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Andreas Isaksson

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Andreas Isaksson
Personal information
Full name Andreas Isaksson
Height 1.99 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Manchester City
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 June 2008

Andreas Isaksson ([IPA: an'dreːas 'ɪːsakˌsɔn]; born October 3, 1981, in Trelleborg) is a Swedish football goalkeeper who currently plays for Manchester City and for the Swedish national team. Standing 199 cm tall, Andreas is one of the tallest players in the Premier League[citation needed].

Career

Isaksson started his career with his hometown team Trelleborg, where he played two seasons 1998 and 1999. He became known as a great goalkeeping prospect and was thus bought by Italian giants Juventus in 1999, but with the likes of Dutch international goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the squad, Isaksson never played a first-team game for the Turin club.

In 2001 he signed with Swedish team Djurgården in order to play first-team football. In his first two full seasons, 2002 and 2003, Djurgården won two straight Swedish titles as well as the cup in 2002. He was voted best Swedish goalkeeper for four consecutive years from 2002 to 2005.[1]

While at Djurgården, Isaksson established himself as the second-choice goalkeeper after Magnus Hedman for the Swedish national team, making his international debut against Switzerland in March 2002.[2] Injury to Magnus Hedman allowed Isaksson the opportunity to play for Sweden on a regular basis, playing in all but one of Sweden's qualifying matches for Euro 2004, and all Sweden's matches during the tournament. Shortly after Euro 2004, French club Rennes signed him, where he became the starting goalkeeper. Fellow former Djurgården player Kim Källström also played at the club. During his time at Rennes, Isaksson caught the eye of many clubs in Europe for his amazing shot stopping ability.

Isaksson has remained the first-choice goalkeeper for his national team since Euro 2004, making three appearances in the 2006 World Cup in Germany (he got injured and could not play all games). As of July 2006 he has 42 caps for Sweden. After an impressive World Cup performance, he completed a £2 million move to Manchester City of the Premier League on August 15 2006 and became the tallest player in the premiership at 6' 6 1/2". He was expected to replace David James as their first choice keeper, but due to knee and ankle injuries[3] and the form of Nicky Weaver he did not make his debut until 9 December 2006, when he replaced the injured Weaver in a Manchester derby match. After his second start for City on 14 March 2007, he played all of the remaining ten games of 2006-07, keeping four clean sheets, and saving a penalty kick from Jermain Defoe on the last day of the season.

Isaksson played the majority of Manchester City's next pre-season campaign in Sweden and Belgium, but after his thumb was fractured in a training session, he did not play for City in the first two months of 2007-08, picking up a knee injury right afterwards. Isaksson made his 07/08 debut for Manchester City by keeping a clean sheet against Bolton in the Carling Cup on October 31, 2007. In November and December he had a run of five league games in the first team, as part of a rotation used by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson to decide upon his first-choice goalkeeper. However, he has since lost his starting place due to injury to youth keeper, Joe Hart who has managed to establish himself as City's first choice goalkeeper. Galatasaray attempted to take the Swede on loan, but the move was canceled due to Andreas wanting a permanent move. This can only lead to the fact that he will choose to leave at the end of the season. Chelsea has reported that they are interested in Isaksson. He's been linked with a possible move to Turkish giants Galatasaray, joining his teammate Tobias Linderoth. Isaksson was back in the starting eleven for the last game of the season against Middlesbrough in which he conceded eight goals. He also kept a clean sheet in Sweden's first Euro 2008 final match against Greece, which ended 2-0.

References

  1. ^ "Previous winners". SvenskFotboll. Retrieved June 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Andreas Isaksson". 2006 FIFA World Cup official website. Retrieved December 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Isaksson faces fight with Weaver for No 1 shirt". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved December 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

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