Alex Schalk
Alex Schalk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːlɛks ˈsxɑlk]; born August 7, 1992) is a Dutch footballer who plays as forward in Switzerland for Servette. He scored the winning goal for Ross County in the 2015–16 Scottish League Cup final.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex Schalk | ||
| Date of birth | 7 August 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Breda, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Servette | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| 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– | Servette | 48 | (16) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Netherlands U20 | 4 | (3) |
| 2011–2013 | Netherlands U21 | 4 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:06, 3 August 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:57, 6 October 2015 (UTC) | |||
Career
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.[1] On May 1, 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 1–2 home loss.[2] On August 9 2011, Schalk agreed to a new two-year contract at NAC until June 2013.[3]
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 6 times in 16 matches for the Eerste Divisie side. On June 28, 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.[4] On March 13, 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.[5] 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".[6][7] 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.[8]
After Ross County were relegated to the Scottish Championship, Schalk was allowed to leave and join the Swiss side Servette. [9]
Career statistics
- As of 3 August 2020 [10]
| 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[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 23 | 4 | |
| 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 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 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 7 | |||
| Total | 48 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 16 | ||
| Career total | 234 | 57 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 264 | 68 | ||
- Appearances in the Eredivisie relegation play-offs
- Appearances in the Europa League
Honours
- Ross County
- Servette
References
- "'Der Bomber van Breda' Schalk blijft langer bij NAC". Voetbal International. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- "NAC Breda 1-2 Heracles Almelo". Voetbal International. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- "NAC Breda bindt talenten Schalk en Bouwman". Telegraaf. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- "Ross County sign Dutch striker Alex Schalk until end of season". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- Wilson, Richard (13 March 2016). "Scottish League Cup Final: Hibernian 1 Ross County 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- Dowden, Martin (16 April 2017). "Ross County 2-2 Celtic - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- "Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers accuses Ross County's Alex Schalk of 'blatant cheating'". Sky Sports. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- "Ross County: Alex Schalk accepts two-game suspension for diving". BBC Sport. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- "Alex Schalk". BN Destem. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- Alex Schalk at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
External links
- Voetbal International profile (in Dutch)
- Netherlands stats at OnsOranje (in Dutch)
- Profile at Eurosport.com