Alexander Banor Tettey (born 4 April 1986) is a former professional
footballer who played as a
central midfielder. Born in Ghana, he played for the
Norway national team from 2007 to 2016, earning 34 caps.
Having established himself at
Rosenborg, he played for French club
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
and English side
Norwich City.
Early life
Tettey was born in
Accra
Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: GÉ›; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...
, Ghana, and moved to
Bodø Municipality in Norway in 1999. He later moved to
Trondheim Municipality
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populou ...
, and started to play football for
Kolstad. After joining
Rosenborg's youth department, Tettey made his debut for the first team in a friendly match against
GIF Sundsvall in January 2003, and in September 2003 he joined the first team squad and became the youngest player in Rosenborg's first team squad since
Ola By Rise,
Knut Torbjørn Eggen and
Øivind Husby in 1977.
Club career
Rosenborg
Tettey started his career in
Rosenborg as a central midfielder, but under
Knut Tørum in 2007 he was made a defensive midfielder. In the 2008 season he was appointed Rosenborg's
vice-captain and with club legend
Roar Strand in and out of the team Tettey was a frequent
captain.
Rennes
During his stay in Rosenborg, Tettey was being closely followed by French club
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
, as they looked to create a squad with the potential of winning the title. On 31 July 2009, he signed a four-year contract with the French club. Tettey got his debut for the club shortly thereafter, but got injured in his first match for the club . His stay in Rennes has thereafter been plagued with injuries, but Tettey has nonetheless managed to pick up 60 appearances for the club. On 9 January 2011, Tettey scored his first goal in the Round of 64 of the
French Cup. He scored the first of Rennes' goals as well the fifth in their 7–0 win over
Cannes.
Norwich City
On 25 August 2012, Tettey signed for
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club
Norwich City on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win against
Doncaster Rovers on 26 September in the
League Cup. He was also named man of the match, and stated he hoped his performance had been enough to earn him a start in a
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
game. He made his league debut three days later, replacing
Steve Morison in the 79th minute of a 5–2 defeat against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
at
Carrow Road. He made his first league start on 6 October against European champions
Chelsea, however he could not prevent Norwich falling to a 4–1 defeat after
Grant Holt had given the Canaries an 11th-minute lead. He made his full home debut on 20 October, helping Norwich to a shock 1–0 win against
Arsenal after another goal from Holt. He became a regular in the team until he suffered an injury in February 2013, which persisted and kept him out of action for a longer period than initially thought. After over a month out, he made his return to playing on 30 March, replacing
Jonny Howson in the 85th minute of a 1–0 defeat away to relegation rivals
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
. He played in the final game of the season on 19 May, as Norwich produced a shock result to beat
Manchester City 3–2 at the
City of Manchester Stadium, to inflict only their second home defeat in the last 48 games, and to give Norwich their highest Premier League finish of 11th since they finished third in the 1992–93 season.
On 1 November 2013 it was announced that Tettey would be ruled out for 'a couple of months' following ankle surgery, which was performed after a stoppage-time collision with
Cardiff City player
Fraizer Campbell had left the ankle "very sore". On 22 March 2014 he scored his first league goal for Norwich with a 30-yard volley against
Sunderland in a 2–0 win. It was described as one of the goals of the season. In December 2018 Tettey made his 200th appearance for Norwich City. In the final game of the
2019–20 season Tettey made his 100th Premier League appearance in a 5–0 defeat to
Manchester City at the
City of Manchester Stadium.
On 4 May 2021, Norwich announced Tettey would leave the club at the end of the
2020–21 season. During his time at the club, Tettey made 263 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring eight times. In his last season at the club, Tettey helped mentor and coach BADU Sports, a
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based organisation for children and young adults.
Return to Rosenborg
After leaving Norwich, Tettey signed for his former club Rosenborg and was handed the number 6 jersey, a jersey not worn since Rosenborg legend
Roar Strand retired in 2010.
International career
Tettey is a
naturalized Norwegian and has been
capped for the Norwegian under-18, under-19 and
under-21 youth teams, as well as the
senior team. Tettey made his debut for Norway on 22 August 2007, playing in a 2–1 friendly win against
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. Over the course of a nine-year international career, Tettey made 34 caps for Norway, scoring three times.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tettey goal.''
Honours
Rosenborg
*
Eliteserien:
2006,
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
Norwich City
*
EFL Championship:
2018–19 2020–21
*
Football League Championship play-offs:
2015
References
External links
*
*
Alexander Tettey's profile, stats & picsPlayer profile rosenborg.info. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tettey, Alexander
1986 births
Living people
Footballers from Accra
Footballers from Bodø
Naturalised citizens of Norway
Norwegian people of Ghanaian descent
Norwegian men's footballers
Ghanaian men's footballers
Norway men's youth international footballers
Norway men's under-21 international footballers
Norway men's international footballers
Rosenborg BK players
Skeid Fotball players
Stade Rennais FC players
Norwich City F.C. players
Eliteserien players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Norwegian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in France
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England
Men's association football midfielders
Association football coaches
21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen
21st-century Norwegian sportsmen