Alexander Kačaniklić (; ; ; born 13 August 1991) is a Swedish former professional footballer. He normally operated as a winger but could also play as a central midfielder. A full international between 2012 and 2020, he won 21 caps and scored three goals for the Sweden national team.
Club career Youth career Born in Helsingborg, Kačaniklić played for a local team until he joined Helsingborgs IF, alongside his brother, at the age of ten. Kačaniklić joined Liverpool from Swedish club Helsingborg in the summer of 2007, where he was assigned to the club's academy. It came after when Kačaniklić was scouted while playing for Sweden U16. During his progress, the club's U18 Manager Hughie McAuley said: "Alex is a talented player and has already played at reserve team level. He is a naturally gifted footballer who is very quick. He crosses really good balls and can also be effective on the right wing when he cuts inside and scores goals. I'm looking forward to seeing him make more progress."
He scored "a wonderful effort" against Arsenal's youth team in the 2008–09 FA Youth Cup Final. Two years later, Kačaniklić graduated from the academy to the club's reserves, where he was featured under John McMahon. It was reported in February 2010 that Kačaniklić could get a chance in Liverpool's first team football ahead of the UEFA Europa League match. But he never made it to the starting line-up. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Kačaniklić was offered a two–year contract with the club.
He moved on to Fulham in August 2010, together with Lauri Dalla Valle, as part of the deal in which Fulham's Paul Konchesky joined Liverpool. After leaving Liverpool, Kačaniklić reflected his time there, saying: "I left because I saw an opportunity to make a career for myself and develop as a player and a person. I had some really good years at Liverpool and they helped me a lot and England is the country where I want to play, so it was an easy decision to leave Sweden. It is difficult moving so young. It is a different lifestyle in England compared to Sweden and I left all the comforts I had at home, in terms of my friends and school. But having my family here made it so much easier and I am so grateful to them for that."
Fulham
After almost two years with the Fulham Reserves, Kačaniklić was an unused substitute as Fulham drew with Sunderland on 19 November 2011. He made his Fulham debut on 30 March 2012, coming on as a substitute for the injured Pavel Pogrebnyak after 35 minutes. He almost scored a goal, as a clipped shot was parried by Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy and hit the crossbar. He was praised by Martin Jol in his post-match press conference. He made his first start for Fulham in an away match against Bolton Wanderers on 7 April 2012. Fulham won the match 0–3, and Kačaniklić was subbed off after 88 minutes for fellow Academy graduate Marcello Trotta, who made his Premier League debut for Fulham. Shortly before the match, Jol confirmed that Fulham would offer Kačaniklić a new contract. In a 1–0 win over Liverpool on 1 May 2012, Kačaniklić set up the only goal of the game when "he was a constant threat to Liverpool's backline, especially in the first half, and certainly played his part in the goal when John Arne Riise's cross hit him before rebounding off Martin Škrtel into the back of the net". Following this, Kačaniklić received a handful first team appearances, result in him making four appearances at the end of the 2011–12 season.
Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Kačaniklić signed a new two-year deal with the option of a third year to stay at Craven Cottage. It came after when he was linked a move away from the club. Kačaniklić scored his first goal for Fulham in the 5–0 drubbing at home against Norwich on the opening day of the 2012–13 season. Since the start of the season, he became a first team regular for the side, playing in the midfield position. Kačaniklić had a good start to the season, assisting both of Dimitar Berbatov's goals on 15 September 2012 against West Bromwich Albion, resulting a 3–0 win for Fulham. He scored a header at Arsenal on 10 November 2012 in a 3–3 draw. Kačaniklić then scored the winner in Fulham's 2–1 victory away to West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day. However, injuries and competitions in the midfield positions soon led him losing his first team place and appeared on the substitute bench, resulting out on loan to Burnley. After being recalled on 18 April 2013, Kačaniklić made his first appearance for Fulham two days later, starting the whole game before being substituted in the 85th minute, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal. Two weeks later on 4 May 2013, he set up a goal for Bryan Ruiz, who went to score twice, in a 4–2 loss against Reading. Kačaniklić then scored his fourth goal of the season, as well as, setting up the club's third goal of the game, in a 3–0 win over Swansea City in the last game of the season. After the match, he was named Sky Sports’ Team of the Week. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Kačaniklić went on to make thirty appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
However at the start of the 2013–14 season, Kačaniklić suffered a hamstring injury that saw him miss the opening game of the season against Sunderland. It wasn't until on 24 August 2013 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute, in a 3–1 loss against Arsenal. Following this, Kačaniklić was involved in a lot of playing time for the side. After sitting out of the first team for two matches, he returned to the starting line-up, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Southampton on 26 October 2013. In a follow–up, Kačaniklić scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Manchester United. He then set up two goals in two matches on 8 December 2013 and 14 December 2013. On 23 January 2014, Kačaniklić signed a one-year extension to his contract, keeping him at Fulham until June 2015. However, Kačaniklić soon found his playing time reduced later in the 2013–14 season, due to being placed on the substitute bench. As a result, the club were later relegated to the Championship after losing 4–1 to Stoke City. Sky Sports said about his performance, saying: "Kacaniklic hasn't fared much better, with his most noteworthy act all season coming when he scored a consolation with his side three-goals down at home to Manchester United." At the end of the 2013–14 season, Kačaniklić made twenty–nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2014–15 season, Kačaniklić made one appearances for the side before joining FC Copenhagen by the end of August. After being recalled by Fulham following his loan spell at FC Copenhagen ended, his first appearance for the side since August came on 10 January 2015, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute, in a 1–0 draw against Cardiff City. Seven days later on 17 January 2015, Kačaniklić scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over Reading. Following this, he regained his first team place for Fulham and appeared in the starting line-up, Kačaniklić scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Huddersfield Town on 23 March 2015. However, injuries continued to struck him on two occasions, including one for the remaining matches of the 2014–15 season. Despite this, he went on to make sixteen appearances and scoring two times in all competitions in the 2014–15 season.
In the 2015–16 season, Kačaniklić scored on his first appearance of the season, in a 1–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers in the first round of the League Cup. Kačaniklić then scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–2 win over Reading on 24 October 2015. He later scored two more goals for the side later in the season against Birmingham City and Rotherham United. However, he, once again, found himself in and out of the first team throughout the 2015–16 season, due to the club's change of management. Kačaniklić also faced concern with injuries along the way. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to make twenty–seven appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. Following this, Kačaniklić were among four players to be released by the club upon expiry of his contract.
Loan to Watford
On 30 January 2012, Kačaniklić joined Championship club Watford on a youth loan until the end of the season. He made his debut the next day, starting the whole game before being substituted in the 74th minute and set up two goals, in a 2–0 away win against Millwall. In a follow–up match, Kačaniklić set up the opening goal for John Eustace, who went on to score twice, in a 2–1 win over Barnsley. Kačaniklić scored his first goal in a 3–2 home win against Burnley on 3 March 2012. After a series of impressive displays and becoming a first team regular for Watford, Kačaniklić was recalled by his parent club, Fulham, on 27 March 2012.
Loan to Burnley On 1 March 2013, Kačaniklić joined Championship side Burnley on loan until the end of the 2012–2013 season, and was given the number 19 shirt. He made his Burnley debut against Charlton Athletic on 2 March 2013, playing the full 90 minutes and setting up the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win for Burnley. Kačaniklić was featured in the first team for the next four matches before losing his place by the beginning of April. He was recalled by Fulham on 18 April 2013. By the time Kačaniklić was recalled, he made six appearances for the side.
Loan to Copenhagen Kačaniklić signed on a season-long loan for Copenhagen on 1 September 2014 after signing a contract extension until 2016 with Fulham. He made his Copenhagen debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Aalborg on 13 September 2014. Five days later on 18 September 2014, Kačaniklić made his European debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win over HJK Helsinki. He scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against SønderjyskE on 27 September 2014. Kačaniklić’s second goal came on 19 October 2014, in a 1–0 win over Randers. After missing two matches due to an injury, he returned to the starting line-up for the side, playing 68 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–1 draw against SønderjyskE on 2 November 2014. After playing 13 matches, scoring 2 goals in the autumn 2014, on 15 December 2014, Fulham took advantage of an option in the loan deal, making him return to London.
Nantes On 15 June 2016, it was announced that Kačaniklić had signed a four-year deal with Nantes on a free transfer following his release by Fulham.
After missing the opening game of the season, Kačaniklić made his FC Nantes debut, coming on as a substitute for Jules Iloki in the 23rd minute, and played for the rest of the match, as they lost 1–0 against AS Monaco on 20 August 2016. It wasn't until on 21 September 2016 when he made his first start for the club, playing 75 minutes, in a 0–0 draw against Saint-Étienne. However, Kačaniklić found himself placed on the substitute bench, as a result of a pecking order in the midfield competitions. By December, he was dropped from the first team and appeared once over the next two months. With a speculation over his FC Nantes’ future, Kačaniklić said he will stay at the club following talks with Manager Sérgio Conceição. However, Kačaniklić continued to remain on the substitute bench at times for the rest of the 2016–17 season. Despite this, he received more playing time between 11 March 2017 and 16 April 2017 and later contributed two assists: the first one came against Montpellier on 11 March 2017 and the second one came against Saint-Étienne on 9 April 2017. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Kačaniklić went on to make nineteen appearances in all competitions.