Jakob Kjeldbjerg

Infobox Football biography
playername= Jakob Kjeldbjerg
fullname = Jakob Kjeldbjerg Jensen
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1969|10|21
cityofbirth = Frederiks
countryofbirth = Denmark
position = Defender
years = 19??-19??
19??-19??
19??-1993
1993-1997
clubs = Holstebro BK
Viborg FF
Silkeborg IF
Chelsea FC
caps(goals) =
52 (2)
nationalyears = 1989-1992
1992-1994
nationalteam = Denmark under-21
Denmark
nationalcaps(goals) = 20 (1)
14 (1)

Jakob Kjeldbjerg Jensen (born 21 October 1969) is a Danish former footballer who played as a central defender. Kjeldbjerg won 14 caps and scored one goal for the Danish national team, and represented Denmark at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Kjeldberg started playing football lower-league clubs Holstebro BK and Viborg FF, before moving to Danish top-flight team Silkeborg IF. He was selected team captain for the Danish under-21 national team which competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and won the 1992 Danish under-21 Player of the Year award. He made his national team debut in November 1992, and scored his only national team goal in a 2-2 draw with the United States in January 1993. He played in the 1993 Artemio Franchi Trophy game against Argentina, where he was praised for his effective marking of Argentinian playmaker Maradona.

In August 1993, he moved abroad in England. He was bought by Chelsea F.C. in the FA Premier League, in a transfer deal worth £485,000 . Eighty years after Nils Middelboe made his Chelsea debut in 1913, Kjeldbjerg became the second Dane to play for the club. He stayed with Chelsea for four years, and featured in the side which lost to Manchester United in the 1994 FA Cup final. In a February 1995 game against Millwall F.C., Kjeldbjerg dislocated his shoulder, the first incident in a long list of injuries. He injured a ligament in his left knee, and was unable to fully recover. He ended his professional football career in 1997.

In May 1998, he began hosting football matches from the Danish Superliga and UEFA Champions League, for the Danish television channel TV3. In 2002, he became the host in TV3's Danish version of the "Expedition Robinson" reality show. In August 2007, he became the new host for Onside, a popular football tv-magazine.

External links

* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerid=2354 Danish national team profile]
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=4244 Soccerbase career statistics]