| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jan Alexander Östlund | ||
| Date of birth | 2 November 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Åkersberga, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| IFK Österåker | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1996 | AIK | 21 | (2) |
| 1997 | IF Brommapojkarna | 13 | (2) |
| 1998 | AIK | 24 | (1) |
| 1998–1999 | Vitória S.C. | 0 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | IFK Norrköping | 76 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | Hammarby IF | 45 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Feyenoord | 33 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Southampton F.C. | 44 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Esbjerg fB | 6 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004–2006 | Sweden | 22 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 July 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jan Alexander Östlund (born 2 November 1978 in Åkersberga) is a retired Swedish football player. He was released from Esbjerg fB on 25 January 2010 because of too many injuries and the same day Östlund announced that he would retire from football because of his bad knee.
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Östlund started his career in the club IFK Österåker in his hometown Åkersberga. At the age of 16 he was drafted for AIK Fotboll, where he played as a striker. He scored the club's last goal of the 1998 season, which meant AIK won Allsvenskan, the Swedish championship. He had a loan period at Birmingham City but was not offered a contract, being subsequently transferred to IFK Norrköping and converted into a defender.
In July 2004, Östlund signed with Eredivisie's Feyenoord Rotterdam, playing his first match against Vitesse Arnhem.
His nickname is "Salle", although the fans of Southampton have been calling him "Jesus" due to his flowing locks and beard, and he emerged as a cult hero for his hard tackles and marauding runs. On the final day of the 2005–06 Championship season, replica number 2 shirts flew out of the club shop, as Saints fans could be heard in matches chanting "Jesus is our right-back".
For the early part of the 2006–07 season he was in and out of the side but towards the end cemented his right-back position. He has always given whole-hearted commitment to the team and provided a more than useful option which allowed Chris Baird to move into the centre of the defence.
Östlund started 2007–08 well, having to compete for the No. 2 position with on-loan players Phil Ifil and Christian Dailly, who both departed from the team in January 2008.
On 2 July 2008 he was released by the Saints as a free agent.
On 25 August he was presented as a new player in Danish club Esbjerg fB. His time in Esbjerg has been blighted by injuries.[1]
On 25 January 2010 he was released from the club and he announced his retirement.
Östlund played for Sweden at the 2004 European Championship. Despite being a regular fixture in the international side, he was overlooked for the 2006 World Cup squad.
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