Alex Schalk
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 30)
Place of birth Breda, Netherlands
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Club information
Current team
 Urawa Red Diamonds
Number 17
Youth career
Beek Vooruit
NAC Breda
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 NAC Breda 58 (10)
2014 → PSV (loan) 0 (0)
2014 → Jong PSV (loan) 16 (6)
2014–2015 Go Ahead Eagles 22 (4)
2015–2018 Ross County 87 (21)
2018–2022 Servette 100 (29)
2022– Urawa Red Diamonds 8 (0)
National team‡
2012–2013 Netherlands U20 4 (3)
2011–2013 Netherlands U21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:46, 29 June 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:57, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Alex Schalk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːlɛkˈsxɑl(ə)k]; born 7 August 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward or a winger for Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds. He scored the winning goal for Ross County in the 2015–16 Scottish League Cup final.

Career[edit]

Schalk came through the youth ranks of NAC Breda, earning the nickname of "Der Bomber van Breda" because of his reputation as a footballer with remarkable goalscoring instincts, comparable to legendary German striker Gerd Müller.[2] On 1 May 2011, he made his senior debut for NAC against Heracles Almelo in the 33rd round of the 2010–11 Eredivisie season, replacing Ömer Bayram in the 85th minute. The match ended in a 2–1 home loss.[3] On 9 August 2011, Schalk agreed to a new two-year contract at NAC until June 2013.[4]

After losing perspective on playing matches for NAC Breda, Schalk was sent on loan to PSV, where he played for Eerste Divisie side Jong PSV. He scored six times in 16 matches for the Eerste Divisie side. On 28 June 2014, Schalk signed a one-year deal with Eredivisie side Go Ahead Eagles on a free transfer.

Schalk moved to Scottish Premiership club Ross County in October 2015.[5] On 13 March 2016, he scored a late winner as Ross County won their first major silverware with a 2–1 victory over Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final.[6] On 16 April 2017, in the 88th minute of a Premiership match at home to Celtic, he won a penalty which was converted to earn Ross County a 2–2 draw. The act was described as a "clear dive" while Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers accused Schalk of "blatant cheating".[7][8] Days later, he was charged with committing an "act of simulation" and handed a two-game suspension by the Scottish Football Association's compliance officer which both he and his club accepted.[9]

After Ross County were relegated to the Scottish Championship, Schalk was allowed to leave and join the Swiss side Servette. [10] He made headlines in October 2019 after giving the middle finger to FC Sion fans after scoring a goal. As a result, he was suspended for two games.[11]

On 25 March 2022, Schalk signed with Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan.[12]

Career statistics[edit]

As of 25 March 2022 [13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
NAC Breda 2010–11 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2011–12 32 6 1 0 — — 33 6
2012–13 20 3 3 2 — — 23 5
2013–14 5 1 1 0 — — 6 1
Total 58 10 5 2 — 0 0 63 12
Jong PSV (loan) 2013–14 Eerste Divisie 16 6 0 0 — — 16 6
Go Ahead Eagles 2014–15 Eredivisie 20 4 1 0 — 2[a] 0 23 4
2015–16 Eerste Divisie 2 0 0 0 — 2[b] 0 4 0
Total 22 4 1 0 — 4 0 27 4
Ross County 2015–16 Scottish Premiership 25 5 4 2 3 2 — 32 9
2016–17 32 5 2 0 4 3 — 38 8
2017–18 30 11 1 0 5 2 — 36 13
Total 87 21 7 2 12 7 0 0 106 30
Servette 2018–19 Swiss Challenge League 27 9 1 0 — — 28 9
2019–20 Swiss Super League 21 7 1 0 — — 22 7
2020–21 31 10 2 0 — 1[b] 0 34 10
2021–22 21 3 1 3 — 1[c] 0 23 6
Total 100 29 5 3 0 0 2 0 107 32
Career total 284 70 18 7 12 7 6 0 320 84
  1. ^ Appearances in the Eredivisie relegation play-offs
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours[edit]

Ross County

Servette

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alex Schalk" (in Japanese). Urawa Red Diamonds. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ^ "'Der Bomber van Breda' Schalk blijft langer bij NAC". Voetbal International. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  3. ^ "NAC Breda 1-2 Heracles Almelo". Voetbal International. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  4. ^ "NAC Breda bindt talenten Schalk en Bouwman". Telegraaf. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Ross County sign Dutch striker Alex Schalk until end of season". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, Richard (13 March 2016). "Scottish League Cup Final: Hibernian 1 Ross County 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. ^ Dowden, Martin (16 April 2017). "Ross County 2-2 Celtic - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers accuses Ross County's Alex Schalk of 'blatant cheating'". Sky Sports. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Ross County: Alex Schalk accepts two-game suspension for diving". BBC Sport. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Alex Schalk". BN Destem. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  11. ^ Kunz, Alain (1 November 2019). "Servette nimmt "Fall Schalk" nicht so ernst". Blick (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  12. ^ "アレックス シャルク選手 完全移籍加入クラブ間合意のお知らせ" (Press release) (in Japanese). Urawa Red Diamonds. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  13. ^ Alex Schalk at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

External links[edit]

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