A star of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Rasmus Elm will be looking to demonstrate his tournament prowess on the senior stage at UEFA EURO 2012. A commanding, elegant central midfielder, the AZ Alkmaar star is part of a family dynasty, his two brothers, David and Viktor, having also represented home-town club Kalmar FF before moving abroad.

• Joined the Kalmar first team at 17 and was a frequent substitute in 2006 before tying down a regular midfield berth in 2007, a season that brought a runners-up spot in the Allsvenskan and victory in the Svenska Cupen, with IFK Göteborg defeated 3-0 in a final contested by all three Elm brothers.

• The Elm trio were key contributors in 2008 to Kalmar's maiden Swedish league title, with Rasmus scoring five goals in 26 starts for Nanne Bergstrand's triumphant side as they edged out IF Elfsborg by a point.

• Helped Sweden to the European semi-finals at U21 level in 2009, starting all four matches on home soil; his senior debut came earlier that year – against the United States in January – as did his first goal, against Austria the following month.

• With nine goals in 19 Allsvenskan appearances during a busy 2009, he left in mid-season to join Dutch titleholders AZ but was ineligible for the club's UEFA Champions League campaign having played earlier in the competition for Kalmar.

• Made slow progress in his first two seasons before blossoming in 2011/12 as AZ challenged once again for the Dutch title, scoring consistently in the Eredivisie and UEFA Europa League and converting the penalty that knocked AFC Ajax out of the Dutch Cup after a replayed fourth round tie.