Ola Toivonen
Ola Toivonen ( born July 3, 1986 in Degerfor ) is a Swedish football player of Finnish descent. The midfielder and striker who made his debut in the Swedish national team in 2007, since January 2014 stands at Stade Rennes under contract. Five years after his debut, he took part with the country selection at the 2012 European Championship.
Career
Breakthrough in Sweden
Toivonen played in youth at Degerfors IF. In 2005 he came to his first stakes in a Swedish youth team. In the following years, he established himself in the youth national teams and managed the 2005 jump in the men's team his home club, who played in the Superettan. In the second division season 2005 he came up with 27 league games in which five goals reach him. Therefore, we became aware of him in the Allsvenskan and the winter of 2006 he left Degerfors IF.
New club Toivonen was the traditional club Örgryte IS. Although he scored as a regular player, six of the 24 goals this season, he could not prevent the descent of the club as a Table. While on the one hand failed to the club 's success, he was able to play in the Swedish U- 21 team. After he had sat with several games on the substitutes' bench, he ran on November 14th of the year for the first time for the country selection and was able to score a goal in the 2:4 defeat to the French U- 21 team. After the descent he left the club to continue to play top notch.
Before he started the 2007 season with his new club Malmö FF coach Lars Lagerback had him made their debut in the Swedish national team. In the 0-2 defeat against Venezuela on January 14 of the year he wore the jersey with the number 10 back, but it was after 60 minutes of the game replaced by Rade Prica. After another international match he came in the following years, only in the U-21 team to use. In the club team to Toivonen established directly as a regular player. With MFF he reached the ninth position of the Allsvenskan and scored three goals. In the following season he made his breakthrough. Although he missed the club in sixth again as the European Cup, but was able to achieve 14 goals and prepare a further seven goals. He achieved international attention and clubs such as West Ham United reported interest in signing.
Move abroad
Ultimately Toivonen moved in January 2009 to PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie, with speculation about a transfer fee of between 3 ½ and 4 ½ million euros. After he celebrated his debut in the league on 24 January against NAC Breda, he was able to register with his second, a 3-0 win at De Graafschap, in addition to the double goal scorers Ibrahim Afellay on the scoresheet. As a regular player, he came to the end of season on 14 league bets and shot himself with six goals this season in the list of the top five internal association goal scorers behind Afellay, Balázs Dzsudzsák, Danny Koevermans and Danko Lazović. In parallel, he was further appointed to the Swedish U- 21 team and the end of May nominated him coach Tommy Söderberg and Jörgen Lennartsson for the U- 21 European Championship finals in the summer in their own country. There he contributed three goals in four matches to reach the semi-finals at where the team was eliminated, and thus was behind Marcus Berg 's second top scorer in the selection in the tournament.
In the tournament following Eredivisie season 2009/10 Toivonen been a regular goal scorers, alone in a 5-1 win at ADO Den Haag in November he succeeded four goals. Consequently, he returned to the circle of the senior team during the year. By the end of the season he scored 13 goals in the championship, as the best club of internal scorer, he led the club as a third table in the European Cup. There he was successful against FK Sibir Novosibirsk in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League 2010 /11, when the team with a 5-0 second-leg success made up for the first leg defeat and reached the group stage. While he distinguished himself in the championship as a regular scorer - with 15 goals this season he was at the end of the season once again taken the safest striker of his employer - he went with the team in the European Cup quarter-finals. There he slowed down a thigh injury that made a bet against Benfica impossible. With a 1:4 first leg defeat and a 2-2 draw in the return game, the team was eliminated without him, he qualified for a new third place in the standings, however, again for the Europa League. During the winter break of the 2013/14 season he left Eindhoven after five years and moved to the Ligue 1 club Stade Rennes.
With the national team Toivonen was similarly successful. In qualifying for the European Championship 2012, he had established himself in the squad of the national selection and came regularly to use. Behind the Dutch selection, he finished second in Group E. With his goal for a 3-2 victory in a direct duel at the end of the qualifying round, he helped the club in October for automatic qualification as best runners-up. A short time later he extended his contract at PSV Eindhoven until the summer of 2014. During the season 2011/12 he made with the end of the transfer window -added in August Slovenes Tim Matavž the successful strike partnership of the club. While he was once again impressed with 18 goals this season and placed sixth scorer of the Eredivisie, he once again took the third place with his club. Shortly after the end of the season coach Erik Hamrén summoned him to his full 23 player squad for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, where he is one of 20 active players abroad.
Achievements
- KNVB Cup: 2012 ( with PSV)