Alexander Hleb

Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb (Аляксандр Паўлавіч Глеб, ; Александр Павлович Глеб; born 1 May 1981), commonly referred to in English as Alexander Hleb, is a Belarusian former professional footballer.

Hleb's natural and preferred position is attacking midfielder or "in the hole" behind the strikers, but he was often deployed on the wing.

He is known for his passing, agility and dribbling ability.

Spotted by scouts, Alexander and his younger brother Vyacheslav were signed in 2000 by German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart for approximately €150,000.

He made his Bundesliga debut on 5 September 2000 in an away match at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, coming on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes.

Despite only making six league appearances in his first season with Stuttgart, Hleb became a regular at the club in his second season there and went on to establish himself as an important player for the team.

A full international for Belarus since 2001, he won 80 caps for his country.

Hleb grew up in Minsk.

His mother worked on a construction site while his father drove petrol tankers.

His father had volunteered to help demolish houses in Ukraine made uninhabitable as the result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Hleb believes this exposure to radiation caused his father's ill health.

Before getting involved with football, Hleb was a keen swimmer and gymnast.

His younger brother Vyacheslav is also a footballer.

In 2002, he was voted Belarusian Footballer of the Year.

In 2002–03, Stuttgart finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga and enjoyed a UEFA Champions League victory over Manchester United and Hleb had become established as the team's playmaker.

After team manager Felix Magath left to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2004, however, Stuttgart were not as successful under new coach Matthias Sammer, having finished the 2004–05 season in fifth place.

In June 2005, Hleb joined English side Arsenal for a sum which had the potential to reach €15 million, on a four-year contract.

Arsène Wenger used Hleb at many different midfield positions, but he mainly played on the right wing for Arsenal.

His competitive debut was made in August 2005 against Chelsea in the 2005 FA Community Shield, and then he made his league debut as a substitute against Newcastle United.

Soon after, Hleb sustained a knee injury while on international duty with Belarus and was out for several months, returning to the first team squad in December, and played 60 minutes in Arsenal's final UEFA Champions League group stage match against Ajax on 7 December.

By January 2006, Hleb had established himself as a first choice player and scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 7–0 win over Middlesbrough.

In May, Hleb became the first ever Belarusian footballer to play in the Champions League final.

He ended the season with 40 appearances and three goals.

Despite a hamstring injury, Hleb made 48 appearances in the 2006–07 season and scored three goals.

In 2007–08, he was moved from the right wing and played behind Robin van Persie as a withdrawn striker.

When strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Eduardo recovered from injuries Arsène Wenger reverted to a 4–4–2 formation and Hleb returned to playing on the wing.

His season was cut short after he was banned for three games by the FA after he was charged with violent conduct in an incident with Graeme Murty of Reading during their 2–0 win.

Hleb admitted his offence, ending his season.

On 16 July 2008, a medical examination was held for the player at FC Barcelona, with his transfer completed later that day for a fee of €15 million plus an additional €2 million if Barcelona won the La Liga title in 2008–09 or 2009–10 (which they did in 2008–09, bringing his total fee to €17 million).

Hleb signed a four-year contract with a buy-out clause of €90 million.

Hleb went on to win the 2008–09 treble with Barcelona in his first season with the club.

Hleb featured briefly in the Copa del Rey final but did not play when Barcelona went on to beat Manchester United 2–0 in the Champions League final.

In March 2009, after featuring irregularly for the team – starting only five games in La Liga – Hleb admitted that he would readily accept an offer from Bayern Munich, if such an opportunity arose in the summer.

He said, "I am right in the best years of my career and I do not want to spend those years on bench. Bayern Munich is a special club, their interest in me is a delightful honour. Bayern is among the best teams in the world."

At the end of the season, Hleb turned down the opportunity to join, on loan, eventual 2009–10 treble winners Internazionale, and chose to join former club, VfB Stuttgart, on loan.

Hleb played 55 minutes in the first game of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, away to VfL Wolfsburg, a match Stuttgart lost 2–0.

Then, after playing in Stuttgart's 4–2 victory over SC Freiburg, Hleb scored his first goal for Stuttgart, during a Champions League qualifier against Timișoara in a 2–0 away win for the German side.

On 31 August 2010, Hleb returned to England by signing a season-long loan deal with Premier League club Birmingham City.

An ankle injury sustained on international duty delayed his debut until 18 September, when he played 83 minutes in a 3–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion.

Three days later, he opened the scoring as Birmingham beat Milton Keynes Dons 3–1 in the League Cup.