Alexander Isak facts for kids
Isak with Sweden in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Isak | ||
| Date of birth | 21 September 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Solna, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Newcastle United | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2015 | AIK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | AIK | 24 | (10) |
| 2017–2019 | Borussia Dortmund II | 12 | (5) |
| 2017–2019 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Willem II (loan) | 16 | (13) |
| 2019–2022 | Real Sociedad | 105 | (33) |
| 2022– | Newcastle United | 72 | (46) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2016 | Sweden U17 | 19 | (6) |
| 2016–2017 | Sweden U19 | 6 | (2) |
| 2016–2018 | Sweden U21 | 7 | (0) |
| 2017– | Sweden | 50 | (15) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:16, 19 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:11, 19 November 2024 (UTC) |
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Alexander Isak (born 21 September 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer. He plays as a forward for the English club Newcastle United. He also plays for the Sweden national team.
Alexander Isak was born and grew up in Solna, Sweden. He began his football journey with his childhood club AIK in 2016. After that, he played for clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Willem II. In 2019, he joined Real Sociedad. In 2022, he moved to Newcastle United for a club record fee.
Isak has played for the Swedish national team since 2017. He has earned 50 caps for his country. He also played for Sweden in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. He holds the record as the youngest goalscorer ever for both AIK and the Swedish national team.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Football
Alexander Isak was born on 21 September 1999. His parents are from Eritrea. He grew up in Solna Municipality, near Stockholm. When he was six years old, he started playing football. He joined the youth team of AIK, a big club in the area. AIK was also the team he supported as a child.
Club Career Highlights
Playing for AIK
Isak made his first appearance for AIK's senior team on 28 February 2016. He came on as a substitute in a Swedish Cup match. He was only 16 years old when he scored a goal in that game, helping his team win 6–0.
On 7 April 2016, Isak started his first league game in the Allsvenskan. He scored the second goal in a 2–0 win. This made him the youngest player ever to score for AIK in the Allsvenskan. He was 16 years and 199 days old.
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On 3 May 2016, Isak signed his first professional contract. He had impressed everyone with his early games. On his 17th birthday, 21 September 2016, he scored two important goals. These goals helped AIK win 3–0 against their big rivals, Djurgårdens IF. His teammate even called him "Sweden's new Zlatan Ibrahimović".
Moving to Borussia Dortmund
On 23 January 2017, Isak joined Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund in Germany. He signed a long-term contract until 2022. The transfer fee was not officially announced. However, reports said it was about €9 million. This was the highest fee ever paid for a player from the Swedish league at that time. Before joining Dortmund, Isak reportedly turned down an offer from Real Madrid.
Isak played his first game for Dortmund on 14 March 2017. It was a 3–0 cup win. He won his first medal with the club when Dortmund won the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal (German Cup). He scored his first goal for Dortmund on 24 October 2017. It was in a 5–0 cup win.
Loan to Willem II
In 2019, Isak went on loan to Willem II, a club in the Dutch league. On 28 February 2019, he scored a goal and the winning penalty in a cup semi-final. This helped Willem II reach the Dutch cup final for the first time since 2005. On 30 March 2019, he made history by scoring three penalties in one league game. On 14 April 2019, he became the first foreign player in the Dutch league to score 12 goals in his first 12 league games.
Joining Real Sociedad
On 12 June 2019, Isak signed a five-year deal with Real Sociedad in Spain. He joined the La Liga club on 1 July 2019. He scored in his very first game for them. He continued to score four goals in five pre-season games. His first official goal for Real Sociedad was on 22 September 2019.
On 6 February 2020, Isak scored two goals and made one assist in a Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) quarter-final against Real Madrid. A few days later, he scored the winning goal in a local derby match.
On 3 April 2021, Isak won his first trophy with Real Sociedad. He played in the 2020 Copa del Rey Final, which they won 1–0. This helped Real Sociedad win the 2019–20 Copa del Rey.
He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 21 February 2021. This was in a 4–0 league win. He was the first Swedish player to score a La Liga hat-trick since 1949.
Moving to Newcastle United
Record Transfer and First Season (2022–23)
On 26 August 2022, Isak joined Premier League club Newcastle United. He signed a six-year contract. The fee was around £63 million, which was a record transfer fee for Newcastle United. On 31 August, he scored a goal in his very first game. He was named man of the match in that game against Liverpool.
After scoring a penalty in a draw against Bournemouth, Isak had a hamstring injury. He missed 16 games. He returned to play in January 2023. On 15 January, he scored his first goal after the injury. On 17 March, he scored two goals for Newcastle. The second goal was a penalty in extra time to win the game.
On 23 April, he scored two more goals in just two minutes. This was in a big 6–1 win. His manager, Eddie Howe, even compared his dribbling skills to the legendary player Thierry Henry.
Continued Success (2023–25)
On 12 August 2023, Isak scored two goals in the first match of the new season. On 27 September, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Manchester City. This was Newcastle's first win against them in 11 meetings. On 25 November, Isak scored a goal after recovering from a groin injury. Three days later, he scored his first Champions League goal.
On 14 April 2024, Isak scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season. This equaled Zlatan Ibrahimovic's record for most goals by a Swede in a Premier League season. He then broke that record on April 28, scoring two goals in a 5–1 win. He finished his second season as Newcastle's top scorer with 21 league goals.
On 21 December 2024, Isak scored his first hat-trick for Newcastle. This was in a 4–0 win. He was the first Swedish player to score a Premier League hat-trick since 2003. His first goal in that game was scored in just 25.95 seconds. This made it Newcastle's fastest away goal in the Premier League.
On 10 January 2025, Isak was named the Premier League Player of the Month for December. He scored eight goals and made two assists that month. He also scored in six games in a row. He was the first Swedish player since Zlatan Ibrahimovic to win this award. He also won the Premier League Goal of the Month for a goal against Liverpool.
International Career
Isak played for Sweden's youth national teams from U-16 to U-21. He was called up to the Sweden national team in January 2017. He made his debut on 8 January. He started his second game against Slovakia on 12 January. He scored the first goal in a 6–0 win. This made him the youngest goalscorer ever in the history of the Sweden national team.
On 23 March 2019, Isak played his first competitive game for Sweden. He came on as a substitute in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game. He scored his first competitive goal for Sweden on 7 June 2019. This was in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying game against Malta. Isak scored the last goal in a 3–0 win.
Isak was chosen for a major tournament for the first time when he was part of Sweden's squad for UEFA Euro 2020.
How Alexander Isak Plays
Alexander Isak is known as a "modern striker." He is tall, which helps him in the air. But he is also very fast and skilled with the ball. This allows him to move well in tight spaces and get past defenders.
He is good at finishing chances with both feet. He also links up well with his teammates, passing the ball to help them join the attack. Isak is smart about where he positions himself on the field. This makes it hard for defenders to mark him. It also creates space for him and his teammates to run into. When he doesn't have the ball, Isak works hard and defends well. He can play as a single striker, a left winger, or in a two-man attack. He uses his strength to hold the ball when playing alone. When playing with another striker or as a winger, he uses his speed to find gaps in the defense.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AIK | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 10 | 2 | 3 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 29 | 13 | ||
| Borussia Dortmund II | 2016–17 | Regionalliga West | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Regionalliga West | 11 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 12 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | ||||||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |||
| Willem II (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 14 | |||
| Real Sociedad | 2019–20 | La Liga | 37 | 9 | 8 | 7 | — | — | — | 45 | 16 | |||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 34 | 17 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 17 | ||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 32 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | 6 | 3 | — | 41 | 10 | |||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 105 | 33 | 12 | 8 | — | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 44 | |||
| Newcastle United | 2022–23 | Premier League | 22 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 10 | ||
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 30 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 40 | 25 | ||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 20 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 17 | |||
| Total | 72 | 46 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 91 | 52 | |||
| Career total | 234 | 107 | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 294 | 129 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2017 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 14 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | |
| Total | 50 | 15 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 January 2017 | Armed Forces Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  Slovakia |
1–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 7 June 2019 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Malta |
3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 3 | 5 September 2019 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |  Faroe Islands |
1–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||
| 5 | 8 October 2020 | VEB Arena, Moscow, Russia |  Russia |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 28 March 2021 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo |  Kosovo |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 2 September 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Spain |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 9 October 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden | Kosovo |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 12 October 2021 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Greece |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 9 September 2023 | Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia |
3–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 11 | 5 June 2024 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark |  Denmark |
1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 12 | 5 September 2024 | Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Azerbaijan |
1–0 | 3–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C |
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||
| 14 | 8 September 2024 | Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden | Estonia |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C |
| 15 | 16 November 2024 | Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden | Slovakia |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C |
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
- DFB-Pokal: 2016–17
Real Sociedad
- Copa del Rey: 2019–20
Newcastle United
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2022–23
Individual Awards
- Allsvenskan Newcomer of the Year: 2016
- Allsvenskan Player of the Month: September 2016
- Copa del Rey top scorer: 2019–20
- Eredivisie Talent of the Month: March 2019
- Swedish Forward of the Year: 2021
- Premier League Player of the Month: December 2024
- Premier League Goal of the Month: December 2024
See also
In Spanish: Alexander Isak para niños
