Lars Hening Joel Ekstrand (born 4 February 1989) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Beginning his career with Helsingborgs IF in 2008, he moved on to represent Udinese, Watford, Bristol City, and Rotherham before retiring at AIK in 2019. A full international between 2010 and 2014, he won two caps for the Sweden national team.
Club career Helsingborgs IF Born in Lund, Sweden, Ekstrand started playing football for his home town club Lunds BK as a youth player before moving to Helsingborgs IF in 2005. Two years later, he signed his first professional contract with the club in the summer.
In February 2008, Ekstrand was called up by the Helsingborgs IF squad for the first time, He made his first team debut against PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32, at Philips Stadion, which saw Helsingborgs lose 2–0. Ekstrand was featured again in the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32, at Olympia stadium and played 45 minutes before being substituted, due to a groin injury, as the club lost 2–1, resulting in their elimination from the tournament. But he soon recovered and made his league debut for Helsingborgs IF, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win over GIF Sundsvall in the opening game of the season. During a 2–2 draw against IFK Norrköping on 20 April 2008, Ekstrand started the game but was substituted in the 7th minute following a collision and suffered a broken nose and concussion. But he quickly recovered and made his return to the first team from injury, starting the whole game, in a 4–2 win over Malmö on 28 April 2008. Since then, Ekstrand had developed himself into a key player at Helsingborg IF with the likes of Marcus Nilsson, Andreas Granqvist and Samir Beloufa. Despite missing three matches throughout the 2008 season, he went on to make twenty–eight appearances in all competitions. Following this, Ekstrand was nominated for the Newcomer of the Year but lost out to Robin Söder.
At the start of the 2009 season, Ekstrand helped Helsingborgs IF side go to their winning form in the first three league matches to the season. However, in a match against Örebro on 20 April 2009, he received a straight red card in the 44th minute, just one minute before the half–time, in a 2–0 loss. After serving a one match suspension, Ekstrand returned to the first team and provided a goal for Rasmus Jönsson, who went on to score a hat–trick, in a 3–0 win over AIK on 29 April 2009. This was followed up by helping the club keep two clean sheets in the next two matches against Malmö and IF Brommapojkarna. Following his return to the first team from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place for Helsingborgs IF, forming a centre–back partnership with Nilsson. On 11 June 2009, Ekstrand, along with Nilssson, signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2012. He then scored his first goal for Helsingborgs IF in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League second round, in a 2–2 draw against Zestafoni to help the club advance to the next round. In a match against FK Sarajevo in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League third round, Ekstrand played 120 minutes, resulting in a penalty shootout with the opposition team winning 2–1 and missed the penalty, which saw Helsingborgs IF eliminated from the tournament. However, he received a straight red card in the 24th minute for giving away a penalty, in a 3–0 loss against Örgryte on 18 October 2009. Despite being sidelined, due to suspension and injuries much further, Ekstrand went on to make thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
At the start of the 2010 season, Ekstrand was in defensive first team position when he helped the side go on unbeaten run for Helsingborgs IF's first twelve matches to the start season. While the club go on the unbeaten run, he received a straight red card in the first half, in a 1–0 win over Mjällby on 26 April 2010 and served a two match suspension. After returning to the first team, Ekstrand scored his first league goal for the club, in a 3–1 win over Gefle on 10 May 2010. Since returning from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place for Helsingborgs IF, forming a centre–back partnership with Nilsson and helping the club to keep their league title chance alive. However, Ekstrand faced further setbacks later in the 2010 season when he was suspended on two occasions, including another straight red card in a 0–0 draw against Göteborg on 15 August 2010, as well as, facing his injury concern. On 6 November 2010, he returned to the starting line–up in the Helsingborgs IF's last game of the season against Kalmar and played 76 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 draw but cost the club to win the league title, as title contender rival, Malmö FF, won the league following their win. In a follow–up match, Ekstrand started in the Svenska Cupen Final against Hammarby and helped Helsingborgs win the tournament by beating the opposition team 1–0 on 13 November 2010. At the end of the 2010 season, he went on to make twenty–five appearances and scoring once in all competitions. Following this, Ekstrand was nominated for the player's defender of the year but he lost out to Olof Mellberg.
With the 2010 season ended, Ekstrand was linked a move away from Helsingborgs IF, as clubs from Italy were keen on signing him. The club confirmed that Ekstrand was expected to leave the club. After a much speculation over his future, it was announced that Ekstrand joined Udinese in 2011.
Udinese
On 18 January 2011, Ekstrand penned a four-year deal with Serie A side Udinese, keeping him through to 2015. Prior to the move, he spoke out about joining Udinese, quoting: "It has always been a dream. It is a big football country that took World Cup gold not long ago. Here are big clubs and the best Swedish is playing in Serie A. For me it will be an honor to join."
Since joining the club, however, Ekstrand found himself out of first team, as he mostly sat out from the squad, as well as, facing competition from Andrea Coda. On 8 May 2011, Ekstrand made his debut for Udinese, coming on in the 70th minute in a 2–1 win against Lazio. This turns out to be his only appearance of the 2010–11 season.
At the start of the 2011–12 season, Ekstrand made his first start for Udinese in a Champions League qualifying game against Arsenal. For this match, the club changed from the previous season's 3–5–2 formation to 4–1–4–1, where wing-backs Mauricio Isla and Pablo Armero became midfielders, thus using 4 defenders instead of 3 centre-backs. He remained in the starting XI in the return leg a week later with Udinese losing 2–1 (3–1 agg). However, he continued to find his first team opportunities limited and found himself placed on the substitute bench, due to competitions from Medhi Benatia and Danilo. But Ekstrand made only five starts by the end of the year, coming from the league and UEFA Europa League and saw the club qualify for the knockout stage. He then made a further five more starts for Udinese later in the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Ekstrand went on to make a further 17 appearances in all competitions.
Loan to Watford On 31 August 2012, Ekstrand joined Championship side Watford on a season-long loan from Udinese. It came after when the player informed the club's management that he wanted to leave Udinese for first team football. Esktrand was close to joining Eredivisie side Groningen but collapsed over transfer demands.
Having been out of the first team for a month, he made his debut for the club, coming on in the second half to replace Neuton, in a 2–1 loss against Charlton Athletic on 2 October 2012. Following this, Ekstrand became a first team regular, playing in the centre–back position for the next sixteen league matches for Watford, as the club found themselves to get promoted to the Premier League. This lasted until he suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 78th minute during Watford's win against Bolton Wanderers on 2 February 2013. His knee injury cost him a place to be in the Sweden squad and missed the next two matches as a result. Ekstrand made his return to the starting line–up against Ipswich Town on 18 February 2013 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win. In a follow–up match against Derby County on 23 February 2013, he scored his first Watford goal, scoring from 10 yards, in a 2–1 win. From that moment on, he began to established himself in the first team for the rest of the season and helped the club finish third place in league. On 12 May 2013, Ekstrand played in the semi-final second leg against Leicester City. In a dramatic finale, after Watford goalkeeper Manuel Almunia saved both a penalty taken by Anthony Knockaert and a rebound which would have sent the opposition team through to the final, Troy Deeney scored in the seventh minute of added time to take the club through to the Championship Play-off Final on aggregate. In the Championship Play–off Final, he played the whole game throughout 120 minutes extra time, as Watford lost the final against Crystal Palace. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Ekstrand went on to make 36 appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Watford On 24 July 2013, Watford confirmed Ekstrand had signed a three-year deal on a permanent basis, keeping him until 2016. Upon joining the club, he was given a number six shirt following the departure of Fitz Hall.
His first appearance for Watford since joining them on a permanent basis came on 6 August 2013, where Ekstrand captained the club and starting the whole game, in a 3–1 win over Bristol Rovers in the first round of the League Cup. Following this, he continued to remain in the first team regular for the club, playing in the centre–back position despite having two managers this season. Ekstrand then made his 50th appearance for Watford, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Huddersfield Town on 5 October 2013. However, he suffered setback of injuries and suspension throughout the 2013–14 season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Ekstrand went on to make thirty–nine appearances in all competitions.