David Elm (footballer)

David Elm

Elm playing for Kalmar FF in 2007
Personal information
Full name David Alexander Elm
Date of birth (1983-01-10) 10 January 1983
Place of birth Broakulla, Sweden
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Kalmar FF
Number 16
Youth career
Johansfors IF
Emmaboda IS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Falkenbergs FF 68 (14)
2007–2009 Kalmar FF 65 (12)
2009–2011 Fulham 10 (1)
2011–2013 Elfsborg 60 (12)
2013– Kalmar FF 64 (15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 November 2016.

David Elm (born 10 January 1983) is a Swedish footballer who plays for Kalmar FF as a striker. He previously played for Swedish clubs Kalmar FF, Falkenbergs FF and IF Elfsborg and for English club Fulham.

He is the older brother of Rasmus Elm of Kalmar FF and Viktor Elm of AZ Alkmaar.

Club career

Early career

Elm began his career playing for youth clubs Johansfors IF and Emmaboda IS, alongside his younger brothers Rasmus and Viktor (although he went on to play for Nybro IF).

Falkenbergs FF

He moved to Superettan club Falkenbergs FF on a free transfer in 2004. Upon his arrival, he quickly established himself as first-choice. During his career, Elm scored a total of 14 goals on 68 matches. He left Falkenbergs FF for Allsvenskan club Kalmar FF at the end of the 2006 season.

Kalmar FF

In Kalmar FF, he was mostly used as a substitute during his first season. However, after several departures, he became first-choice in the 2008 season, contributing 7 goals in 27 games, which saw Kalmar win the Swedish Cup. Kalmar also went on to win Allsvenskan for the first time in the club's history. This led to a possible move to Fulham.[1] However, he decided to stay and help the club win Swedish Super Cup.

Fulham

On 1 September 2009, Elm signed for Fulham for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £500,000.[2] Spokesman Patrick Mörk stated that Fulham chief scout Barry Simmonds held talks with Elm. He also stated that Roy Hodgson had personally attended the second leg between Kalmar and Hungarian club Debrecen in the Champions League first qualifying match, which Hodgson was interested in. He also suggests that Elm might come to be featured in the squad as a midfielder.[3] On 23 September 2009, Elm made his Fulham debut on in a 2–1 away defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup third round, replacing Eddie Johnson in the 91st minute.[4] On 9 February 2010, Elm scored his first goal for Fulham, netting the second in a 3–0 home win over Burnley, he also assisted Danny Murphy for Fulham's first goal. At the end of the 2009–10 season, he signed a contract extension lasting until the end of the 2011–12 season.[5]

Elfsborg

On 24 January 2011, Elm signed a five-year contract with Swedish club IF Elfsborg. The estimated transfer sum was around £500,000- £1,000,000, Elm transferred from Fulham due to lack of playing time. Elm was bought by Elfsborg because they had recently sold their top striker Denni Avdic to Werder Bremen for around £2,500,000 – £3,000,000. The similarities were the height of both of the players, even if David is more of a target man, exactly what the former head coach Magnus Haglund was looking for.

During Elm's first season he played 25 matches, scored 7 times and assisted two times. He had a hard time in the beginning to get into the first squad, but after he scored in important matches he gained trust from the coach and the audience. The season 2010/11 he will mostly be remembered for his 3–2 goal in the derby against IFK Göteborg, he scored in the 93rd minute after a header from Andreas Augustsson, he took it with chest and placed the ball between the legs of the goalkeeper. All of the 16 000 fans in Borås Arena exploded in a big cheer and this was the match of the season with David as the headman.[6]

Elm was given the number 10 shirt for the 2013 season, leaving his old number 13.

Style of play

Elm's favourite playing position is supporting striker, connecting his striking partner, with the wingers. At Fulham, his preferred partnership was with Andrew Johnson, creating what was known as 'Jelm'. He has been compared to Peter Crouch, tall, strong and good with the head.[7]

Personal life

He has two brothers, Rasmus who plays for Kalmar FF and Viktor for AZ Alkmaar. Elm is a fan of Swedish indie band Kent and The Boss. He recently had a child named Alve.[8][9]

Honours

Kalmar FF
Elfsborg

References

  1. ↑ "Fulham make late deadline day swoop for David Elm". The Guardian. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  2. ↑ "Fulham snap up David Elm for £500,000 from Kalmar FF". Daily Mail. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  3. ↑ "Elms drömkontrakt – Som en askungesaga". Fotbollskanalen. TV4.
  4. ↑ "Man City 2–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  5. ↑ "Fulham 3–0 Burnley". BBC. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.bt.se/sport/elfsborg_i_allsvenskan/elm-klar-for-elfsborg(2254869).gm
  7. ↑ Bobeck, Gabriel (31 August 2009). "David Elm mycket nära Fulham!" (in Swedish). Svenskafans. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  8. ↑ Rydstrom, Henrik (28 August 2009). "David och diverse Kentlåtar". Expressen (in Swedish).
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090523145723/http://kalmarff.se/player/david-elm. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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