Lars Hening Joel Ekstrand (born 4 February 1989) is a Swedish former 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 played as a defender. Beginning his career with

Helsingborgs IF Helsingborgs Idrottsförening, commonly referred to as Helsingborgs IF, Helsingborg or (especially locally) HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish second tier, Superettan, following releg ...

in 2008, he moved on to represent

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

, and

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

before retiring at AIK in 2019. A full international between 2010 and 2014, he won two

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Sweden national team.

Club career

Helsingborgs IF

Born in

Lund, Sweden Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the

, Ekstrand started playing football for his home town club

Lunds BK Lunds BK is a football club from Lund, Sweden founded in 1919. The club currently plays in Division 1 Södra. Despite their relative success Lunds BK has never competed in the Allsvenskan or Superettan, but has played nine seasons in the secon ...

as a youth player before moving to

in 2005. Two years later, he signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer. In February 2008, Ekstrand was called up by the Helsingborgs IF squad for the first time, He made his first team debut against

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

in the first leg of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Round of 32, at

Philips Stadion The Philips Stadion () is a Association football, football stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands. As the home of PSV Eindhoven (Philips Sport Vereniging), it is also known as PSV Stadion. With a capacity of 35,119, it is the third-largest football s ...

, which saw Helsingborgs lose 2–0. Ekstrand was featured again in the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32, at Olympia stadium and played 45 minutes before being substituted, due to a groin injury, as the club lost 2–1, resulting in their elimination from the tournament. But he soon recovered and made his league debut for Helsingborgs IF, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win over

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollf� ...

in the opening game of the season. During a 2–2 draw against

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollför ...

on 20 April 2008, Ekstrand started the game but was substituted in the 7th minute following a collision and suffered a broken nose and concussion. But he quickly recovered and made his return to the first team from injury, starting the whole game, in a 4–2 win over

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

on 28 April 2008. Since then, Ekstrand had developed himself into a key player at Helsingborg IF with the likes of Marcus Nilsson,

Andreas Granqvist Andreas Granqvist (; born 16 April 1985) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Starting his career with Helsingborgs IF in the mid-2000s, he went on to play for clubs in England, the Netherlands, Italy, and Ru ...

and Samir Beloufa. Despite missing three matches throughout the 2008 season, he went on to make twenty–eight appearances in all competitions. Following this, Ekstrand was nominated for the Newcomer of the Year but lost out to

Robin Söder Robin Mikael Söder (born 1 April 1991) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He spent the majority of his professional career at IFK Göteborg, but also repres ...

. At the start of the 2009 season, Ekstrand helped Helsingborgs IF side go to their winning form in the first three league matches to the season. However, in a match against

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

on 20 April 2009, he received a straight red card in the 44th minute, just one minute before the half–time, in a 2–0 loss. After serving a one match suspension, Ekstrand returned to the first team and provided a goal for

Rasmus Jönsson Rasmus Jönsson (; born 27 January 1990) is a Swedish professional footballer who is normally deployed as a second striker. Career Helsingborgs IF He plays as a striker and got his breakthrough in 2008, scoring four goals in Allsvenskan alon ...

, who went on to score a hat–trick, in a 3–0 win over AIK on 29 April 2009. This was followed up by helping the club keep two clean sheets in the next two matches against

and

IF Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish association football, football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality ...

. Following his return to the first team from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place for Helsingborgs IF, forming a centre–back partnership with Nilsson. On 11 June 2009, Ekstrand, along with Nilssson, signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2012. He then scored his first goal for Helsingborgs IF in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League second round, in a 2–2 draw against

Zestafoni Zestaponi ( ka, ზესტაფონი, tr, ) is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia. Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Imereti province. Ze ...

to help the club advance to the next round. In a match against

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Сарајево; , English language, English: Sarajevo Football Club), is a professional Association football, football Sports club, club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosn ...

in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League third round, Ekstrand played 120 minutes, resulting in a penalty shootout with the opposition team winning 2–1 and missed the penalty, which saw Helsingborgs IF eliminated from the tournament. However, he received a straight red card in the 24th minute for giving away a penalty, in a 3–0 loss against

Örgryte Örgryte is one of the 21 ''stadsdelsnämndsområden'' (a kind of district often translated as borough) of Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. It is a largely upper middle class residential area just to the east of the city centre. History The or ...

on 18 October 2009. Despite being sidelined, due to suspension and injuries much further, Ekstrand went on to make thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the start of the 2010 season, Ekstrand was in defensive first team position when he helped the side go on unbeaten run for Helsingborgs IF's first twelve matches to the start season. While the club go on the unbeaten run, he received a straight red card in the first half, in a 1–0 win over

Mjällby Mjällby is a urban areas of Sweden, locality situated in Sölvesborg Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 1,254 inhabitants in 2010. It is located on the Listerlandet peninsula. The town has traditionally lived of fishing. The nearby har ...

on 26 April 2010 and served a two match suspension. After returning to the first team, Ekstrand scored his first league goal for the club, in a 3–1 win over Gefle on 10 May 2010. Since returning from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place for Helsingborgs IF, forming a centre–back partnership with Nilsson and helping the club to keep their league title chance alive. However, Ekstrand faced further setbacks later in the 2010 season when he was suspended on two occasions, including another straight red card in a 0–0 draw against

Göteborg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gubernatorial seat of Västra Götaland County, ...

on 15 August 2010, as well as, facing his injury concern. It wasn't until on 6 November 2010 when he returned to the starting line–up in the Helsingborgs IF's last game of the season against

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

and played 76 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 draw but cost the club to win the league title, as title contender rival, Malmö FF, won the league following their win. In a follow–up match, Ekstrand started in the

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Hammarby and helped Helsingborgs win the tournament by beating the opposition team 1–0 on 13 November 2010. At the end of the 2010 season, he went on to make twenty–five appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, Ekstrand was nominated for the player's defender of the year but he lost out to

Olof Mellberg Erik Olof Mellberg (; born 3 September 1977) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player who was last the manager of St. Louis City in Major League Soccer. During his career, Mellberg played as a defender, with his longest ...

. With the 2010 season ended, Ekstrand was linked a move away from Helsingborgs IF, as clubs from Italy were keen on signing him. The club confirmed that Ekstrand was expected to leave the club. After a much speculation over his future, it was announced that Ekstrand joined

in 2011.

Udinese

On 18 January 2011, Ekstrand penned a four-year deal with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

, keeping him through to 2015. Prior to the move, he spoke out about joining Udinese, quoting: "It has always been a dream. It is a big football country that took

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

not long ago. Here are big clubs and the best Swedish is playing in Serie A. For me it will be an honor to join." Since joining the club, however, Ekstrand found himself out of first team, as he mostly sat out from the squad, as well as, facing competition from Andrea Coda. It wasn't until on 8 May 2011 when Ekstrand made his debut for Udinese, coming on in the 70th minute in a 2–1 win against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. This turns out to be his only appearance of the 2010–11 season. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Ekstrand made his first start for Udinese in a Champions League qualifying game against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. For this match, the club changed from the previous season's 3–5–2 formation to 4–1–4–1, where wing-backs

Mauricio Isla Mauricio Aníbal Isla Isla (; born 12 June 1988) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a right-back and midfielder for Chilean Primera División club Colo-Colo. Isla started his career in the youth system of Universidad Católic ...

and

Pablo Armero Pablo Estífer Armero (born 2 November 1986) is a Colombian former professional association football, footballer who played as a left-back. He is known in Colombia by the nickname "Miñía", reportedly after a phrase commonly used to call infant ...

became midfielders, thus using 4 defenders instead of 3 centre-backs. He remained in the starting XI in the return leg a week later with Udinese losing 2–1 (3–1 agg). However, he continued to find his first team opportunities limited and found himself placed on the substitute bench, due to competitions from

Medhi Benatia Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi BenatiaThough the traditional Arabic spelling is "Mehdi", he spells his name "Medhi". See, for examplehis Twitter account Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born ...

. But Ekstrand made only five starts by the end of the year, coming from the league and UEFA Europa League and saw the club qualify for the knockout stage. He then made a further five more starts for Udinese later in the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Ekstrand went on to make a further 17 appearances in all competitions.

Loan to Watford

On 31 August 2012, Ekstrand joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

on a season-long loan from Udinese. It came after when the player informed the club's management that he wanted to leave Udinese for first team football. Esktrand was close to joining

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

but collapsed over transfer demands. Having been out of the first team for a month, he made his debut for the club, coming on in the second half to replace Neuton, in a 2–1 loss against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

on 2 October 2012. Following this, Ekstrand became a first team regular, playing in the centre–back position for the next sixteen league matches for Watford, as the club found themselves to get promoted to the

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 ...

. This lasted until he suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 78th minute during Watford's win against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 2 February 2013. His knee injury cost him a place to be in the Sweden squad and missed the next two matches as a result. Ekstrand made his return to the starting line–up against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

on 18 February 2013 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win. In a follow–up match against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

on 23 February 2013, he scored his first Watford goal, scoring from 10 yards, in a 2–1 win. From that moment on, he began to established himself in the first team for the rest of the season and helped the club finish third place in league. On 12 May 2013, Ekstrand played in the semi-final second leg against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In a dramatic finale, after Watford goalkeeper

Manuel Almunia Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over two seasons with Recr ...

saved both a penalty taken by

Anthony Knockaert Anthony Patrick Knockaert (born 20 November 1991) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. Club career Guingamp Knockaert began his professional career with Guingamp, having previously spent his youth career at Wasque ...

and a rebound which would have sent the opposition team through to the final,

Troy Deeney Troy Matthew Deeney (born 29 June 1988) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was most recently player-manager of Forest Green Rovers F.C., Forest Green Rov ...

scored in the seventh minute of added time to take the club through to the Championship Play-off Final on aggregate. In the Championship Play–off Final, he played the whole game throughout 120 minutes extra time, as Watford lost the final against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Ekstrand went on to make 36 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

Watford

On 24 July 2013, Watford confirmed Ekstrand had signed a three-year deal on a permanent basis, keeping him until 2016. Upon joining the club, he was given a number six shirt following the departure of

Fitz Hall Fitz Benjamin Hall (born 20 December 1980) is an English former professional footballer and current football agent. He played as a defender during his professional career and as a striker in amateur football. Club career Early career Hall bega ...

. His first appearance for Watford since joining them on a permanent basis came on 6 August 2013, where Ekstrand captained the club and starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

in the first round of the League Cup. Following this, he continued to remain in the first team regular for the club, playing in the centre–back position despite having two managers this season. Ekstrand then made his 50th appearance for Watford, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 5 October 2013. However, he suffered setback of injuries and suspension throughout the 2013–14 season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Ekstrand went on to make thirty–nine appearances in all competitions. Prior to the 2014–15 season, Ekstrand was keen on leaving Watford despite having a remaining two years to his contract. Amid the transfer speculation, Ekstrand made a poor start of the season when he was "sent–off after just two minutes for a collision with

Nathan Redmond Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond (born 6 March 1994) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (sports), winger for club Burnley F.C., Burnley. Redmond began his career as a youngster with Birmingham City F. ...

", in a 3–0 loss against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 16 August 2014. After serving a three match suspension, he returned to the first team against Huddersfield Town on 30 August 2014, starting the whole game, in a 4–2 win. Since returning from suspension, Ekstrand continued to regain his first team place, playing in the centre–back position for the next thirteen league matches despite facing competitions along the way. However, by December, he was dropped from the first team squad by manager

Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr. A physical player considered st ...

, due to his change of formation 3–5–2 tactics and Football League rules on home-grown player as the reason Ekstrand was dropped from the first team squad. By late–December, he faced his own injury concern that saw him out for a month. After returning to training from injury in February, Ekstrand returned to the starting line–up against Bolton Wanderers on 14 February 2015 and scored his first goal for the club in two years, in a 4–3 win. However, during a 3–2 win against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on 28 February 2015, he suffered a hamstring injury and was substituted in the 42nd minute, resulting in him missing the next two matches. But Ekstrand returned to the starting line–up against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 14 March 2015 and helped Watford win 4–1. However, his return was short–lived when it was announced on 24 March 2015 that he would be out for up to nine months after damaging his cruciate ligament in a Football League Championship match against

three days ago. While on the sidelines, Watford gained promotion to the Premier League. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Ekstrand went on to make twenty–five appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, Ekstrand continued to rehabilitate with his knee injury and was dropped from the Premier League squad for the 2015–16 season. By late–November, he made his return to full training after making a recovery on his knee. Ekstrand then made a playing comeback from injury in January 2016 after being out injured since March 2015, playing two matches for Watford's development squad, however he picked up an injury in an against

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

on 26 January 2016. In February 2016, then Watford Manager

Quique Sánchez Flores Enrique "Quique" Sánchez Flores (; born 5 February 1965) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He began his professional career with Valencia in 1984, going on to amass La Liga totals of 304 games and 16 g ...

revealed the club were in talks to extend Ekstrand's contract at the club despite Ekstrand still recovering from injury, with Flores describing the player: "Ekstrand could be a very interesting central defender for the future. He has experience and plays football very well." However, Sánchez Flores' was denied by Ekstrand, saying he hasn't been offered a new contract by Watford but was keen on staying at the club. Ekstrand later said that injury was "the hardest eleven months of his career." After failing to make a first team appearance during the 2015–16 season due to injury and his contract situation changing after a change in management with Quique Sánchez Flores leaving the club and being replaced by

Walter Mazzarri Walter Mazzarri (; born 1 October 1961) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. After a 14-year playing career with Italian clubs including Reggiana and Empoli, Mazzarri coached several smaller Italian sides and in 2007 ...

, on 3 June 2016, it was announced that Ekstrand would leave Watford upon the expiry of his contract.

Bristol City

After leaving Watford, it was announced on 13 July 2016 that Ekstrand had been set to sign for Championship club

on a free transfer, however after a medical and negotiations with the player, Leeds then pulled out of the deal Following this, he later reflected his experience at his medical prior to joining Leeds United. On 6 September 2016, Ekstrand signed for Championship club

on a one-year deal, after training with the squad during August. He was previously linked with a move to the club before joining in favour of Leeds United, only for the move to broke down. Ekstrand made his debut for Bristol City in the 2–2 draw with

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on 10 September 2016, coming on as a substitute for

Scott Golbourne Juliou Scott Golbourne (born 29 February 1988) is an English former Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Golbourne's previous clubs include Bristol City F.C., Bristol City, Wolverhampton Wa ...

. His second appearance for the club came on 17 September 2016, making his first start, in a 1–1 draw against

. However, he was soon sidelined with a hamstring injury and illness, keeping him out for several months. Even after returning from injury, Ekstrand remained out of the first team until his release by the club, which he only made two appearances for the club.

Rotherham United

On 2 February 2017, free agent Ekstrand signed for fellow Championship side

on a deal until the end of the season. He made his Rotherham United (and his only appearance) debut, making his first start for the side and played 68 minutes before being substituted, in a 5–0 loss to the hands of

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on 16 February 2017. This turns out to be his only appearance for the club, as Ekstrand suffered a knee injury and was sidelined for the rest of the 2016–17 season. He left Rotherham United at the end of his contract.

AIK and retirement

After leaving Rotherham United, Ekstrand was linked with a move back to Sweden, with

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

keen on signing him, but the move was broken down over money problems. On 15 January 2018, he signed a 3-year contract with AIK, making his return to

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

and Swedish football for the first time in eight years. Upon joining the club, Ekstrand said: "I felt that I wanted to get started and come back to Sweden. AIK is a fantastic club and when I played in Helsingborg before, the away match against AIK was the best of the year. It feels perfect to be here and I will do everything to contribute to the team." Ekstrand made his debut for the club, coming on in the 85th minute in a 3–0 win against

Halmstads BK Halmstads Bollklubb, also known simply as Halmstad () or (especially locally) HBK or Bollklubben, is a Swedish professional Association football, football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and app ...

on 5 March 2018 in the Svenska Cupen match. However, he suffered an injury and was eventually for eight months. It wasn't until on 11 November 2018 when Ekstrand made his return to the starting line–up against

, coming on in the 85th minute and played for the rest of the game, as AIK won 1–0, a victory that saw the club win the

2018 Allsvenskan The 2018 Allsvenskan, part of the 2018 Swedish football season, was the 94th season of Allsvenskan since its establishment in 1924. A total of 16 teams participated. As the 2018 FIFA World Cup will start on 14 June, the last round before stoppag ...

. At the end of the 2018 season, he went on to make two appearances in all competitions. During the club's training camp in Dubai in early–February, Ekstrand suffered a lower body injury that kept him out of games throughout the season. On 10 October 2019, he announced his retirement from professional football, due to his injury.

International career

Youth

In July 2004, Ekstrand was called up to the Sweden U15 squad for the first time. A month later on 24 August 2004, he made his U15 national team debut, starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win against Finland U15. Ekstrand went on to make two more appearances for Sweden U15. In March 2005, Ekstrand was called up to the Sweden U16 for the first time. He made his debut for the U16 national team, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Republic of Ireland U16 on 28 April 2005. This turns out to be his only appearances for Sweden U16. In March 2006, Ekstrand was called up to the Sweden U17 squad for the first time. He made his U17 national team debut, starting the whole game, in a 4–0 loss against Hungary U17 on 30 March 2006. This also turns out to be his only appearances for Sweden U17. In August 2007, Ekstrand was called up to the Sweden U18 squad for the first time. He made his U18 national team debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Belgium U18 on 21 August 2007. Ekstrand went on to make three more appearances for Sweden U18. In October 2007, he was called up to the Sweden U19 squad for the first time. Ekstrand made his U19 national team debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win against Finland U19 on 12 October 2007. He went on to make six more appearances for the Sweden U19. In September 2008, Ekstrand was called up to the Sweden U21 squad for the first time, but did not play. But he made his U21 national team debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Belgium U21 on 27 March 2009. On 23 May 2009, Ekstrand was selected for the Swedish u21 squad competing in the

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 comp ...

. Manager

Jörgen Lennartsson Dan Inge Jörgen Lennartsson (born 10 April 1965) is a Swedish football manager and former player, he is the currently assistant head coach of Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh. Career Lennartsson was born in Växjö. He became the manager of th ...

said about the player: "Position-safe midfielder, good head player and very good passing player." Prior to the tournament, he scored his first goal for the U21 national team goal, in a 2–1 win against Estonia U21 on 9 June 2009. However, Ekstrand was featured on the substitute bench throughout the tournament, as Sweden U21 made it to the semi–finals. Following the tournament, he made two more appearances for the U21 national team by the end of the year. Ekstrand later made five more appearances for Sweden U21 the following year.

Senior

In December 2009, Ekstrand was called up by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

for the first time. He first appeared in the national squad as an unused substitute against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

for the first time on 20 January 2010, winning 1–0. Ekstrand made his full Sweden debut in a friendly against

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in 2010. Ekstrand's performances with Watford were rewarded with a return to the Sweden squad for the friendly game 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 ...

on 6 February 2013. However, he withdrew from the squad due to a knee injury. It wasn't until on 5 March 2014 when he made his first Sweden appearance in four years, in a 2–1 loss against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Personal life

Following his move to Udinese, Ekstrand began to learn Italian three times a week and subsequently learned the language well. In May 2012, he was reportedly went to hospital after crashing his car following the club's party, but was released from the hospital and was fined by Udinese. In an interview with

Watford Observer The ''Watford Observer'' is a weekly local newspaper, published by Newsquest. It serves the town of Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, Engl ...

, Ekstrand also revealed that he speaks English and grew up supporting

as a young kid.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekstrand, Joel Swedish men's footballers Footballers from Lund Swedish expatriate men's footballers Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers Sweden men's international footballers Helsingborgs IF players Udinese Calcio players Watford F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Allsvenskan players Serie A players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Swedish expatriate sportspeople in England 1989 births Living people Men's association football defenders 21st-century Swedish sportsmen