Alexander Hleb Rank
About Alexander Hleb
Alexander Hleb, known outside football as Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb, is one of the many footballers that pushed their countries to the forefront with their great football talents.
Just like every other player, Alexander's greatest strength and position of choice is the midfield, often attacking from the right-wing.
Background
Alexander was born in Minsk, Byelorussian; the then Soviet Union. His mother was a contractor, and his father a heavy-duty driver.
Before starting a career in football, he was involved in sporting activities such as gymnastics and swimming.
Alexander tied the knot with Sviatlana – they have daughters from their past relationships.
Career Highlights
Alexander started his football career officially at Bate Borisov, a team in Belarus where he played for the German side of the Stuttgart team. His association with this team skyrocketed his career and made him visible to popular teams and call-ups at the time. Alexander was one of the most significant players of the Stuttgart team; it was definitely a problem to let him go.
Arsenal
After building himself a solid career at his premier team Alexander joined Arsenal in 2005.
The club approached him with a proposed £10m contract, one that was admittedly higher than his previous team's. He accepted the offer.
Despite the fact that he was highly skilled especially on the right-wing, Alexander was never complacent. Soon after joining Arsenal, he made his first professional debut in August 2005 in a match against Chelsea FC in the FA Community Shield.
Following this was a league debut where he played as a substitute against Newcastle United.
By January 2006, Hleb had instituted himself as the most sought-after player as he scored his first goal for Arsenal. The match ended with a 7–0 win over Middlesbrough. Soon after, he became known as the first Belarusian football player to have ever played in the Champions League final.
Barcelona
Due to his great charisma and dexterity in the field of play many clubs were looking forward to working with him and one of such was Barcelona FC.
Alexander was drafted by Barcelona on July 16, 2008, following a routine medical examination. He was offered a fee of €15 million including an added €2 million should the team win the La Liga title for 2008 - 2009 or 2009–2010.
This Alexander somewhat brought the team's goals to fruition as they won the La Liga title for 2008 to 2009, earning him a total fee of €17 million.
The football champ later made a brief appearance in the Copa del Rey final with his team Barcelona. In May of 2009, he did not participate in the Champions League final match between Barcelona and Manchester United but it ended in a 2–0 win in their favor.
In July 2009, Alexander was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart on a one-year contract.
He played for 55 minutes in his first game of the Bundesliga season, in an away match between his team and VfL Wolfsburg, a game in which Stuttgart lost 2–0.
VfB Stuttgart witnessed a comeback after Alexander scored his first goal for Stuttgart, in a 4–2 victory over SC Freiburg.
Alexander's great return to Stuttgart was however short-lived as he returned to England to play for Birmingham City later in 2010.
Birmingham City & Torku Konyaspor
Alexander joined Birmingham City with a loan deal which was expected to last for a season but for an injury which he sustained on his ankle while on international duty. This Injury ruined his almost successful season. Alexander did not play in Birmingham's victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final - a match he had greatly anticipated. Before the end of the season, he had announced that he was not returning to Birmingham after the season was over with the argument that he didn't like their style, he still showed interest in being in the Premier League, particularly original team Arsenal.
Alexander moved to Torku Konyaspor in 2014 where he partook in the Turkish Süper Lig for about one-and-a-half years, though he was given an option for an extended contract, Alexander left Torku Konyaspor Gençlerbirliği.
Alexander kept juggling from one team to the other till the end of his career.
Achievements
Alexander attained more than 20 caps for the Belarus under-21 team. He made his first international debut as a substitute player; where the match ended in a 1–0 win against Wales in 2001.
For Bate Borisov, he played and won in the Belarusian Premier League for 1999, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 respectively.
Alexander when he played with VfB Stuttgart took the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002.
His team Arsenal was the UEFA Champions League runner-up for the 2005 to 2006 season and football League Cup runner-up for the 2006 and 2007 league season.
Barcelona appears to be the team with his highest achievement by far the club won La Liga 2008-2009 season, for the same season they won the Copa del Rey and finally the UEFA Champions League.
Alexander’s stay at Birmingham City though short, however, witnessed a successful win of the Football League Cup during the 2010–2011 season.
Awards
Although football fans had a lot to say about his skills and often criticized his inability to stay in a team for long Alexander was still shining. Here is a list of awards the highly skilled footballer attained throughout his career:
- Belarusian Footballer of the Year for 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008
- Player of the Month (Arsenal) for August 2005
- Kicker Team of the Year for the 2004 to 2005 league season
More facts about Alexander Hleb
Alexander's younger brother Vyacheslav is also a footballer.
He started playing football on the concrete pitches of the Dinamo Minsk school.
Alexander’s Ex-wife Anastasia Kosenkova is a former singer of the Belarusian pop group Topless.
He was Arsenal's football icon, fans loved his work so much that they made the rendition of Johnnie Allan's "Rubber Dolly", "Alexander Hleb, Alexander Hleb, He's good at football, Alexander Hleb".
In March 2009, Alexander, in a public statement acknowledged that he would willingly accept an offer from Bayern Munich, should any of such proposals present itself during the summer.
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F.A.Q. about Alexander Hleb
When is his birthday?
Alexander Hleb's birthday is on May 1, 1981.
In how many days is his birthday?
Alexander's birthday is in 5 days
How old is he?
He is 42 years old.
Where is Alexander from?
He was born in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union.
What is Alexander Hleb's height?
He is 6′ 1″ (1.85m) tall.