Alexander Petersson

Alexander Petersson (; born 2 July 1980) is a Latvian-born Icelandic former handball player. He was a member of the Icelandic national team from 2005 to 2021, appearing in 186 games. Before that he played for the Latvian national team.

Alexander was voted the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 2010 by the Icelandic Sport Press Association. He is of Latvian and Baltic German origin.

Early life Alexander was born in Riga in Latvia SSR in 1980. He emigrated to Iceland aged 18 in 1998 to play for Grótta/KR.

Career In 2003 Petersson joined German team HSG Düsseldorf, followed by TV Großwallstadt in 2005 and SG Flensburg-Handewitt in 2007. In 2010 he joined Füchse Berlin. The same year he was named Icelandic sportsperson of the year. In his first season with the club he won the 2012–13 EHF Cup. After two seasons, where he finished 2nd in the Bundesliga both times, he won the league in 2016 and 2017 and the DHB-Pokal in 2018. He also won the DHB-Supercup in 2016 and 2018.

In January 2021 he returned to Flensburg-Handewitt. The following summer he joined MT Melsungen. On 13 November 2021 he played his 500th game in the Bundesliga. After the 2021-22 season he retired.

In July 2023 he returned to handball and signed a one-year contract with Valur. Here he won the Icelandic cup and the EHF European Cup. This was the first time an Icelandic club won a European tournament.

In November 2023 he joined Qatari team Al-Arabi on a one-month loan deal. At the age of 44 he won another Icelandic championship title in the 2024-25 season.

In July 2025, he announced his retirement.

Seasonal statistics Season Team League Games Goals Penalty goals Outfield goals 2004/05 HSG Düsseldorf Bundesliga 32 154 0 154 2005/06 TV Großwallstadt Bundesliga 29 139 26 113 2006/07 TV Großwallstadt Bundesliga 31 188 25 163 2007/08 SG Flensburg-Handewitt Bundesliga 29 111 0 111 2008/09 SG Flensburg-Handewitt Bundesliga 10 28 1 27 2009/10 SG Flensburg-Handewitt Bundesliga 34 84 0 84 2010/11 Füchse Berlin Bundesliga 33 119 0 119 2011/12 Füchse Berlin Bundesliga 28 96 0 96 2012/13 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 33 142 0 142 2013/14 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 26 90 0 90 2014/15 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 30 118 0 118 2015/16 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 32 87 0 87 2016/17 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 34 116 0 116 2017/18 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 33 82 0 82 2018/19 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 27 94 0 94 2019/20 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 22 47 0 47 2020/21 Rhein-Neckar Löwen Bundesliga 11 21 0 21 2020/21 SG Flensburg-Handewitt Bundesliga 15 10 0 10 2021/22 MT Melsungen Bundesliga 33 35 0 35 2004–2022 Total Bundesliga 522 1757 52 1705

National team Petersson initially played for the Latvian national team before obtaining Icelandic nationality in 2004. In 2005, he played for the Iceland men's national handball team for the first time.

At the 2007 World Championship he finished 8th with Iceland, and was in the top ten goal scorers list. The following year he won silver medals at the 2008 Olympics, losing to France in the final. At the 2010 European Championship he won bronze medals.

At the 2011 World Championship he was a part of the all star team, when Iceland finished 6th.

He also represented Iceland at the 2012 Olympics where Iceland was knocked out in the quarterfinal by Hungary.

He had to withdraw from the 2013 World Championship due to a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Olafur Stefansson.

At the 2015 World Championship he was however back in the team. His son Lúkas Petersson is a professional footballer in Germany.

Individual awards Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year: 2010 All-Star Right back of the World Championship: 2011