Wikipedia

Andreas Bjelland

Andreas Bjelland (born 11 July 1988) is a Danish-Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Lyngby Boldklub.

Andreas Bjelland
Bjelland playing for Copenhagen in 2018
Personal information
Full name Andreas Bjelland[1]
Date of birth (1988-07-11) 11 July 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Fredensborg, Denmark[2]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Lyngby
Number 6
Youth career
Fredensborg BI
0000–2001 BSV
2001–2006 Lyngby
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Lyngby 46 (1)
2009–2012 Nordsjælland 72 (3)
2012–2015 Twente 65 (3)
2015–2018 Brentford 62 (1)
2018–2022 Copenhagen 54 (1)
2021–2022 → Lyngby (loan) 24 (1)
2022– Lyngby 46 (1)
International career
2004 Denmark U16 1 (0)
2006 Denmark U18 1 (0)
2006 Denmark U19 3 (0)
2009–2011 Denmark U21 16 (0)
2010–2018 Denmark 29 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:14, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

Bjelland began his professional career in his homeland with Lyngby and established himself in the top division of Danish football with FC Nordsjælland. He played in the Netherlands and England between 2011 and 2018 and returned to Denmark to play for F.C. Copenhagen in 2018. He returned to Lyngby in 2021. Bjelland represented Denmark at international level and was part of the Danes' Euro 2012 squad. He is also adept as a full back or defensive midfielder.[3]

Club career

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Lyngby

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A centre back, Bjelland began his career in his homeland with Fredensborg BI and BSV,[4] before moving into the youth system at Superliga club Lyngby in 2001.[5] Financial problems at the stricken club saw the Royal Blues relegated to the Danmarksserien, but by the time Bjelland made his senior debut in September 2006,[6] they had risen back to the 1st Division.[5] He made 9 appearances during the 2006–07 and after promotion to the Superliga, he made 11 appearances in 2007–08.[7] After an immediate relegation back to the 1st Division, Bjelland finally broke into the team and during the 2008–09 season made 24 appearances and scored one goal.[7] After five early-2009–10 season appearances,[7] Bjelland departed Lyngby on 31 August 2009.[8] He made 47 appearances and scored one goal for the club.[7]

FC Nordsjælland

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Bjelland returned to the Superliga to sign for FC Nordsjælland on 31 August 2009.[8] He quickly established himself in the team and made 26 appearances, scoring one goal.[7] His season was capped by success in the DBU Pokalen, with Nordsjælland beating Midtjylland 2–0 in the final after extra time.[6] Bjelland had another successful season in 2010–11,[7] being named vice-captain and again winning the DBU Pokalen at the expense of Midtjylland.[6][9] He made 29 appearances and scored one goal in a 2011–12 season which saw Nordsjælland win the Superliga title for the first time in the club's history.[6][7] Bjelland departed the club in June 2012, after making 85 appearances and scoring three goals during three seasons at Farum Park.[7]

FC Twente

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On 6 November 2011, it was announced that Bjelland had signed a four-year contract (with the option of a further year) with Dutch Eredivisie club FC Twente, effective from the beginning of the 2012–13 season.[10] He had a debut season to forget at De Grolsch Veste,[11] spending six months out with a broken metatarsal and making only 14 appearances.[7] He came back fit for the 2013–14 season and was a virtual ever-present as Twente managed a third-place finish in the Eredivisie.[7] Bjelland was named as captain for the 2014–15 season,[9] but he was in and out of the team, due to injuries and suspensions.[7] He left the club on 2 July 2015,[12] after making 79 appearances and scoring three goals during his three seasons in Enschede.[7]

Brentford

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Bjelland (right) contesting a Brentford corner kick with Chelsea's Nathaniel Chalobah in January 2017.

On 2 July 2015, Bjelland moved to England to sign a three-year contract with Championship club Brentford for a club-record €3 million fee.[12][13] After recovering from a groin injury suffered in pre-season,[14] Bjelland made his debut for the club with a start in a League Cup first round match versus Oxford United on 11 August.[15] He was at fault for Oxford's first goal of the 4–0 defeat and suffered a knee ligament injury on the stroke of half time.[16][17]

Bjelland returned to full-contact training in late April 2016 and despite missing part of the 2016–17 pre-season with an abductor strain,[18] he entered the regular season fit.[19][20] He broke into the starting lineup in an unfamiliar left back role in mid-September 2016.[21][22] After the team's formation was switched to 3–5–2 three months later, he reverted to his usual centre back position.[23] Bjelland missed much of March and April 2017 through injury and finished the season with 29 appearances.[21][24]

Bjelland deputised for the absent Harlee Dean early in the 2017–18 season scored his first Brentford goal in a 4–3 defeat to Nottingham Forest 12 August 2017.[25] After Dean's departure at the end of the summer transfer window,[26] Bjelland continued as an automatic pick for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[25] Despite suffering from an achilles problem during the final two months of the season,[27] Bjelland finished the campaign with 35 appearances and one goal.[25] After failing to agree a new contract, he was released on 30 June 2018.[28] During three seasons at Griffin Park, Bjelland made 65 appearances and scored one goal.[2]

F.C. Copenhagen

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On 9 July 2018, Bjelland returned to Denmark to sign a four-year contract with Superliga club F.C. Copenhagen on a free transfer.[29] The deal made him one of the highest-paid players in Danish Superliga history.[30] He made 41 appearances and scored one goal during the club's 2018–19 Superliga-winning season.[7][31] During a 2019–20 season which featured a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and a runners-up finish in the Superliga, Bjelland made 30 appearances.[7] Bjelland made three appearances during the opening month of the 2020–21 season,[7] before suffering a "bad cocktail" of problems with injury and COVID-19.[32] He did not appear again before the end of the season.[7] Bjelland spent the final year of his contract away on loan and was released when it expired.[33]

Return to Lyngby

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On 15 July 2021, Bjelland returned to Danish 1st Division club Lyngby on a season-long loan.[34] He made 25 appearances and scored one goal during a 2021–22 season which culminated in promotion to the Danish Superliga.[7][35] Taking a pay cut from his previous contract with F.C. Copenhagen,[30] Bjelland signed a one-year contract with Lyngby in May 2022.[33] On 28 August 2022, his sixth appearance of the 2022–23 season, Bjelland suffered a broken and dislocated ankle during a 2–1 defeat to Viborg.[7][36] He underwent surgery five days later and returned fit for the resumption of the season after the winter break.[36][37] Bjelland signed a new two-year contract in May 2023 and made 18 appearances during a 2022–23 season in which Lyngby narrowly avoided relegation.[7][38][39] A second-successive narrow miss with relegation in the 2023–24 season ended with 27 appearances and one goal.[7][40]

International career

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Bjelland prior to a Denmark U21 match in 2011.

Youth

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Despite being eligible to represent Norway,[41] Bjelland represented Denmark at U16, U18, U19 and U21 level,[42] captaining the latter team and making three appearances at the 2011 European U21 Championship,[43] hosted in Denmark.[44]

Full

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Bjelland made his full international debut in a 0–0 friendly draw with the Czech Republic on 17 November 2010 and played the full 90 minutes.[42] He received his second call up 11 months later, when he was selected for a pair of Euro 2012 qualifiers against Cyprus and Portugal, in which he started and helped the team to wins.[42] Bjelland scored his first international goal with penalty to seal a 2–0 friendly win over Australia on 2 June 2012.[42] He was called into Denmark's squad for Euro 2012,[45] but failed to make an appearance before the team crashed out in the group stage.[42]

Following Euro 2012,[11] a metatarsal injury suffered on club duty with Twente saw Bjelland miss a year of international football and he made his return in a 2–1 friendly win over Georgia on 5 June 2013.[11][42] He scored his second international goal in a 6–0 2014 World Cup qualifying win over Malta on 15 October 2013.[42] Bjelland made regular appearances through 2014, but a knee ligament injury meant that failed to appear for Denmark between June 2015 and 11 November 2016,[17] when he made his comeback playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–0 2018 World Cup qualifying win over Kazakhstan.[42] Bjelland was included in Denmark’s preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup,[46] but was not named in the final selection, due to injury.[47]

Personal life

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Bjelland was born to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother.[41] His younger brother Thomas was also a footballer for BSV and Hellerup.[48][49] He has two daughters.[9] In 2018, Bjelland invested a reported amount of DKK 200,000 (approximately £25,000) in his former club Lyngby and consequently became a minority owner of the club.[50]

Career statistics

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As of match played 22 September 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lyngby 2006–07[51] 1st Division 9 0 0 0 — — — 9 0
2007–08[7] Superliga 11 0 0 0 — — — 11 0
2008–09[7] 1st Division 22 1 2 0 — — — 24 1
2009–10[7] 1st Division 4 0 1 0 — — — 5 0
Total 46 1 3 0 — — — 47 1
FC Nordsjælland 2009–10[7] Superliga 22 1 5 0 — — — 27 1
2010–11[7] Superliga 24 1 5 0 — 0 0 — 29 1
2011–12[7] Superliga 26 1 1 0 — 2[c] 0 — 27 1
Total 72 3 11 0 — 2 0 — 85 3
FC Twente 2012–13[7] Eredivisie 8 0 0 0 — 4[c] 0 2[d] 0 14 0
2013–14[7] Eredivisie 33 0 1 0 — — — 34 0
2014–15[7] Eredivisie 26 3 4 0 — 1[c] 0 — 31 3
Total 67 3 5 0 — 5 0 2 0 79 3
Brentford 2015–16[15] Championship 0 0 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
2016–17[21] Championship 28 0 1 0 0 0 — — 29 0
2017–18[25] Championship 34 1 0 0 1 0 — — 35 1
Total 62 1 1 0 2 0 — — 65 1
F.C. Copenhagen 2018–19[7] Superliga 30 1 0 0 — 11[c] 0 — 41 1
2019–20[7] Superliga 21 0 1 0 — 8[c] 0 — 30 0
2020–21[7] Superliga 3 0 0 0 — 1[c] 0 — 4 0
Total 54 1 1 0 — 20 0 — 75 1
Lyngby (loan) 2021–22[7] 1st Division 24 1 1 0 — — — 25 1
Lyngby 2022–23[7] Superliga 18 0 0 0 — — — 18 0
2023–24[7] Superliga 25 1 2 0 — — — 27 1
2024–25[7] Superliga 3 0 0 0 — — — 3 0
Total 116 3 6 0 — — — 122 3
Career totals 362 11 24 0 2 0 27 0 2 0 417 11
  1. ^ Includes Danish Cup, KNVB Cup, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in Eredivisie European competition play-offs

Honours

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FC Nordsjælland

FC Copenhagen

Lyngby

References

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  1. ^ "EFL: Retained list: 2015/16" (PDF). English Football League. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Andreas Bjelland at Soccerbase
  3. ^ "Brentford transfer news: FC Twente defender Andreas Bjelland on Marinus Dijkhuizen's radar". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Andreas Bjelland". Blue Vikings – Official Lyngby BK Supporters. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Spelersprofiel: Andreas Bjelland – FC Twente". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Andreas Bjelland". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Andreas Bjelland at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  8. ^ a b "FCN henter Andreas Bjelland". bold.dk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Bjelland over het aanvoerderschap, zijn gezin en het leven in Nederland". FC Twente. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  10. ^ Blond, Mikael (6 November 2011). "Bjelland solgt til Twente" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  11. ^ a b c Moore, Tom (10 November 2016). "Andreas Bjelland speaks to GetWestLondon about his career so far". getwestlondon. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b Wickham, Chris. "Danish international defender Andreas Bjelland signs for Brentford from FC Twente". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Brentford sign Denmark's Bjelland". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  14. ^ Moore, Tom. "Brentford defender set to shrug off injury to face Ipswich". Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Games played by Andreas Bjelland in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Matchday Centre: Oxford United". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b Moore, Tom. "Brentford to find out extent of Andreas Bjelland's injury". Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  18. ^ Moore, Tom (26 July 2016). "Brentford boss Dean Smith gives injury update after Peterborough friendly". Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  19. ^ Moore, Tom (28 April 2016). "Who's fit? Who's out? The latest injury news from Brentford". getwestlondon. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  20. ^ Brett, Ciaran. "Andreas Bjelland speaks to Bees Player after making his Brentford return against Boreham Wood". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  21. ^ a b c "Games played by Andreas Bjelland in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  22. ^ Brett, Ciaran. "Andreas Bjelland on Brentford's 0–0 draw with Wigan Athletic and his Denmark International call-up". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  23. ^ Baldwin, James. "Our look at City's upcoming opponents for Saturday's Sky Bet Championship match at home to Brentford". Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  24. ^ Nugara, Jordan (12 April 2017). "Brentford boss gives injury update ahead of Derby County clash". getwestlondon. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  25. ^ a b c d "Games played by Andreas Bjelland in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Harlee Dean leaves Brentford". Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  27. ^ Wilmot, Lee (6 June 2018). "Defender involved in war of words with national team boss after World Cup snub". footballlondon. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Andreas Bjelland leaves Brentford". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  29. ^ "FCK henter Andreas Bjelland". F.C. København (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  30. ^ a b Gram-Hanssen, Lars. "Andreas Bjelland sætter ord på stor lønnedgang". Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Summary – Superliga – Denmark – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Andreas Bjelland smider 2020 i skraldespanden: Helt vildt frustrerende". Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  33. ^ a b Fischer, Theis (21 May 2022). "Andreas Bjelland skriver kontrakt med De Kongeblå". Lyngby Boldklub (in Danish). Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  34. ^ Abolhosseini, Farzam (15 July 2021). "B.T. afslører: Andreas Bjelland er færdig i FCK – skifter til Lyngby". B.T. (in Danish).
  35. ^ a b "Summary – 1. Division – Denmark – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  36. ^ a b Okstrøm, Oliver. "Efter uhyggelig skade: Her er dommen for Bjelland". Tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  37. ^ "Bjelland er tilbage for Lyngby – fire kan få debut mod FCN". bold.dk (in Danish). 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Bjelland fik nøglerolle i overlevelse: Frygtede for karrieren i efteråret". bold.dk (in Danish). 4 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  39. ^ "Summary – Superliga – Denmark – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  40. ^ "Tables – Superliga – Denmark – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Bjelland kunne have spillet for Norge". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g h Andreas Bjelland national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
  43. ^ "Under-21 – News". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  44. ^ "Under-21 2011 – History – Denmark". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  45. ^ "UEFA Euro 2012 – History – Denmark". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  46. ^ "Hariede udtager 35-mands bruttotrup". www.dbu.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  47. ^ "Bendtner vraget til VM: Her er Danmarks endelige trup". www.b.dk (in Danish). 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  48. ^ "BSV-træner fremhæver lillebror Bjelland". Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  49. ^ "Thomas Bjelland". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  50. ^ "Ejer en del af Superliga-modstander: – Ikke et problem". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  51. ^ "Andreas Bjelland". www.ronaldzwiers.0catch.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
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