Andreas Bjelland

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 1. 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 1.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]

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 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] He made 41 appearances and scored one goal during the club's 2018–19 Superliga-winning season.[8][32] 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.[33]

Despite being eligible to represent Norway,[34] Bjelland represented Denmark at U16, U18, U19 and U21 level,[35] captaining the latter team and making three appearances at the 2011 European U21 Championship,[36] hosted in Denmark.[37]

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.[35] 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.[35] Bjelland scored his first international goal with penalty to seal a 2–0 friendly win over Australia on 2 June 2012.[35] He was called into Denmark's squad for Euro 2012,[38] but failed to make an appearance before the team crashed out in the group stage.[35]

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][35] He scored his second international goal in a 6–0 2014 World Cup qualifying win over Malta on 15 October 2013.[35] 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.[35] He was included in Denmark’s preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup,[39] but was not named in the final squad, due to injury.[40]