Niklas Moisander

Niklas Kristian Moisander (born 29 September 1985) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Moisander was born in Turku, where he played for the local TPS youth team before moving to Ajax. He did not make any senior appearances at Ajax between 2003 and 2006 and moved to Zwolle. After two seasons in the Eerste Divisie, he signed with AZ Alkmaar of the Eredivisie where he spent five seasons. He returned to Ajax in 2012 and played for the side until 2015. Following a one-season stay at Sampdoria, he spent five years at Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. He remained at Swedish side Malmö FF for four seasons before retiring at the end of the 2024 season. He is the twin brother of goalkeeper Henrik Moisander, and is a former captain of the Finland national team.

Moisander made his international debut for Finland in May 2008, at age 22, and had 62 caps, including appearing in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications before his retirement from international football in 2017. He was voted the Finnish Footballer of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.

Moisander started his football career together with his twin brother Henrik, both joining local TPS from their home town of Turku in 2001. A year later, he made his debut in the Veikkausliiga, the premier division of Football in Finland, under then manager Mika Laurikainen. He was selected in the starting lineup on 15 May 2003 in a regular season's fixture against cross town rivals Inter Turku. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2–0 away win in his first Turku derby match. He went on to make 17 appearances for TPS during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, becoming a regular with his home club at age 17.

On 5 June 2003, it was announced that Dutch Eredivisie club Ajax had signed the twins Henrik and Niklas to a two-year contract, binding them to the club until the summer of 2005. At Ajax, they would join the team where both Finland Internationals Jari Litmanen and Petri Pasanen were playing at the time. At first instance, the twins were to join the under-19 team of Ajax A1, competing in the 2003–04 A-junioren Eredivisie league in their first year with the club. The twins helped their side secure the club's eighth A-Juniors league title, under the tutelage and guidance of then coach Danny Blind. The following season saw Moisander and his brother compete in the Beloften Eredivisie for the team's reserve squad Jong Ajax, where they would help to win the reserve league title in their first year on the team. Signing a contract extension for an additional year by the end of the season, Ajax eventually won the KNVB Cup in conclusion. Unable to break into the first team, however, after their second term with the reserves, the twins were separated; while Henrik was dispatched to Assyriska in Sweden, Niklas remained in the Netherlands, where he signed with FC Zwolle instead.

On 3 May 2006 it was announced that Moisander would transfer to the Eerste Divisie side FC Zwolle, signing a two-year contract with the club from Overijssel. He made his debut on 11 August 2006 in a 2–0 win at home against Fortuna Sittard in the KNVB Cup match, at which point he immediately establishing his position in the starting XI of the team. Midway through his first season, his contract was annulled and extended for an additional year, binding him to the club until the summer of 2009. After his first two seasons, and with one year still remaining on his contract, Zwolle and AZ Alkmaar agreed to terms for a direct transfer of Moisander for a reported €600,000 transfer fee, returning to the top flight of Dutch football. During his stay in Zwolle, he made 75 appearances for the club, scoring five times, where he was an instrumental player for his side.

On 11 July 2008, it was announced that AZ had come to terms with Zwolle for the direct transfer of Moisander, signing a three-year contract to bind him to the club until the summer of 2011. He made his Eredivisie debut on 20 September 2008 for AZ in its 1–0 home win against Dutch giants PSV. He scored his first goal for AZ on 3 October 2008 in the 6–0 regular season victory over Sparta Rotterdam. He was able to establish himself as the first choice defender under manager Louis van Gaal, playing a total of 22 full league matches, having briefly been sidelined in the months of January and February due to a knee injury.

Moisander quickly came back to help his side win the Eredivisie title, the second for the club in its history and Moisander's personal first. That season, the title race had come down to the final round, and although AZ had lost their last game of the season against Vitesse, it was still able to consequently clinch the league due to eminent losses suffered by title contenders Ajax and Twente. The following season, Moisander made his continental debut, playing in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. Playing in five out of the six matches against the likes of Arsenal, Olympiacos and Standard Liège, AZ finished in the bottom of the group under newly appointed manager Ronald Koeman. This was after having won the Dutch Super Cup (the Johan Cruyff Shield) against Heerenveen at the start of the season. Midway through the season, the team changed management again when Dick Advocaat was hired as a replacement for Koeman, and the club finishing the season in fifth place and thus qualifying for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round.

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, AZ had found another replacement in Gertjan Verbeek as the new manager. Moisander played a major role in helping his side to qualify for the 2010–11 Europa League group stage, having appeared in all four games in the qualifying rounds. He also played in four of the six group stage encounters against Dynamo Kyiv, BATE Borisov and Sheriff Tiraspol. The team, however, finished the league in fourth place, thus qualifying for the qualifying rounds once more.