Alexander Toft Søderlund (born 3 August 1987) is a Norwegian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a forward for Vard Haugesund. He has represented the Norway national team.

Club career

After playing for Stegaberg IL in his youth, Søderlund played for

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

and Vard Haugesund. He later became something of a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

, spending time at six different clubs in four different foreign countries between 2008 and 2010 (notably in the third Italian division, fourth Italian division and

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

). His unsuccessful experience abroad ended in summer 2010, when the fourth Italian division club of Calcio Lecco did not renew his probation period of 4 months. He then returned home, and played for his former club Vard Haugesund (

Norwegian Second Division The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

) in the closing stages of the 2010 season. In January 2011, he moved to FK Haugesund, and on 20 March 2011, Søderlund made his debut in Tippeligaen against

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

. He got his first two league goals against Stabæk on 8 May 2011, and finished his debut season with 11 goals. On 17 June 2013,

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles ...

announced that they had bought Søderlund from Haugesund as a replacement for Tarik Elyounoussi who was sold to the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. Søderlund joined the club on 15 July. He played 12 matches and scored three goals for Haugesund in the 2013 season, and as the club eventually finished in third place in Tippeligaen for the first time in the club's history, Søderlund was eligible for bronze medals. But as his new team Rosenborg finished second, he was only awarded silver medals due to a change in the rules after Thomas Holm won both gold and silver with two different teams in the 2011 season. Søderlund won another silver-medal in 2013, as Rosenborg lost the 2013 Norwegian Football Cup Final 4–2 against

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

. On 4 January 2016, Søderlund joined

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

on 3.5-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Rosenborg was estimated at between €1.5 and 2 million. Thirteen days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0

derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

win against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Frequently criticized in France for his lack of speed and technique, he was transferred in January 2018 to his former club Rosenborg. The transfer fee paid was estimated at €500,000.

International career

On 23 November 2011, Søderlund was named in the

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

squad for the three friendly matches in Thailand in January 2012. He made his debut for Norway in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on 15 January 2012. On 1 June 2012, he was added to Norway's squad when Mohammed Abdellaoue was doubtful for the match against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Søderlund got his first cap at home when he replaced Erik Huseklepp as a substitute in the 84th minute, and later assisted Tarik Elyounoussi equalizing goal against Croatia. In the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

qualifying match against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

on 11 September 2012, he replaced Elyounoussi after 89 minutes earning a penalty three minutes later which John Arne Riise converted for the match-winning goal as Norway won 2–1. He started his first qualifying match when Norway met

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 12 October 2012. On 14 December 2023 he announced that he retired from international football.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Søderlund goal''.

Honours

Rosenborg *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

* Mesterfinalen:

Individual

* Eliteserien Top goalscorer:

Striker of the Year:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soderlund, Alexander 1987 births Living people Footballers from Haugesund Norwegian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Norway men's international footballers Challenger Pro League players FK Haugesund players SK Vard Haugesund players SS Virtus Lanciano 1924 players Union Namur players Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar players Calcio Lecco 1912 players Rosenborg BK players AS Saint-Étienne players BK Häcken players Çaykur Rizespor footballers Eliteserien players Ligue 1 players Allsvenskan players Süper Lig players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Iceland Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate men's footballers in France Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen