Axel Sjöberg - AIM alumunus and MLS Colorado Rapids defender - visited campus on Tuesday, 11/24/15



Axel Sjoberg in action

Axel Sjöberg (AIM 2014) returned to Marquette over the Thanksgiving break and visited with Dr. Krause and students in the AIM program. Axel, originally from Stockholm, Sweden, was selected by the MLS Colorado Rapids in January 2015 as the 14th pick in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Sjoberg and Krause

AIM Program director, Dr. David Krause, said “It was wonderful to see Axel. I followed the Rapids closely this year and I look forward to Axel becoming a star in the MLS. He still remains current with the financial markets and I am pleased that he continues to push himself athletically and intellectually. Axle left a positive mark on Marquette on the playing field and in the classroom.”

He was the only Rapids rookie to play more than 1,000 MLS minutes in 2015 (and it would have been more but for injury) – and he had an impressive first year when he was featured along the Rapids’ back line. At 6'7", he is an imposing figure, and showed no signs of ‘freshman’ nerves as he made his debut in the very first game of the season at Philadelphia Union in March. Alongside Bobby Burling (6'6"), he formed part of the tallest central defensive pairing in MLS history.



Besides being a member of the AIM program, Alex played four years at Marquette University, where he was named to the All-Big East first team and was the winner of Marquette’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2014. Three times in 2014 he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week. He also was named to the second team All-America squad and first team all-Big East. Sjӧberg was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the Big East men’s soccer championship and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

Born in Stockholm, the son of Lars-Erik Sjӧberg and Anna Kullander Sjӧberg, he was an outstanding student at Marquette, majoring in Finance. He was selected to be a part of Marquette's highly regarded Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program and was awarded the finance department’s Outstanding Senior Award from the College of Business Administration.

Axel Sjoberg

A member of Chi Alpha Sigma (National College Athlete Honor Society) and the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society (College of Business), Axel was named to the Dean's List each semester at Marquette. He was also active in the Milwaukee community by founding a clothing drive initiative called Student Athletes Give. He also participated in the NCAA's Leadership Development Workshop in 2011 and 2012, Marquette's annual Hunger Clean Up and the Feed My Starving Children event organized by the university’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Fluent in English and Swedish, he also speaks German.