Viktor Claesson

Viktor Johan Anton Claesson (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈvɪ̌kːtɔr ˈklɑ̌ːsɔn]; born 2 January 1992) is a Swedish international footballer who plays for Krasnodar. He is a playmaker or left winger well known for his passing and set piece abilities.[2] [3]

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
Place of birth Värnamo, Sweden
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Krasnodar
Number 16
Youth career
IFK Värnamo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 IFK Värnamo 70 (29)
2012–2017 IF Elfsborg 134 (32)
2017– Krasnodar 86 (28)
National team‡
2008 Sweden U17 2 (0)
2009–2010 Sweden U19 9 (3)
2011–2015 Sweden U21 20 (1)
2012– Sweden 42 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2020

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]

International career

In May 2018, Claesson was named in Sweden’s 23 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[12] He was one of Sweden's main men for the duration of the tournament, in which the Blågult reached the quarterfinals.

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

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 September 2020[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
IFK Värnamo 2009 Division 1 Södra 165––––165
2010 251110––202811
2011 Superettan 291310–––3013
Total 702920––207429
IF Elfsborg 2012 Allsvenskan 27500–62–337
2013 Allsvenskan 23330–83–346
2014 Allsvenskan 26572–60–397
2015 Allsvenskan 291153–61–4015
2016 Allsvenskan 29832–––3210
Total 13432187002660017845
Krasnodar 2016–17 Russian Premier League 13112–42–185
2017–18 Russian Premier League 301000–42–3412
2018–19 Russian Premier League 291241–92–4215
2019–20 Russian Premier League 0000–00–00
2020–21 Russian Premier League 6200–21–83
Total 782553001970010235
Career total 28286251000451320354109
Claesson playing for Krasnodar in 2017.

International
As of 17 November 2020[14]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Sweden
201221
201320
201630
2017122
2018141
201943
202051
Total428

International goals

As of match played 17 November 2020. Sweden score listed first, score column indicates score after each Claesson goal.[15]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.23 January 2012Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Qatar2–05–0Friendly
2.28 March 2017Estádio do Marítimo, Funchal, Portugal Portugal1–23–2
3.2–2
4.10 September 2018Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Turkey2–02–32018–19 UEFA Nations League B
5.23 March 2019 Romania2–02–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
6.26 March 2019Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Norway1–23–3
7.7 June 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden Malta2–03–0
8.17 November 2020Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France France1–02–42020–21 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Club

Elfsborg

National

Individual

References
  1. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 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. ""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. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/amp/news/revealed-every-world-cup-2018-squad-23-man-preliminary-lists/oa0atsduflsv1nsf6oqk576rb
  13. "V.Claesson". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  14. "Viktor Claesson". European Football. 30 June 2018.
  15. "Claesson, Viktor". National Football Teams. Retrieved 18 September 2018.


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