Junior Eldstål (born 16 September 1991) is a Malaysian-Swedish footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for a Malaysian club Sarawak FA and the Malaysian national team.
A defensive midfielder by nature, he can also appear as a central defender. Eldstål is known for being pacy, a fluid force from box to box, decent tackler and blessed with a good shot, passing and huge natural stamina.
He started his career with Aldershot Town F.C, but represented mostly the reserve team, going on to have a three-year spell with Farnborough F.C. in England league. In May 2013, he signed with Sarawak FA after a successful trial.
Eldstål represented Malaysia at various levels, namely appearing with the under-23s at the 2013 Pesta Bola Merdeka.
Born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, Eldstål's family moved to Sweden when he was at the age of two, then onto England.
At a young age, Eldstål found a love for sport, particularly football and tennis. By the age of six, he had joined his first football club. He played regularly for his primary and secondary school team and also for his local club. At 19, he moved to UWE Hartpury Football Academy Club where he studied for his degree. Before studying for his degree he was at Aldershot Town FC. He played a number of games for Farnborough FC Football Academy there after.
His parents were his great supporters who would frequently travel to his football matches everywhere around the South East England. Young Eldstål had trials with his local club Guildford City FC (formerly Burpham FC), Aldershot Town FC, Reading FC and Farnborough Town FC. Aldershot Town FC was the first club he played for. During a three-year period in which Eldstål played for Aldershot Towns' youth team, he was named Under-13 Player of the Year in 2004 and for three consecutive years. He also attended summer soccer schools at Manchester United and subsequently learned the importance of techniques in football.
Eldstål previously played in the Vauxhall Football League before having a trial with Malaysian outfit. With a Swedish father, Eldstål holds a Swedish passport but decided to pursue Malaysian citizenship because his mother is Sabahan.
He was with Aldershot from 2004 to 2007, then he joined Farnborough from 2008 to 2011. When he turned 19, he was enrolled in UWE Hartpury College Football Academy then joined Slimbridge FC in 2012 before he decided to play for Sarawak in the Malaysia Super League.
In April 2013, Eldstål signed with Sarawak FA and made his league debut on 17 April 2013 in a second leg Malaysia FA Cup 0–2 home defeat against Kelantan FA as a last minute substitution. Since Eldstål joined the Crocs in April, he helped Sarawak FA win their first premiership domestic trophy in almost 16 years. Sarawak FA had an unbeaten run which was league record. Eldstål, who had yet to score his first goal for Sarawak, had the distinction of providing two assists leading to two goals as the other goal scored by Zamri Morshidi was a similar result provided by his back-flick again. Sarawak officially booked their spot in the quarterfinals of the 2013 Malaysia Cup as they smashed in six goals against Perak to secure an impeccable 6–1 win.
In 2014, Sarawak FA is back in the Malaysia Super League since 2012 , but his debut for the league was delayed after suffering a back injury setback on 14 September, 2013 followed by his operation in November then a 2 months program of rehabilitation.
Soon after the close of the 2014 season Eldstål announced that he would be joining Johor Darul Ta'zim FC in an effort to break into the Malaysia national football team after surprisingly being left out of Dollah Salleh's squad for this month's 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.
In July 2013, Eldstål was called up to join the Harimau Muda A squad for the World University Games in Kazan, but due to some technical issues he was not allowed to be registered for the tournament. On 11 July 2013, Eldstål was named in the senior squad for the first time in K. Rajagopal 23-man shortlist for the upcoming July friendly against Chonburi FC in 16 July 2013. He later received a call-up for a match against Chelsea and Barcelona.
In 7 September 2013, Eldstål earned his first under-23 cap in a game against Singapore U-23 and scored his first goal for the squad on 14 September 2013 in the Merdeka cup final against Myanmar U-23 and Malaysia emerged as Asia Cup Champion after defeating Myanmar 2–0 at the Darul Makmur Stadium, which concluded with his goal in the 90th minute.
Eldstål was born to a Swedish father and Malaysian mother, who hails from Sabah. Eldstål has a little brother and sister, Joshua and Jessica.
He first became involved in football when he was six years old. A boyhood fan of Manchester United. Football became more serious for him at the age of 8 when he was selected for tournaments to his local football club then continuing to become a football captain for his secondary school George Abbot and Surrey under the age of 14. He was also coaching the under-6s and under-10s at Planet Soccer UK whilst studying at Woking college and then, UWE Hartpury. He is a qualified FA Skills Coach Level 1.
Eldstål was raised Christian despite having an Islamic Malaysian sounding name Putera.
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