Brede Hangeland

Personal information
Full name	Brede Paulsen Hangeland
Date of birth	June 20, 1981 (1981-06-20) (age 28)
Place of birth	Houston, United States
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	5
Youth career
1998–2000	FK Vidar
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2005	Viking FK	114	(6)
2006–2008	Copenhagen	63	(3)
2008–	Fulham	64	(1)
National team‡
2001–2003	Norway U21	12	(0)
2002–	Norway	56	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:11, 22 November 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Brede Paulsen Hangeland (born 20 June 1981) is a Norwegian footballer, currently playing for Fulham and the Norwegian national team, of which he is the captain. The son of a Norwegian oil company worker, Hangeland was born in Houston, Texas during his parents' two-year spell in the United States ^[1]. He plays as a central defender. The tall Norwegian with his characteristic calm nature is known for combining great aerial ability and physical strength with elegant technique, passing ability and pace.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Hangeland arrived at Viking from local club FK Vidar at the start of the 2001 season. He helped win the Norwegian cup in his debut season, playing as a central midfielder in the 3–0 victory over rivals Bryne FK in the final. He made his national team debut as a defensive midfielder in a 1–0 win against Austria in 2002, and has so far^[update] played 50 matches for Norway, mostly as a central defender. In 2005, he was made captain of Viking. When he left Viking he had played a total of 187 games for the club.

[edit] Copenhagen

On 16 January 2006 he signed a contract with the Danish club F.C. Copenhagen. The tall defender made an impact right from the start together with Danish captain Michael Gravgaard and the two defenders were feared. With several great performances in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League group stage Brede Hangeland was linked with numerous big clubs around Europe. During his time at Copenhagen, Hangeland won the Danish Superliga twice and the Royal League once. He played in 63 league games, scoring 3 times and total played over 100 games in the different tournaments.

[edit] Fulham

Hangeland with Fulham

During the summer of 2007 newspapers linked him with Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City.^[2] Hangeland refuted the rumours and said he was glad to play for Copenhagen,^{[citation needed]} but finally on January 18, 2008 after days of speculation, it was officially confirmed that he had signed for Fulham, where he was reunited with his former manager from Viking, Roy Hodgson.

On 29 January 2008 he made his Fulham debut when Fulham played Bolton Wanderers at Reebok Stadium. He was voted Man of the Match by Sky Sports after the game. Following a series of good performances he quickly became a fan's favorite at Craven Cottage. The club survived relegation in the 2007–08 season with Brede forming a formidable partnership with Aaron Hughes at the heart of Fulham's defence, a partnership that has continued to blossom during the 08/09 season with Fulham's average goals conceded per game at less than one.

On 12 August 2008 Hangeland was appointed captain of the Norwegian national football team, and on 23 August he scored his first goal for Fulham against Arsenal, with Fulham winning the game 1–0.

During the summer of 2009, media reports linked him to Arsenal, but Hangeland indicated that he was happy to remain at Fulham. On 22 October he scored his second goal for Fulham, in the Europe League match against AS Roma.^[3]

On the 27th of November 2009, due to his performances for Fulham Brede Hangeland was rewarded with a new deal with Fulham and put pen to paper on a contract that will see the Norwegian captain at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2013.

[edit] Honours

• Norwegian Cup winner: 2001 (with Viking FK)
• Danish Superliga winner: 2005-06 & 2006-07 (with Copenhagen)
• Royal League winner: 2005-06 (with Copenhagen)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Fulham profile
• Brede Hangeland career stats at Soccerbase