Axel Sjöberg

Axel Sjöberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈǎksɛl ˈɧø̂ːbærj]; born 8 March 1991) is a Swedish former footballer.

Not to be confused with Axel Sjöberg (footballer, born 2000).
For the Swedish curler, see Axel Sjöberg (curler). For the Swedish painter, see Axel Sjöberg (painter).

Axel Sjöberg
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-03-08) 8 March 1991
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Height 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1995–1997 Helenelunds IK
1997–2009 Djurgårdens IF
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Marquette Golden Eagles 63 (11)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Sollentuna United FF 20 (3)
2012–2013 Thunder Bay Chill 29 (6)
2015–2019 Colorado Rapids 88 (3)
2020 Columbus Crew SC 0 (0)
2020 → San Antonio FC (loan) 1 (0)
2020 D.C. United 2 (0)
2021 San Antonio FC 15 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 October 2021

Career

Early career

Sjöberg began his career with Helenelunds IK in his hometown at age four before moving to the academy of Djurgårdens IF, long-time member of the Allsvenskan, the top tier of the Swedish football league system at age 6 in 1997.[1] Sjöberg stayed with the club until 2009, when he signed with Sollentuna United FF of Division 2 for 2010.[2] Sjöberg scored three goals during the season[3] and helped the club finish second in the league, seven points behind IK Frej.[4] Sjöberg was selected for the club's Player of the Year award following the season. The club's second-place finish was enough to earn a berth in the 2011 Svenska Cupen.[2] Sjöberg did not appear in the cup matches as Sollentuna advanced out of the preliminary round with a shootout victory over Nyköpings BIS[5] before being knocked out in the next round with a 0–4 defeat to Vasalunds IF.[6]

College and semi-professional

In 2011, Sjöberg committed to play college soccer with the Marquette Golden Eagles of Marquette University. In his four years with the team before graduating, Sjöberg appeared in (and started) 63 matches and tallied eleven goals and 9 assists. Beginning with his second year with the team, Sjöberg played every minute of every match. For his performances, he was the recipient of numerous awards including multiple Big East Player of the Week awards and being named one of the 10 best defenders in college soccer by TopDrawerSoccer.com.[2]

For the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Sjöberg also played semi-professional soccer for the Thunder Bay Chill of the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. He and two other Marquette teammates were invited to the club after the Chill played a friendly match with Marquette in Milwaukee.[1] In 2012, he appeared in 15 matches and tallied two goals and an assist.[7] The following season, he appeared in 14 matches and scored four goals for the Canadian club.[8] In 2012, he helped the Chill win the Heartland Division championship. In 2013 the Chill were crowned regular seasons champions of the PDL[9] and advanced to the final match in which they lost to the Austin Aztex. Sjöberg was named the club's Defender of the Year for both seasons.[2]

Early career

In July 2014, Sjöberg went on trial with GAIS of the Swedish Superettan.[10] During the trial, he appeared in one friendly match, a 3–0 victory over Lärje-Angered IF on 16 July.[11] Also in 2014, Sjöberg trialed with SK Sigma Olomouc of the Czech Synot Liga. After scoring two goals in three matches with the reserve team, he was offered a contract.[12]

Colorado Rapids

In January 2015, Sjöberg was invited to the 2015 MLS Combine[13] and was projected by some MLS analysts to be a potential first round draft pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.[14] On the night before the draft, Major League Soccer analyst Jonathan Yardley described Sjöberg as the most MLS-ready defender available.[15] Sjöberg went on to be drafted 14th overall by the Colorado Rapids after they swapped picks with the Columbus Crew SC to take him.[16]

Sjöberg made his professional debut on 7 March 2015 in Colorado's opening match of the 2015 season. He started the eventual 0–0 draw with the Philadelphia Union and was credited with keeping the defense organized after the Rapids went down a man in the 68th minute. About Sjöberg being a starter, Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said, "It wasn't a part of the plan but that's why we do preseason. These two guys (Sjöberg and fellow rookie Dominique Badji) have proven that they're fully capable and ready to contribute to the team right now."[17]

Sjöberg scored his first professional goal for the Rapids on 21 May 2016 in a 1–0 victory over the Seattle Sounders FC. The game-winning goal secured ensured that Colorado moved back atop the overall Major League Soccer standings after being displaced momentarily by FC Dallas who were victorious earlier in the matchday.[18]

During his first 11 starts of the 2016 Major League Soccer season, the Colorado Rapids conceded only seven goals which, among other qualities, made him an early contender for the MLS Defender of the Year award and for a spot on the 2016 MLS All-Star Game roster according to one MLS columnist.[19] Although he was not named to the all-star squad, another MLS columnist named Sjöberg one of the top five most surprising omissions from the roster as the player was a consistent contributor to the best defense in the league to that point of the season.[20]

In 2017, Sjöberg started the Rapids' home and away openers before picking up a hamstring injury in the away opener. Sjöberg returned to the lineup on 21 May 2017.

At the conclusion of the 2019 season Sjöberg was placed on waivers by Colorado, ending his tenure with the club.[21]

Columbus Crew SC

On 4 December 2019, Sjöberg was selected off waivers by Columbus Crew SC.[22] On 6 March 2020, Sjöberg joined USL Championship club San Antonio FC on loan for the 2020 season.[23]

D.C. United

On 14 August 2020, D.C. United acquired Sjöberg from Columbus Crew in exchange for Emmanuel Boateng.[24] Sjöberg made his debut for United on 29 August 2020, in a 1–4 loss against the Philadelphia Union.[25] He was released by D.C. United on 30 November 2020.[26]

San Antonio FC

On 21 January 2021, Sjöberg re-joined San Antonio FC.[27]

Retirement

On April 24 2022, Sjöberg announced on his Instagram page that he had decided to retire from professional football.[28]

Career statistics
As of 11 September 2019[29][30][31][32]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sollentuna United FF 2010 Division 2 203–––203
Thunder Bay Chill 2012[7] PDL 152––1[lower-alpha 2]0162
2013[8] PDL 144––4[lower-alpha 2]0184
Total 296000050346
Colorado Rapids 2015 MLS 14000––140
2016 MLS 31210–4[lower-alpha 3]0362
2017 MLS 19110––201
2018 MLS 1700000–170
2019 MLS 7010–0080
Total 883300040953
Career total 1371230009014912
  1. All appearances in the U.S. Open Cup
  2. Appearance(s) in the PDL playoffs
  3. Appearances in the MLS Cup Playoffs

Honours

Individual

References
  1. Dykhoff, Johan. "Intervju med Axel Sjöberg, svensk collegefotbollsspelare i USA" (in Swedish). svenskafans.com. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. "Marquette Bio". Marquette University. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. "2010 Skytteliga" (in Swedish). Smalands FF. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. "Kontaktuppgifter och tävlingar 2010 – Sollentuna FF" (in Swedish). svenskfotboll.se/. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. "Preliminary Round-2011". SvFF. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  6. "First Round-2011". SvFF. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  7. "2012 Thunder Bay Chill statistics". USLPDL.com. Premier Development League. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. "2013 Thunder Bay Chill statistics". USLPDL.com. Premier Development League. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  9. "Standings-PDL 2013". USL PDL. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  10. Möller, Robin. "GAIS testar fyra spelare" (in Swedish). GAIS. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  11. "Spelarfakta-Axel Sjöberg". GAIS. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  12. Cummings, Marco. "10 Things: Height, hockey and Wall Street with Rapids giant Axel Sjoberg". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  13. Anderson, Eric (January 2015). "Marquette's Sjoberg among additions to MLS Combine". wisconsinsoccercentral.com. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  14. "MLSsoccer.com's 2015 Mock SuperDraft: Pre-Combine edition". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  15. "MLSsoccer.com's 2015 Mock SuperDraft: Post-Combine edition". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  16. "Colorado Rapids acquire two, big central defenders in the MLS SuperDraft". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  17. Cummings, Marco. "Colorado Rapids earn a hard fought point in Philadelphia behind two rookies, rebuilt backline". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  18. Manuca, David. "Rapids win to stay on top, Impact continue winless run". Goal. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  19. Doyle, Matthew. "Armchair Analyst: Sjoberg has big chance to prove All-Star credentials". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  20. Rosano, Nicholas. "The five biggest snubs from the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game roster". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  21. "Colorado Rapids place Axel Sjöberg on waivers".
  22. "Columbus Crew SC sign defender Axel Sjoberg from the Waiver List | MLSSoccer.com".
  23. "SAN ANTONIO FC ADDS DEFENDER AXEL SJÖBERG ON LOAN FROM COLUMBUS CREW SC". sanantoniofc.com. 6 March 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  24. "D.C. United acquire defender Axel Sjöberg". dcunited.com. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  25. Anderson, Jason (29 August 2020). "Defensive miscues doom short-handed D.C. United to 4-1 defeat at Philadelphia Union". blackandredunited.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  26. "D.C. United Announce End-of-Season Roster Decisions | DC United".
  27. "Haitian International Jerome Re-Signs with Locomotive FC". uslchampionship.com. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  28. "Axel Sjöberg on Instagram: "All good things come to an end… the time has come for me to officially announce my retirement from professional soccer. Even though I made this decision a long time ago, I have waited to announce it because I haven't found the right words… and I still can't seem to find them. All I can say is 'THANK YOU'! Thank you to the teams and organizations who took a chance on me. Thank you to the coaches who believed in me and showed me the way. Thank you to the players, both teammates and opponents, who pushed me to be better and who made the journey so enjoyable. Most importantly, thank you to my family and friends, both in Sweden and North America, for supporting me over the years. I know it has not always been easy, but I am forever grateful. Every ending has a new beginning, and the time has come for me to also announce the next chapter in my career and our family's life… and we could not be more excited! Tomorrow, I start a new career as an associate Private Banker with JP Morgan in Milwaukee. I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to join the best in the business and a great team in Milwaukee. Those closest to me know that I've had a long-standing captivation for investing and managing assets, and that I've sought out ways to help others and give back to the community. I can't imagine a more rewarding new career than this, so, please let me know if there's ever anything I can do to help! It's not just something I enjoy doing, it's now also part of my job. All good things come to an end… but all good things also have a beginning. Much love, Axel"".
  29. "Axel Sjöberg at EliteFootball.com". EliteFootball.com. Elite Football. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  30. "Axel Sjöberg at SoccerStats.us". SoccerStats.us. SoccerStats.us. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  31. Axel Sjöberg at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  32. Axel Sjöberg at Major League Soccer
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