Alexander Tettey


Alexander Banor Tettey is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Norwich City.
Tettey was born in Ghana, but moved to Norway at a young age. He has previously played for Rosenborg and Rennes. From 2007 to 2015, he played for the Norwegian national team, earning 34 caps.

Early years

Tettey was born in Accra, Ghana, but moved to Bodø in Norway in 1999. He later moved to Trondheim, and started to play football for Kolstad. After joining Rosenborg's youth department, Tettey made his debut for the first team in a friendly match against GIF Sundsvall in January 2003, and in September 2003 he joined the first team squad and became the youngest player in Rosenborg's first team squad since Ola By Rise, Knut Torbjørn Eggen and Øivind Husby in 1977.

Club career

Rosenborg

Tettey started his career in Rosenborg as a central midfielder, but under Knut Tørum in 2007 he was made a defensive midfielder. In the 2008 season he was appointed Rosenborg's vice-captain and with club legend Roar Strand in and out of the team Tettey was a frequent captain.

Rennes

During his stay in Rosenborg, Tettey was being closely followed by French club Rennes, as they looked to create a squad with the potential of winning the title. On 31 July 2009, he signed a four-year contract with the French club. Tettey got his debut for the club shortly thereafter, but got injured in his first match for the club. His stay in Rennes has thereafter been plagued with injuries, but Tettey has nonetheless managed to pick up 60 appearances for the club. On 9 January 2011, Tettey scored his first goal in the Round of 64 of the French Cup. He scored the first of Rennes' goals as well the fifth in their 7–0 win over Cannes.

Norwich City

On 25 August 2012, Tettey signed for Premier League club Norwich City on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1–0 win against Doncaster Rovers on 26 September in the League Cup. He was also named man of the match, and stated he hoped his performance had been enough to earn him a start in a Premier League game. He made his league debut three days later, replacing Steve Morison in the 79th minute of a 5–2 defeat against Liverpool at Carrow Road. He made his first league start on 6 October against European champions Chelsea, however he could not prevent Norwich falling to a 4–1 defeat after Grant Holt had given the Canaries an 11th-minute lead. He made his full home debut on 20 October, helping Norwich to a shock 1–0 win against Arsenal after another goal from Holt. He became a regular in the team until he suffered an injury in February 2013, which persisted and kept him out of action for a longer period than initially thought. After over a month out, he made his return to playing on 30 March, replacing Jonny Howson in the 85th minute of a 1–0 defeat away to relegation rivals Wigan Athletic. He played in the final game of the season on 19 May, as Norwich produced a shock result to beat Manchester City 3–2 at the City of Manchester Stadium, to inflict only their second home defeat in the last 48 games, and to give Norwich their highest Premier League finish of 11th since they finished third in the 1992–93 season.
On 1 November 2013 it was announced that Tettey would be ruled out for 'a couple of months' following ankle surgery, which was performed after a stoppage-time collision with Cardiff City player Fraizer Campbell had left the ankle "very sore". On 22 March 2014 he scored his first league goal for Norwich with a 30-yard volley against Sunderland in a 2–0 win. It was described as one of the goals of the season. In December 2018 Tettey made his 200th appearance for Norwich City.

International career

Tettey is a naturalized Norwegian and has been capped for the Norwegian under-18, 19 and 21 youth teams, as well as the senior team.

Career statistics

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.28 March 2015Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia1–31–5UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
2.10 October 2015Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway1–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
3.13 October 2015Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy1–01–2UEFA Euro 2016 qualification

Honours

Rosenborg
Norwich City