Early career Elmander was born in
Alingsås, Alingsås Municipality. Elmander was subsequently put
on loan back in Sweden with
Djurgården, where he won
the double of both
Allsvenskan championship and
Swedish Cup title in 2002 and Allsvenskan in 2003, however he wasn't awarded a medal as he had played too few matches. He debuted for the Sweden national team, in a February 2002
friendly match against
Greece. In 2003, he was loaned out to Feyenoord's Dutch league rivals
NAC Breda.
Brøndby IF Before the 2004–05 season, he was bought by
Danish Superliga outfit
Brøndby. Despite not scoring as many goals for the club as was expected, he was the playmaker and creative spark of the Brøndby team in the
2004–05 Superliga season, playing mainly as the free-roaming forward behind the sole striker in manager
Michael Laudrup's 4–3–3 formation. The team won the double of both the Danish Superliga and the
Danish Cup title, and Elmander was voted Brøndby's Player of the Year. In his two seasons at Brøndby, Elmander scored 22 goals in 58 Danish Superliga games, attracting the attention of several clubs throughout Europe. He was called up to represent Sweden at the
2006 World Cup, where he played two games. Elmander signed a four-year contract with French side
Toulouse for an undisclosed fee of around €4,500,000 on 7 July 2006.
Toulouse Elmander scored 11 goals in his first season with Toulouse and was nominated as player of the year by his fellow players; the award ultimately went to
Lyon winger
Florent Malouda. The season was very successful, with Elmander helping lead Toulouse to a third-place finish and a berth in the qualifying rounds of
UEFA Champions League. The second season, much like that of his team, was much more irregular, and though he scored the same number of goals as he did the previous season, he was less decisive.
Bolton Wanderers On 27 June 2008, Elmander completed a move to
Premier League club
Bolton Wanderers for an £8.2 million fee, the club's record signing, with the deal including
Daniel Braaten moving to Toulouse. Elmander signed a three-year deal, wearing the number 9 shirt by manager
Gary Megson. Elmander's first Premier League goal, a header, came on his competitive debut, against
Stoke City on 16 August 2008 in a 3–1 win. Elmander played 30 games in the
2008–09 season, scoring five goals and creating two assists. From December 2008 to September 2009, Elmander went on a nine-month goal drought, which ended during the
League Cup fixture against
West Ham United as he scored in extra-time. His first league goal in 11 months came in a 5–1 defeat to
Aston Villa. Elmander finally found his goalscoring form in the
2010–11 season, scoring six goals in the opening 13 games, all away from the
Reebok Stadium. His first home goals of the season came against
Newcastle United, giving him a joint lead as top scorer in the Premier League. However, his goalscoring form dipped and he scored just three goals between December and a goal on 12 March against
Birmingham City in an
FA Cup Sixth round tie. This brought his goal tally for all competitions to eleven for the season. Bolton manager
Owen Coyle said in an interview on 20 May that he expected Elmander to join
Galatasaray, and Elmander confirmed later in the month that he would be leaving the club. In total, Elmander made 92 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 18 goals; 11 appearances in the
FA Cup, scoring three goals; and five appearances in the
League Cup, scoring once.
Galatasaray On 27 May 2011, Elmander arrived in Turkey on his birthday, and on 30 May 2011, Elmander joined Galatasaray in a three-year deal on a free transfer after his contract expired at Bolton in the same month. He debuted on the second week of the
Süper Lig season, coming on in the 61st minute and scored his first goal in a 3–1 home win over
Samsunspor on 18 September. Due to his great performance, Galatasaray coach
Fatih Terim changed the team's formation to a 4–4–2, allowing Elmander to play together with fellow striker
Milan Baroš simultaneously. On 26 February 2012, he scored the opening and the winning goal of the game against
Beşiktaş in a 3–2 win, and also scored goals in all derby matches, including against
Fenerbahçe and
Trabzonspor. He scored 12 goals in 36 league matches in a season which saw Galatasaray crowned league champions. Elmander began the
2012–13 season in a match against
Kasımpaşa and scored his first goal of the season in a 3–3 draw with Beşiktaş the following week. In the league's fourth week, he scored the opener against
Antalyaspor in a 4–0 away win for Galatasaray. and on 19 October 2012, he scored an amazing goal against
Gençlerbirliği in a 3–3 away draw and maintained the lead of the Süper Lig. He left in August 2013 to join Premier League side
Norwich City on a season-long loan.
Loan to Norwich City Elmander returned to England, joining Norwich on a season-long loan. He made his debut for Norwich against
Hull City and scored his first two goals for the club against
Bury in the
League Cup on 27 August 2013. ==International career==