Oscar Wendt

Oscar Wendt
Wendt playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2011
Personal information
Full name Oscar Joakim Wendt
Date of birth (1985-10-24) 24 October 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Skövde, Sweden
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 IFK Göteborg
Number 17
Youth career
0000–2002 IFK Skövde
2003 IFK Göteborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002 IFK Skövde
2003–2006 IFK Göteborg 36 (1)
2006–2011 Copenhagen 138 (5)
2011–2021 Borussia Mönchengladbach 244 (16)
2021– IFK Göteborg 86 (4)
Total 504 (26)
International career
2002 Sweden U17 2 (0)
2003 Sweden U19 7 (0)
2004–2006 Sweden U21 14 (1)
2007–2016 Sweden 28 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:10, 1 October 2024 (UTC)

Oscar Joakim Wendt (born 24 October 1985) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Allsvenskan club IFK Göteborg, which he captains.

A product of the IFK Skövde youth academy, Wendt started off his professional career with IFK Göteborg in 2003 before signing with FC Copenhagen in 2006. In 2011, he joined Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer. After ten seasons in Germany, Wendt returned to IFK Göteborg in 2021. A full international between 2007 and 2016, he won 28 caps for the Sweden national team.

Club career

IFK Göteborg

After playing for IFK Skövde, he joined IFK Göteborg in 2003. He became an important first team player, earning 14 appearances on the Swedish U21 team and a call-up for the Sweden national team.

In his time at the club he played 91 matches, before moving to the Danish champions Copenhagen on a four-year contract for 6 million DKK.[1] After his departure to Copenhagen, a huge gap arose in the defence, later filled by Argentine defender José Shaffer coming from Racing Club.

Copenhagen

In his first two years at Copenhagen, he struggled to become a first team regular, first being a back-up for former Norwegian international André Bergdølmo and later Danish international Niclas Jensen. However, in 2008, he managed to become a first choice on the left back position for his team, earning him after 18 months a call-up to the Sweden national team. His strong performances also had him linked with both English club West Ham United and Italian club Genoa.[2][3]

With an injured Bergdølmo in Copenhagen's 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign, Wendt played regularly as a left back, and in the team's 3–1 win against Celtic, he alongside fellow Copenhagen defender Michael Gravgaard was chosen for the Eurosport "Team of the Round".[4]

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Wendt joined Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer on 10 June 2011.[5]

Return to IFK Göteborg

On 23 March 2021, it was announced that Wendt would return to IFK Göteborg on a free transfer.[6] Signing a one-and-a-half-year contract, he returned on 1 July 2021. Wendt was named club captain after Marcus Berg announced his retirement after the 2023 season.

International career

Wendt playing for Sweden in 2013

Having represented Sweden at U17, U19, and U21 levels, Wendt made his Sweden senior team debut in January 2007 in a friendly game against Venezuela.[7] Wendt was overlooked for a spot in Sweden's UEFA Euro 2016 squad despite a strong season in Bundesliga.[8] Wendt retired from the national team in March 2017, having represented his country a total of 28 times.[9]

Personal life

He is the son of former footballer Joakim Wendt, who played two seasons with IFK Göteborg.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 March 2021.[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
IFK Göteborg 2003 Allsvenskan 3 0 2 0 – 5 0
2004 Allsvenskan 3 0 1 0 4 1 8 1
2005 Allsvenskan 21 1 3 0 – 24 1
2006 Allsvenskan 9 0 2 0 – 11 0
Total 36 1 8 0 4 1 48 2
Copenhagen 2006–07 Danish Superliga 21 0 5 0 4 0 30 0
2007–08 Danish Superliga 24 0 4 0 3 0 31 0
2008–09 Danish Superliga 31 2 3 0 12 0 46 2
2009–10 Danish Superliga 33 3 1 0 13 0 47 3
2010–11 Danish Superliga 29 1 0 0 12 0 41 1
Total 138 6 13 0 44 0 195 6
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2011–12 Bundesliga 14 0 2 1 – 16 1
2012–13 Bundesliga 21 1 1 0 6 0 28 1
2013–14 Bundesliga 18 3 0 0 – 18 3
2014–15 Bundesliga 26 2 3 0 7 0 36 2
2015–16 Bundesliga 30 3 3 0 6 0 38 3
2016–17 Bundesliga 28 2 5 1 10 0 43 3
2017–18 Bundesliga 28 1 3 0 – 31 1
2018–19 Bundesliga 32 1 2 0 – 34 1
2019–20 Bundesliga 25 2 2 0 4 0 31 2
2020–21 Bundesliga 22 1 3 0 4 1 29 2
Total 244 16 24 2 37 1 305 19
Career total 418 23 45 2 85 2 548 27

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[12]
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2007 3 0
2008 2 0
2009 2 0
2010 5 0
2011 6 0
2012 0 0
2013 3 0
2014 2 0
2015 2 0
2016 3 0
Total 28 0

Honours

Copenhagen

References

  1. ^ "FCK skriver med svensk stortalent" (in Danish). bold.dk.
  2. ^ "West Ham så på Wendt" (in Danish). tv2sport.dk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Genoa ude efter Wendt" (in Danish). tv2sport.dk. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  4. ^ "FCK-spillere på Rundens ChL-hold" (in Danish). bold.dk.
  5. ^ "Wendt entscheidet sich für Gladbach". kicker Magazine. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Oscar vänder hem" (in Swedish). IFK Göteborg. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Wendt, Oscar — svenskfotboll.se".
  8. ^ "Oscar Wendt utanför EM-truppen: "Hade velat vara med"".
  9. ^ "Oscar Wendt slutar i landslaget — svenskfotboll.se".
  10. ^ "Joakim Wendt - ifkdb.se". ifkdb.se. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  11. ^ Oscar Wendt at Soccerway
  12. ^ Oscar Wendt at National-Football-Teams.com