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Alexander Hleb

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Alexander Hleb
Personal information
Full name Aliaksandr Paŭlavič Hleb
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Right Wing Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 13
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November, 2006

Aliaksandr Paŭlavič Hleb, sometimes referred to in English as Alexander Hleb (Belarusian: Алякса́ндар Па́ўлавіч Глеб, Russian: Александр Павлович Глеб, born May 1, 1981 in Minsk), is a Belarusian footballer who plays in midfield for Arsenal and the Belarus national team. His natural position is attacking midfielder, but recently at Arsenal he has generally been used as a winger. Link title===Childhood===

Hleb grew up in Minsk, his mother was a builder while his father drove petrol tankers.[[1]] His father was "volunteered" to help knock down uninhabitable houses in the Ukraine as the result of the Chernobyl disaster. Hleb believes this exposure to radiation has caused his father ill health. Before getting involved with football, Hleb was a keen swimmer and gymnast,.[1] which helps explain his flexibility and low centre of gravity on the pitch.

Early career

Hleb developed playing football on the concrete pitches of FC Dinamo Minsk school. At 17 he signed for FC BATE, a Premier League team just north of Minsk. The next season they won the Championship.

Stuttgart

Spotted by scouts he and his younger brother, Vyacheslav Hleb, were signed in 2000 by Germany side VfB Stuttgart for approximately €150,000.[2] He quickly established himself as one of the most important players of the side.

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

Arsenal

Hleb playing for Arsenal

On June 28, 2005 he joined English side Arsenal for a sum which may reach €15,000,000;[citation needed] he agreed to a 4-year contract with Arsenal. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has used Hleb at many different midfield positions, but Hleb has mainly played on the right wing for Arsenal.

He scored his first goal on his debut for the Gunners against Barnet FC at the Underhill stadium, in a pre-season friendly within two minutes of coming off the bench at half-time. On August 21, 2005 he played his first competitive match for Arsenal, away to Chelsea. However, soon after, Hleb sustained a knee injury while on international duty with Belarus and was out for several months. Finding it hard to settle he was linked with a move back to Germany.[citation needed]

He returned to the Arsenal first team squad in December, playing 60 minutes in Arsenal's final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax Amsterdam on December 7. By January 2006 Hleb had established himself as a first choice player, and featured in Arsenal's Champions League run to the final against FC Barcelona, in which he started.

On September 26, 2006 he scored the second goal for Arsenal in their Champions League match against F.C. Porto to give Arsenal a 2-0 victory, and scored again for Arsenal on October 22, 2006 against Reading, his first goal for Arsenal away from home.

During pre-season of the 2007-08 season, Hleb was moved from the right wing and played behind Robin Van Persie in the "hole". This proved a success with Hleb looking more comfortable in this position, and more of a threat to the opposition. On August 12, against Fulham F.C. in Arsenal's first Premier League game of the season, Hleb again played this position and scored a vital goal to seal a victory for Arsenal. He followed that up with another goal in a Champions League first-leg tie against Sparta Prague in Prague, the game ending 2-0 to Arsenal.

International career

Hleb won over 30 caps for the 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 first international start in a 5-2 victory over Hungary in April 2002. In November 2006, former Belarusian captain, Surgei Gurenko, launched a vicious criticism on Hleb for not working hard in national team settings. However, Hleb rejected any suggestion that he was a prima donna.[3]

Personal life

Hleb lives in Hampstead, north London.[4] In 2003 he was involved in a car crash in Minsk, a passenger in the other car later died.[5] His brother Vyacheslav Hleb is also a footballer who plays for FBK Kaunas and the national team.

Career statistics

(Correct as of 16 August, 2007)

Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
VfB Stuttgart 2002-03 31 4 - - - - 8 3 - 39 7 -
2003-04 31 5 - - - - 8 0 - 39 5 -
2004-05 34 2 - - - - 7 0 - 41 2 -
Arsenal 2005–06 25 3 0 5 0 - 10 0 - 40 3 -
2006–07 33 2 5 5 0 1 10 1 0 48 3 6
2007–08 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 0
Total 209 22 6

Honours

With FC BATE

With VfB Stuttgart

  • Bundasliga runner-up 2002/03

With Arsenal

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Aleks Hleb on Futbol Mundial".
  2. ^ "Aliaksandr Hleb profile on MasterCard UEFA Champions League". MasterCard. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  3. ^ "Ex-Belarus captain blasts Hleb". SkySports. Retrieved 2006-11-01.
  4. ^ "Playboy from Minsk making capital gains". Guardian Unlimited. March 26, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  5. ^ "Hleb death smash hell". The Sun Online. Retrieved 2006-07-18.

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