Alexander Hleb

Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb (Belarusian: Аляксандр Паўлавіч Глеб, pronounced [alʲaˈksandar ɣlʲeb]; Russian: Александр Павлович Глеб; born 1 May 1981), commonly referred to in English as Alexander Hleb, is a Belarusian former professional footballer.

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Paulavich and the family name is Hleb.
Alexander Hleb
Hleb with Konyaspor in 2014
Personal information
Full name Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb[1]
Date of birth (1981-05-01) 1 May 1981
Place of birth Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder / Winger
Youth career
1997–1998 Dinamo-Juni Minsk
1998–1999 BATE Borisov
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Dinamo-Juni Minsk 11 (1)
1999–2000 BATE Borisov 25 (4)
2000–2001 VfB Stuttgart II 17 (1)
2000–2005 VfB Stuttgart 137 (13)
2005–2008 Arsenal 89 (7)
2008–2012 Barcelona 19 (0)
2009–2010 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 27 (0)
2010–2011 → Birmingham City (loan) 19 (1)
2011 → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) 4 (1)
2012 Krylia Sovetov Samara 8 (0)
2012–2013 BATE Borisov 29 (3)
2014 Konyaspor 30 (2)
2015 Gençlerbirliği 15 (2)
2015 BATE Borisov 4 (0)
2016 Gençlerbirliği 12 (0)
2016 BATE Borisov 6 (0)
2017 Krylia Sovetov Samara 7 (0)
2018–2019 BATE Borisov 16 (0)
2019 Isloch Minsk Raion 13 (0)
National team‡
2000–2004 Belarus U21 24 (5)
2001–2019 Belarus 80 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2019

Hleb's natural and preferred position is attacking midfielder or "in the hole" behind the strikers, but he is often deployed on the wing. He is known for his passing, agility and dribbling ability.[3][4] A full international for Belarus since 2001, he has won over 70 caps for his country.

Early life

Hleb grew up in Minsk. His mother was a builder, while his father drove petrol tankers. His father had volunteered to help demolish houses in Ukraine made uninhabitable as the result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Hleb believes this exposure to radiation caused his father's ill health. Before getting involved with football, Hleb was a keen swimmer and gymnast.[5][6] His younger brother Vyacheslav is also a footballer.

Club career

Hleb developed playing football on the concrete pitches of Dinamo Minsk school. At the age of 17, he signed for BATE Borisov, a Belarusian Premier League team from Barysaw.

Stuttgart

Spotted by scouts, Alexander and his younger brother Vyacheslav were signed in 2000 by German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart for approximately €150,000.[7] He made his Bundesliga debut on 5 September 2000 in an away match at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, coming on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes.[8] Despite only making six league appearances in his first season with Stuttgart, Hleb became a regular at the club in his second season there and went on to establish himself as an important player for the team. In 2002, he was voted Belarusian Footballer of the Year.[9]

In 2002–03, Stuttgart finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga and enjoyed a UEFA Champions League victory over Manchester United and Hleb had become established as the team's playmaker. After team manager Felix Magath left to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2004, however, Stuttgart were not as successful under new coach Matthias Sammer, having finished the 2004–05 season in fifth place.[10] Nevertheless, Hleb was on top of the assist chart in his last season in the Bundesliga.

Arsenal
Hleb playing for Arsenal.

In June 2005, Hleb joined English side Arsenal for a sum which had the potential to reach €15 million, on a four-year contract.[11] Arsène Wenger used Hleb at many different midfield positions, but he mainly played on the right wing for Arsenal. His competitive debut was made in August 2005 against Chelsea in the 2005 FA Community Shield, and then he made his league debut as a substitute against Newcastle United.[12][13] Soon after, Hleb sustained a knee injury while on international duty with Belarus and was out for several months, returning to the first team squad in December, and played 60 minutes in Arsenal's final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax on 7 December.[14] By January 2006, Hleb had established himself as a first choice player and scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 7–0 win over Middlesbrough.[15] In May, Hleb became the first ever Belarusian footballer to play in the Champions League final.[16] He ended the season with 40 appearances and three goals.

Despite a hamstring injury, Hleb made 48 appearances in the 2006–07 season and scored three goals. In 2007–08, he was moved from the right wing and played behind Robin van Persie as a withdrawn striker. When strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Eduardo recovered from injuries Arsène Wenger reverted to a 4–4–2 formation and Hleb returned to playing on the wing. His season was cut short after he was banned for three games by the FA after he was charged with violent conduct in an incident with Graeme Murty of Reading during their 2–0 win. Hleb admitted his offence, ending his season.

Hleb was always a popular figure at Arsenal, and the fans reciprocated the effort he brought to the team by inventing a song to the tune of Johnnie Allan's Rubber Dolly, "Alexander Hleb, Alexander Hleb, He's good at football, Alexander Hleb".

Barcelona

On 16 July 2008, a medical examination was held for the player at FC Barcelona, with his transfer completed later that day for a fee of €15 million plus an additional €2 million if Barcelona won the La Liga title in 2008–09 or 2009–10 (which they did in 2008–09, bringing his total fee to €17 million). Hleb signed a four-year contract with a buy-out clause of €90 million.[17]

In March 2009, after featuring irregularly for the team – starting only five games in La Liga – Hleb admitted that he would readily accept an offer from Bayern Munich, if such an opportunity arose in the summer. He said, "I am right in the best years of my career and I do not want to spend those years on bench. Bayern Munich is a special club, their interest in me is a delightful honour. Bayern is among the best teams in the world."[18]

Hleb went on to win the 2008–09 treble with Barcelona in his first season with the club. Hleb featured briefly in the Copa del Rey final but did not play when Barcelona went on to beat Manchester United 2–0 in the Champions League final.

At the end of the season, Hleb turned down the opportunity to join, on loan, eventual 2009–10 treble winners Internazionale, and chose to join former club, VfB Stuttgart, on loan.[19]

In July 2009, Hleb returned to VfB Stuttgart on a one-year loan.[20][21][22][23] Hleb played 55 minutes in the first game of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, away to VfL Wolfsburg, a match Stuttgart lost 2–0. Then, after playing in Stuttgart's 4–2 victory over SC Freiburg, Hleb scored his first goal for Stuttgart, during a Champions League qualifier against Timișoara in a 2–0 away win for the German side.

Hleb with Birmingham in 2010 playing against his former club Arsenal.

On 31 August 2010, Hleb returned to England by signing a season-long loan deal with Premier League club Birmingham City.[24] An ankle injury sustained on international duty delayed his debut until 18 September, when he played 83 minutes in a 3–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.[25][26] Three days later, he opened the scoring as Birmingham beat Milton Keynes Dons 3–1 in the League Cup.[27] Injury disrupted his season, forcing him to miss Birmingham's victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final. Towards the end of the season, he ruled out a return to the club once his loan expired, suggesting that their style of football was not to his taste, although he wanted to remain in the Premier League, ideally at Arsenal.[28][29]

On 31 August 2011, Hleb was loaned out to VfL Wolfsburg.[30] Again, injury disrupted his stay at Wolfsburg, making only one start and three appearances as a substitute.[31] The club confirmed he would leave at the scheduled end of the loan on 31 December 2011.[32]

Krylia Sovetov Samara

After Hleb's contract with Barcelona was cancelled by mutual consent during the January 2012 transfer window,[33] he signed for Russian Premier League club Krylia Sovetov Samara until the end of the season.[34]

Return to BATE Borisov

On 26 July 2012, Hleb signed a contract with BATE Borisov and won the 2012 Belarusian Premier League in his return season. Hleb stated before BATE's 3–1 win against Bayern Munich that he expected the great performances of his team in the Champions League could help him to earn a move abroad, with the player wanting a move to a Bundesliga club.[35] However, he remained playing for BATE in the 2013 season.

Konyaspor

On 4 January 2014, Hleb signed a contract with Torku Konyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig for one-and-a-half years, with an option to extend the contract for an additional year.[36]

Gençlerbirliği

In February 2015, Hleb left Konyaspor for Süper Lig rivals Gençlerbirliği.[37]

International career
Hleb playing for Belarus.

Hleb won over 20 caps for the Belarus under-21 side. He made his full international debut as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat against Wales in 2001. He scored on his second international start in a 5–2 victory over Hungary in April 2002. He scored a goal in the finals of the 2002 LG Cup, thanks to which Belarus won the tournament.[38] In November 2006, former Belarusian captain Sergei Gurenko launched a vicious criticism on Hleb for not working hard in national team settings. Hleb, however, rejected any suggestion that he was a "prima donna".[39] In August 2007, new national team manager Bernd Stange made him team captain despite the criticism. On 22 August, Hleb wore the captain's armband for the first time in a 2–1 win against Israel.He was part of the team at the victorious friendly Malta International Football Tournament in 2008[40]

Miscellaneous

Hleb was called "Zauberlehrling" or "Sorcerer's Apprentice" for his silky skills and dazzling tricks in Germany when he played in the Bundesliga.[41]

Personal life

In 2003, Hleb was involved in a car crash in Minsk, after which a passenger in the other car died in hospital. Hleb was cleared of any responsibility for the accident.[6]

While playing for Arsenal, Hleb lived in Hampstead, North London.[6] In a 2009 interview with The Guardian newspaper, Hleb confessed that the biggest regret of his life was leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.[42]

Hleb was married to Anastasia Kosenkova, ex-singer of the Belarusian pop group Topless, from 2008 until 2014.[43] In summer 2016, he married Sviatlana.[44] His first child, a daughter, was born in December of that year.[44] Sviatlana's daughter from a previous marriage lives with the couple.[45]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 3 August 2019[46][47]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total Ref.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dinamo-Juni Minsk 1998 First League 111–––111
BATE Borisov 1999 Premier League 131–––131
2000 123–––123
Total 254000000254 –
VfB Stuttgart 2000–01 Bundesliga 6020–10-90
2001–02 32230–––352
2002–03 34421–83–448
2003–04 31530–80–425
2004–05 34232–80–454
Total 13713133002530017519
Arsenal 2005–06 Premier League 253103010010403
2006–07 3323020101–483
2007–08 312201082–424
Total 89760602831013010 –
Barcelona 2008–09 La Liga 19080-90-360
2009–10 0000-000000
2010–11 0000-000000
2011–12 0000-000000
Total 19080009000360 –
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2009–10 Bundesliga 27010–81–361 [47]
Birmingham City (loan) 2010–11 Premier League 1910011––202 [48]
VfL Wolfsburg (loan) 2011–12 Bundesliga 4100–00–41 [47]
Krylia Sovetov 2011–12 Premier League 8000–––80 [47]
BATE Borisov 2012 Premier League 6000–100–160 [47]
2013 23300–40–273 [47]
Total 293000014000433 –
Konyaspor 2013–14 Süper Lig 16200---162 [47]
2014–15 14010---150 [47]
Total 30210000000312 –
Gençlerbirliği 2014–15 Süper Lig 15240–––192 [47]
BATE Borisov 2015 Premier League 4010–70–120 [47]
Gençlerbirliği 2015–16 Süper Lig 12000–––120 [47]
BATE Borisov 2016 Premier League 6000–30–90 [47]
Krylia Sovetov 2016–17 Premier League 7000–––70 [47]
BATE Borisov 2018 Premier League 15030–91–271 [47]
2019 1010–201050 [47]
Total 160400011110321 –
Career total 458343837110582061046 –

International goals
Scores and results list Belarus' goal tally first.[46]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.17 April 2002Oláh Gábor utcai Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary Hungary1–15–2Friendly
2.19 May 2002Central Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Russia Ukraine2–02–0
3.9 February 2005Dyskobolia Stadium, Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland Poland1–03–1
4.16 August 2006Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus Andorra1–03–0
5.1 April 2009Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1–15–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
6.3 March 2010Antalya Atatürk Stadium, Antalya, Turkey Armenia2–13–1Friendly

    Honours and achievements

    Club

    BATE Borisov

    VfB Stuttgart

    Arsenal

    Barcelona

    Birmingham City

    Individual

    Awards

    References
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