Andreas Bjelland (born 11 July 1988) is a Danish-Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Lyngby. He 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.[4]
![]() Bjelland playing for Copenhagen in 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Andreas Bjelland[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1988-07-11) 11 July 1988 (age 34) | ||
Place of birth | Fredensborg, Denmark[2] | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Club 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 | 6 | (0) |
National team | |||
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 00:09, 2 October 2022 (UTC) |
A centre back, Bjelland began his career in his homeland with Fredensborg BI and BSV,[5] before moving into the youth system at Superliga club Lyngby in 2001.[6] 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,[7] they had risen back to the 1st Division.[6] He made 9 appearances during the 2006–07 and after promotion to the Superliga, he made 11 appearances in 2007–08.[8] 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.[8] After five early-2009–10 season appearances,[8] Bjelland departed Lyngby on 31 August 2009.[9] He made 47 appearances and scored one goal for the club.[8]
Bjelland returned to the Superliga to sign for FC Nordsjælland on 31 August 2009.[9] He quickly established himself in the team and made 26 appearances, scoring one goal.[8] His season was capped by success in the DBU Pokalen, with Nordsjælland beating Midtjylland 2–0 in the final after extra time.[7] Bjelland had another successful season in 2010–11,[8] being named vice-captain and again winning the DBU Pokalen at the expense of Midtjylland.[7][10] 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.[7][8] Bjelland departed the club in June 2012, after making 85 appearances and scoring three goals during three seasons at Farum Park.[8]
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.[11] He had a debut season to forget at De Grolsch Veste,[12] spending six months out with a broken metatarsal and making only 14 appearances.[8] 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.[8] Bjelland was named as captain for the 2014–15 season,[10] but he was in and out of the team, due to injuries and suspensions.[8] He left the club on 2 July 2015,[13] after making 79 appearances and scoring three goals during his three seasons in Enschede.[8]
On 2 July 2015, Bjelland moved to England to sign for Championship club Brentford on a three-year contract for a club-record €3 million fee.[13][14] After recovering from a groin injury suffered in pre-season,[15] Bjelland made his debut for the club with a start in a League Cup first round match versus Oxford United on 11 August.[16] 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.[17][18]
Bjelland returned to full-contact training in late April 2016 and despite missing part of the 2016–17 pre-season with an abductor strain,[19] he entered the regular season fit.[20][21] He broke into the starting lineup in an unfamiliar left back role in mid-September 2016.[22][23] After the team's formation was switched to 3–5–2 three months later, he reverted to his usual centre back position.[24] Bjelland missed much of March and April 2017 through injury and finished the season with 29 appearances.[22][25]
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.[26] After Dean's departure at the end of the summer transfer window,[27] Bjelland continued as an automatic pick for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[28] Despite suffering from an achilles problem during the final two months of the season,[29] Bjelland finished the campaign with 35 appearances and one goal.[26] After failing to agree a new contract, he was released on 30 June 2018.[30] During three seasons at Griffin Park, Bjelland made 65 appearances and scored one goal.[2]
On 9 July 2018, Bjelland returned to Denmark to sign a four-year contract with Superliga club F.C. Copenhagen on a free transfer.[31] The deal made him one of the highest-paid players in Danish Superliga history.[32] He made 41 appearances and scored one goal during the club's 2018–19 Superliga-winning season.[8][33] 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.[8] Bjelland made three appearances during the opening month of the 2020–21 season,[8] before suffering a "bad cocktail" of problems with injury and COVID-19.[34] He did not appear again before the end of the season.[8] Bjelland spent the final year of his contract away on loan and was released when it expired.[35]
On 15 July 2021, Bjelland returned to Danish 1st Division club Lyngby on a season-long loan.[36] He made 25 appearances and scored one goal during a 2021–22 season which culminated in promotion to the Danish Superliga.[8][37] Taking a pay cut from his previous contract with F.C. Copenhagen,[32] Bjelland signed a one-year permanent contract with Lyngby in May 2022.[35] 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.[8][38] He underwent surgery five days later.[38]
Despite being eligible to represent Norway,[39] Bjelland represented Denmark at U16, U18, U19 and U21 level,[40] captaining the latter team and making three appearances at the 2011 European U21 Championship,[41] hosted in Denmark.[42]
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.[40] 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.[40] Bjelland scored his first international goal with penalty to seal a 2–0 friendly win over Australia on 2 June 2012.[40] He was called into Denmark's squad for Euro 2012,[43] but failed to make an appearance before the team crashed out in the group stage.[40]
Following Euro 2012,[12] 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.[12][40] He scored his second international goal in a 6–0 2014 World Cup qualifying win over Malta on 15 October 2013.[40] 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,[18] when he made his comeback playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–0 2018 World Cup qualifying win over Kazakhstan.[40] He was included in Denmark’s preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup,[44] but was not named in the final squad, due to injury.[45]
Bjelland was born to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother.[39] His younger brother Thomas was also a footballer for BSV and Hellerup.[46][47] He has two daughters.[10] 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.[48]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Lyngby | 2006–07[49] | 1st Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
2007–08[8] | Superliga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
2008–09[8] | 1st Division | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
2009–10[8] | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
Total | 46 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 47 | 1 | |||||
FC Nordsjælland | 2009–10[8] | Superliga | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
2010–11[8] | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||||
2011–12[8] | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||||
Total | 72 | 3 | 11 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 85 | 3 | ||||
FC Twente | 2012–13[8] | Eredivisie | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
2013–14[8] | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 0 | |||||
2014–15[8] | 26 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | ||||
Total | 67 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 79 | 3 | |||
Brentford | 2015–16[50] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2016–17[22] | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
2017–18[26] | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
Total | 62 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 65 | 1 | ||||
F.C. Copenhagen | 2018–19[8] | Superliga | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
2019–20[8] | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||||
2020–21[8] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
Total | 54 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | — | 75 | 1 | ||||
Lyngby (loan) | 2021–22[8] | 1st Division | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 1 | |||
Lyngby | 2022–23[8] | Superliga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
Total | 76 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 70 | 2 | |||||
Career totals | 322 | 10 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 375 | 10 |
FC Nordsjælland
FC Copenhagen
Lyngby
Lyngby BK – current squad | |
---|---|
|
Denmark squad – UEFA Euro 2012 | ||
---|---|---|
| ![]() |