impressed more during practice, and that the decision of not including Hedlund was "not a disciplinary punishment".[16]
International career
Hedlund has represented Sweden as an international at various youth levels.
On 9 January 2020, Hedlund made his debut for the Sweden national team in a friendly against Moldova, a match that ended in a 1–0 win for Sweden.[17] In his second match, a 1–0 win over Kosovo on 12 January, Hedlund scored his first international goal, which secured the win for Sweden.[18]
Personal life
Hedlund is of Finnish descent through his Finnish mother.[19] In June 2020, Hedlund married longtime girlfriend, Sandra Isabel, in Sweden.[20]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 5 December 2021[10]
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| IF Elfsborg | Allsvenskan | 2012 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2014 | 27 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2015 | 26 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 0 | – | 35 | 11 | |||
| 2016 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 28 | 6 | |||
| Total | 93 | 14 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 135 | 25 | ||
| Union Berlin | 2. Bundesliga | 2016–17 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 3 | ||
| 2017–18 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 6 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 13 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 70 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 11 | ||
| Brøndby IF | Superliga | 2018–19 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | 39 | 6 | |||
| 2020–21 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 15 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 60 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 223 | 35 | 32 | 13 | 23 | 2 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 279 | 51 | ||
- Appearances in the Swedish Super Cup.
International goals
- As of match played 12 January 2020. Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Hedlund goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 January 2020 | Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Kosovo | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours
References
- "Simon Hedlund". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- "Brøndby henter svensk es: Koster det samme som Wilczek". Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "Simon Hedlund". Svenskfotboll. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- "Elfsborg kopplade guldgrepp mot MFF". svenskafans.com. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- "Elfsborg Cupmastare 2014". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- "Elfsborg-FH 2015 History". UEFA. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- "Lämnar Elfsborg – för spel i Tyskland". Aftonbladet. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- "Union om Hedlund: Krævede skifte nu". bold.dk. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- "Spielinfo - Würzburger Kickers - 1. FC Union Berlin 0:1". kicker.de. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- "S. Hedlund". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- "Union Berlin reach Bundesliga for first time as Stuttgart relegated". theguardian.com. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- "Brøndby IF skriver kontrakt med Simon Hedlund". Brøndby IF. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- "Underholdende bronzeduel i Brøndby ender 2-2" (in Danish). Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- "FCM vinder pokalfinale i straffedrama mod Brøndby - se alle målene og straffesparkskonkurrencen her" (in Danish). Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- Wehlast, Mads Glenn (30 June 2020). "To Brøndby-spillere har corona". ekstrabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- Risager, Victor (26 October 2020). "BIF-træner om vraget Simon Hedlund: Andre har vist sig bedre frem". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- "Simon Hedlund skal på landsholdsvæggen". 3point.dk. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- "Hedlund hjälte när Sverige vann igen". expressen.se. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- Väänänen, Ville (6 April 2018). "Entinen nuorisotähti pettyi Ruotsin A-maajoukkuevalintoihin – harkitsee vaihtamista Suomen riveihin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
... äiti ja äidinpuolen isovanhemmat ovat suomalaisia.
- Jensen, Anders (12 June 2020). "Hedlund: Jeg skider på hvad andre tænker". bold.dk. bold.dk. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- Lerche, Mads (17 May 2019). "Pokalfinale: Brøndby-FC Midtjylland". TV2. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
External links
- Profile at Soccerway
- Simon Hedlund at SvFF (in Swedish)