All Videos of Alexander Hleb

Alexander Hleb

He started his proffesional career in BATE Borisrov. He reached his top form in Bundesliga club Stuttgart.

Aliaksandr Paŭlavič Hleb, sometimes referred to in English as Alexander Hleb (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.
Hleb grew up in Minsk, his mother was a builder while his father drove petrol tankers. 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.
Hleb developed playing football on the concrete pitches of FC Dinamo Minsk school. At 17 he signed for BATE Borisov, a Premier League team just north of Minsk. The next season they won the Championship.
Spotted by scouts he and his younger brother, Vyacheslav Hleb, were signed in 2000 by Germany side VfB Stuttgart for approximately €150,000. 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. Nevertheless, Hleb was on top of the assist chart in his last season of the Bundesliga.
On June 28, 2005 he joined English side Arsenal for a sum which may reach €15,000,000; 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.
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.
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.
He lives in Hampstead, north London. In 2003 he was involved in a car crash in Minsk, a passenger in the other car later died. His brother Vyacheslav Hleb is also a footballer who plays for FC MTZ-RIPO and the national team.

Arsenal
1 May 1981
Source: Wikipedia