Kjell Dennis Collander (born 9 May 2002) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hammarby IF in the Allsvenskan.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kjell Dennis Collander | ||
| Date of birth | 9 May 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Västerås, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hammarby IF | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2012 | Barkarö SK | ||
| 2013–2017 | Skiljebo SK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Skiljebo SK | 12 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Örebro SK | 36 | (2) |
| 2022– | Hammarby IF | 5 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Hammarby TFF | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2019 | Sweden U17 | 22 | (2) |
| 2021 | Sweden U21 | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 July 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:57, 23 November 2021 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Collander was born in Västerås and started to play football as a youngster with local club Barkarö SK. At age 11, he moved to Skiljebo SK.[3][4]
Club career
Skiljebo SK
On 14 February 2018, aged 15, Collander was promoted to Skiljebo's senior team, competing in Division 2, Sweden's fourth tier.[5] He played 12 league games throughout the season, scoring once, helping the club to finish 2nd in the table.[6][7]
Örebro SK
On 17 January 2019, Collander transferred to Örebro SK in Allsvenskan, the domestic top tier. He signed a three-year deal with the club,[7] after a successful trial.[8] He spent the most of the season sidelined, nursing an abdominal muscle injury.[9][10]
On 5 July 2020, Collander made his debut for Örebro in Allsvenskan, in a 1–2 loss to IK Sirius, coming on as a late substitute.[11][12] He ended the 2020 season making 15 league appearances for Örebro, that finished 7th in the Allsvenskan table.[6]
On 10 February 2021, Collander signed a new three-year deal with Örebro.[13] He made 21 league appearances, scoring twice, before his season was cut short in early October due to a knee injury.[14] Collander was unable to save the club from suffering a relegation to Superettan, but was voted Örebro Player of the Year by the fans of the club.[15]
Hammarby IF
On 12 January 2022, Collander transferred to Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, signing a four and a half-year contract until the summer of 2026.[16][17] The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 4,5 million SEK.[18][19] Collander featured in the final of the 2021–22 Svenska Cupen, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to Malmö FF after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.[20][21] On 22 July 2022 after making five appearances in Allsvenskan, it was announced that Collander would be sidelined for several months due to an other knee injury,[22] eventually leading to him missing the rest of the 2022 season. In May 2023, when he had returned to training, Collander suffered a cruciate ligament injury, expected to keep him sidelined for the rest of the year.[23]
International career
Between 2017 and 2019, Collander won 22 caps for the Swedish national under-17 team, scoring twice. He briefly captained the side and was called up to the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where Sweden was eliminated in the group stage.[24][25]
On 3 June 2021, Collander made his debut for the Swedish national under–21 team, in a 2–0 win against Finland.[26]
Personal life
His father Conny Collander is a former footballer who represented Västerås SK between 1989 and 1996, mainly in the Swedish second tier, before he was forced to retire due to several knee injuries.[27]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 17 October 2023[2]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Skiljebo SK | 2018 | Division 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Örebro SK | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Total | 36 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 | ||
| Hammarby TFF | 2022 | Ettan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Hammarby IF | 2022 | Allsvenskan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 3 | ||