Alexander Isak


Alexander Isak is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Sweden national team.

Career

Early life

Isak was born and raised in Solna, in central Stockholm County, from Eritrean parents. He started playing for the youth team of the largest club in the area, the team he supports, AIK, at age six.

Breakthrough at AIK

Isak made his first-team debut for AIK on 28 February 2016, appearing as a substitute in the 75th minute of the Swedish Cup away match against fourth-tier side Tenhults IF. At age 16, Isak scored a goal in the 6–0 victory.
On 7 April 2016, AIK head coach Andreas Alm included Isak in the starting lineup on matchday 2 of the Allsvenskan in an away fixture against Östersunds FK, alongside fellow young striker Carlos Strandberg. He secured the victory for his side, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win, thus becoming the youngest scorer in AIK Allsvenskan history at the age of 16 years and 199 days.
On 25 April, Isak scored his first goal at AIK's home ground, Friends Arena, opening the score in a 2–1 victory against IF Elfsborg.
On 3 May 2016, Isak signed his first professional contract through the end of the 2018 season, having impressed in his first few games, and establishing himself as a first-team regular. Between matchdays 8 and 9, head coach Alm was sacked, but Isak was confirmed in the lineup by new manager Rikard Norling.
On 21 September 2016, Isak's 17th birthday, he scored two critical goals in AIK's 3–0 derby win over arch-rivals Djurgårdens IF. He was later described by teammate Chinedu Obasi as "Sweden's new Zlatan Ibrahimović".

Borussia Dortmund

On 23 January 2017, Isak signed for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract, lasting until the summer of 2022. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but reports suggested that it was set at €9 million, which would be the highest transfer fee ever paid for an Allsvenskan player. Before signing with Dortmund, Isak reportedly turned down a move to Real Madrid.
Isak made his first appearance for the club in a 3–0 cup win over Sportfreunde Lotte on 14 March 2017. Isak won his first medal with the club when Dortmund won the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal, only appearing once in the tournament, and not being in the squad for the final.
He scored his first competitive goal for Dortmund in a 2017–18 DFB-Pokal second round win against 1. FC Magdeburg on 24 October 2017, scoring the second goal in a 5–0 win.

Loan to Willem II

After no appearances in the 2018–19 Bundesliga season for Borussia Dortmund, Isak was loaned to Dutch Eredivisie club Willem II. On 28 February 2019, he scored the equalizer and the winning penalty against AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, helping Willem II reach the Dutch cup final for the first time since 2005. On 30 March 2019, he became the first player ever to score three penalties in an Eredivisie match, in a 3–2 win against Fortuna Sittard. On 14 April 2019, Isak became the first foreign-born player in the Eredivisie to score 12 goals in his first 12 league games.

Real Sociedad

On 12 June 2019, Isak signed a five-year deal with Real Sociedad joining the La Liga club on 1 July 2019, in which he scored his first goal in his first game. He strongly continued the pre-season, scoring four goals in five games. Isak scored his first competitive goal for Real Sociedad in a 3-1 La Liga win against RCD Espanyol on 22 September 2019. On 6 February, Isak scored two goals and made one assist in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Madrid. On February 9, he scored the winning goal in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao.

International career

Isak was called up to the Sweden national team for the friendly matches against Ivory Coast on 8 January 2017 and Slovakia on 12 January. He made his debut against the Ivory Coast, coming on for Per Frick in the 62nd minute of a 1–2 loss. He started the second game against Slovakia, scoring the first goal in a 6–0 win in the 19th minute, becoming the youngest goalscorer ever in the history of the Sweden national team.
On 23 March 2019, Isak made his first competitive appearance for Sweden, when he replaced Robin Quaison in the 88th minute in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game against Romania, which Sweden won 2–1.
Isak scored his first competitive goal for Sweden on 7 June 2019, when Sweden beat Malta in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Isak scored the last goal in a 3-0 win.

Career statistics

Club

Notes

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 January 2017Armed Forces Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–06–0Friendly
2.7 June 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden3–03–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
3.5 September 2019Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands1–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
4.5 September 2019Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands2–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Club

Borussia Dortmund