Alexander Ring

Alexander Ring

Ring with 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Personal information
Full name	Alexander Michael Ring
Date of birth	(1991-04-09) 9 April 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Helsinki, Finland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder, defender
Team information
Current team	Austin FC
Number	8
Youth career
1995–1998	VfL Lannesdorf
1998–2008	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
2001	Anderlecht
2009	HJK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2010	Klubi-04	32	(9)
2010	→ Tampere United (loan)	4	(1)
2010–2013	HJK	27	(2)
2012–2013	→ Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan)	14	(0)
2013–2017	1. FC Kaiserslautern	76	(8)
2017–2020	New York City FC	114	(10)
2021–	Austin FC	102	(10)
International career‡
	Finland U17	6	(1)
2008	Finland U18	10	(0)
2009	Finland U19	7	(2)
2010	Finland U20	2	(1)
2011	Finland U21	3	(0)
2011–2018	Finland	44	(2)
Medal record Finland national football team Baltic Cup 2012 Baltic Cup 2014
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:00, 21 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 September 2017

Alexander Michael Ring (born 9 April 1991) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and defender for Major League Soccer club Austin FC.

Club career

Early career

He moved to Bonn with his family when aged three, and grew up there and in Belgium. Ring went through the ranks of Bayer 04 Leverkusen before returning to Finland with his family in 2008.

HJK

He signed for HJK's reserve team Klubi-04 in 2009, and represented them until being promoted to the first team, and signed full professional contract with the club in August 2010. ^[2] However, Ring was loaned out to Tampere United for the rest of that season. He returned to HJK after the season, and was established as the first choice holding midfielder for HJK in early 2011. On 26 September 2011, he signed a contract extension with HJK, keeping him in the Finnish capital until 2015. ^[3] During December 2011, it was rumored that German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach were interested in signing the young Finn for approximately €1 million. ^[4]

Loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach

On 5 January 2012, it was announced that Mönchengladbach had signed Ring on loan until the summer 2013, with having an option to buy at the end of the season. ^[5] The estimated loan fee was reported to be €500,000. ^[6] On 10 March 2012, Ring made his Bundesliga debut for Mönchengladbach against Freiburg, and on 21 August Ring scored his first goal for Mönchengladbach in a 3–1 defeat to Ukrainian Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of 2012–13 UEFA Champions League's playoff-round. ^[7] However, despite some encouraging displays for the club, Ring soon fell out of favour, and in February 2013 it was announced that Borussia would not use their option to buy the player. ^[8]

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In June 2013, he signed a contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern to play in 2. Bundesliga. ^{[9] [10]} The clubs did not publish the transfer fee, but according to newspapers Kaiserslautern paid HJK Helsinki €500,000. ^[11] After an encouraging start, and the club sacking of the first team coach Franco Foda in September 2013, he struggled to keep his position in the side. However, he was picked for the opening line-up in the cup games versus both Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern München. He scored his first goal for the club in August 2014 versus SV Sandhausen. ^[12] Despite a lengthy lay-off due to a knee injury in the home game versus Fortuna Düsseldorf, ^[13] the season 2014–15 turned out to be his best in Germany, with six goals in 24 league games. During the following seasons, Ring's performances were marred by minor injuries and constant head coach changes, that hindered his progress. In January 2017 the economically ailing club decided to let him move on before his contract would have expired.

New York City FC

Ring was purchased from Kaiserslautern by Major League Soccer (MLS) side New York City FC on 31 January 2017 for a reported fee of €300,000. ^{[14] [15]} Ring made himself an invaluable part of New York City's midfield during the 2017 season as he earned 29 appearances in the regular season. Despite New York City losing the Eastern Conference semifinals versus Columbus Crew, Ring's first season in MLS was a major personal success as he was elected the club's Newcomer of the Year. ^[16] He scored his first MLS goal on 15 April 2018, vs. Atlanta United FC. ^[17] On 7 February 2019, Ring was named the second captain in New York City FC's history, ^[18] after David Villa's departure to Vissel Kobe in December.

Austin FC

On 17 December 2020, Ring was traded to new expansion side Austin FC in exchange for up to $1.25 million in General Allocation Money. ^[19] He was subsequently selected as Club Captain prior to Austin FC's first league match. On 3 January 2022, Ring signed a new contract with Austin, which also made him a Designated Player. ^[20] He was stripped of the captaincy in February 2023. The club didn't announce a reason behind the decision. ^[21] On 17 May 2023, during his seventh season in MLS, Ring reached the 200 league game appearance milestone. ^[22]

On 17 November 2023, it was announced that Austin had exercised their option and his contract was extended for the 2024 season. ^[23]

International career

Ring's convincing performances in the Finnish League Cup and the Veikkausliiga earned him a call-up to the new coach Mixu Paatelainen's first gathering of the Finland national football team in May 2011. ^[24] He made his senior national team debut on 7 June 2011 in 5–0 defeat against Sweden. On 11 October 2011, Finnish star Roman Eremenko described Ring as a soon-to-be key player in the Finland national football team, saying: "I knew Alex when he came to the national team, but I hadn't seen any of his games before. When he came, it was immediately obvious that he is here to stay. He plays without fear." ^[25] He established himself as a regular in the national team during Finland's qualification campaign for the UEFA Euro 2012. ^[26] Ring scored his first goal for the national team on 26 March 2013 in Luxembourg in a match against Luxembourg. ^[27] His second international goal came from a direct freekick vs. Iceland in a WC qualifier in September 2017. ^[28]

In September 2018, Ring announced his retirement from international football. ^[29]

Personal life

Ring doesn't have German citizenship, even though he has lived most of his life in Germany. In Maali! 3/2011 he stated: "I have not even applied for German citizenship. It has been obvious for me that I represent Finland". ^[30]

Ring is married with two daughters. ^{[31] [32]}

In March 2018, Ring earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. ^[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 April 2024 ^{[34] [35] [36]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			League cup [lower-alpha 1]		National cup [lower-alpha 2]		Continental [lower-alpha 3]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Klubi-04	2009	Ykkönen	15	3	—		0	0	—		—		15	3
	2010	Ykkönen	0	0	—		0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		15	3	—		0	0	—		—		15	3
Tampere United (loan)	2010	Veikkausliiga	4	1	—		0	0	0	0	—		4	1
HJK Helsinki	2010	Veikkausliiga	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2011	Veikkausliiga	24	2	—		3	1	6 [lower-alpha 4]	2	8 [lower-alpha 5]	3	41	8
	Total		28	3	—		3	1	6	2	8	3	45	9
Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan)	2011–12	Bundesliga	8	0	—		0	0	—		—		8	0
	2012–13	Bundesliga	6	0	—		1	0	6 [lower-alpha 6]	1	—		13	1
	Total		14	0	—		1	0	6	1	—		21	1
1. FC Kaiserslautern	2013–14	2. Bundesliga	21	0	—		3	0	—		—		24	0
	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	24	6	—		2	0	—		—		26	6
	2015–16	2. Bundesliga	21	2	—		1	0	—		—		22	2
	2016–17	2. Bundesliga	10	0	—		1	0	—		—		11	0
	Total		76	8	—		7	0	—		—		83	8
New York City FC	2017	MLS	29	0	2	0	1	0	—		—		32	0
	2018	MLS	30	2	3	0	0	0	—		—		33	2
	2019	MLS	31	4	1	0	2	0	—		—		34	4
	2020	MLS	24	4	—		—		2	0	2 [lower-alpha 7]	0	26	4
	Total		114	10	6	0	3	0	2	0	2	0	127	10
Austin FC	2021	MLS	31	4	—		—		—		—		31	4
	2022	MLS	34	4	3	0	0	0	—		—		37	4
	2023	MLS	28	2	0	0	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 8]	0	31	2
	2024	MLS	9	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	9	0
	Total		102	10	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	108	10
Career total			349	34	9	0	15	1	15	3	10	3	399	41

1. Includes MLS Cup Playoffs
2. Includes Finnish Cup, DFB-Pokal, and U.S. Open Cup
3. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and CONCACAF Champions Cup
4. Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in Finnish League Cup
6. Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
7. Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
8. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

As of matches played on 2 September 2017 ^{[34] [37]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Finland
	2011	6	0
	2012	7	0
	2013	9	1
	2014	7	0
	2015	5	0
	2016	8	0
	2017	1	1
Total		43	2

Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ring goal.

List of international goals scored by Alexander Ring ^[34]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 March 2013	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2	2 September 2017	Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland	Iceland	1–0	1–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

HJK

• Veikkausliiga: 2010, 2011
• Finnish Cup: 2011

Individual

• Veikkausliiga Rookie of the Year: 2011 ^[38]
• Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: September 2011 ^[39]
• MLS All-Star: 2018

References

1. "Alexander Ring". AustinFC.com. Austin FC. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
2. "HJK pestasi oman kasvatin" (in Finnish). iltasanomat.fi. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
3. "Ringille jatko kauden 2015 loppuun" [Ring signs until 2015] (in Finnish). HJK Helsinki. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
4. "Saksalaislehden ykkösuutinen: Ring Bundesliigaan" [Ring to Germany?] (in Finnish). mtv3.fi. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
5. "Kicker: HJK vuokraa Ringin Saksaan" [Kicker: HJK loans Ring to Germany] (in Finnish). iltasanomat.fi. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
6. Kommentti: HJK hakee jättipottia Alexander Ringistä, 5 January 2012, suomifutis.fi
7. "Mönchengladbach eye return to top table". UEFA. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
8. "Auch Ring ist vor dem Absprung" (in German). kicker.de. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
9. "Alexander Ring Wird Ein Roter Teufel" (in German). fck.de. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
10. "Alexander Ring Becomes a Red Devil". fck.de. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
11. "Kicker: Näin saksalaisseurat maksoivat suomalaispelaajistaan" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 30 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
12. "Sonntag, 15.30 Uhr: FCK reist zum SV Sandhausen: 1. FC Kaiserslautern". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
13. "1. FC Kaiserslautern: Jetzt Bangen um Alexander Ring und Kerem Demirbay". 27 October 2014.
14. Alexander Ringin siirtyminen New York Cityyn varmistui , Helsingin Sanomat, 1 February 2017
15. "Soccer Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Fixtures, Results, Tables". ESPN.
16. "Alexander Ring: 2017 Newcomer of the Year in Photos".
17. Watch: Alexander Ring’s stunning first goal for NYCFC in Atlanta Archived 18 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine
18. Bogert, Tom (7 February 2019). "NYCFC name midfielder Alex Ring second captain in club history". MLS Soccer.
19. "Austin FC acquire midfielder Alex Ring from NYCFC in blockbuster deal | MLSSoccer.com".
20. "Austin FC, Club Captain Alex Ring Agree to New Contract | Austin FC".
21. Sebastian Driussi named captain for 2023 Austin FC season
22. @AustinFC (18 May 2023). "200" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
23. Who's in, who's out? Austin, Atlanta & RSL reset for 2024, mlssoccer.com, 17 November 2023
24. "Sweden bid to bridge gap at summit". UEFA. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
25. Miettinen, Heikki (10 October 2011). "Roman Eremenko: Alexander Ring tuli maajoukkueeseen jäädäkseen" (in Finnish). hs.fi. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
26. "Alexander Ring" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
27. "Suomelle vakuuttava voitto Luxemburgista" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
28. "Ring free kick fires Finland to 1-0 win over Iceland". Reuters. 2 September 2017.
29. "Alex Ring Announces International Retirement".
30. "Alexander Ring". Maali! 3/2011 (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto (Football Association of Finland). p. 26.
31. "Ring: I Can't Wait to Play at Yankee Stadium".
32. "Ring Celebrates Dominant Return to XI".
33. "NYCFC Duo Receive U.S. Green Cards". NYCFC.com. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
34. Alexander Ring at National-Football-Teams.com
35. "Finland – A. Ring – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
36. Alexander Ring at Major League Soccer
37. Palloliitto
38. "Veikkausliiga palkinnot" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
39. Alexander Ringistä syyskuun pelaaja Archived 5 February 2013 at archive.today (in Finnish)

External links

• Biography portal
• Association football portal
• Finland portal

• Alexander Ring at 1. FC Kaiserslautern (in German and English)
• Alexander Ring – UEFA competition record ( archive )
• Alexander Ring – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Alexander Ring at National-Football-Teams.com
• Alexander Ring at Soccerbase
• Alexander Ring at BDFutbol
• Alexander Ring at fussballdaten.de (in German)