Simon Kjær


Simon Thorup Kjær is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Italian club Milan and captains the Denmark national team.
He was named 2007 Danish under-19 talent of the year and 2009 Danish Talent of the Year. Kjær has played over 90 games for Denmark, including at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

FC Midtjylland

Born in Horsens, Kjær started playing football with small-time club Lund IF near Horsens, before moving to the youth team of Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland in 2004. He was named the best player of a French youth tournament in April 2006, and Midtjylland subsequently rejected offers from Lille OSC for Kjær and Jesper Juelsgård. He made his senior debut for Midtjylland in the Viasat Cup training matches in June 2006, and was promoted to the first team squad in January 2007. He had a successful trial with Real Madrid in August 2007, but their transfer offer was refused by FC Midtjylland. He signed a five-year contract with Midtjylland instead in September 2007.
He made his Superliga debut on 30 September 2007, in the 2–0 victory against AGF, and played four games in the first half of the Danish Superliga 2007–08 season. By October 2007, Kjær had attracted the likes of Premier League clubs Middlesbrough and Chelsea. In February 2008, Kjær signed a five-year contract with Italian club Palermo, effective from the summer 2008, earning Midtjylland a €4 million transfer fee. He played all 15 games in the second half of the Superliga season, forming a defensive partnership with Magnus Troest.

Palermo

In July 2008, Kjær joined Italian club Palermo.
He made his Palermo debut on 26 October 2008 as a half-time substitute against Fiorentina in Serie A. His performance won praise despite Palermo's 3–1 home defeat.
He scored his first goal for Palermo in his third appearance on 2 November in a 3–0 win over Chievo. He ended the 2008–09 season as Palermo's top scoring defender in Serie A with three goals.
Kjær confirmed his reputation as a first team regular in the 2009–10 season, and formed a strong defensive partnership with fellow centre-back Cesare Bovo. In September 2009, he signed an improved contract with the Sicilian club. He was named 2009 Danish Talent of the Year in November 2009, beating Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner and Ajax's Christian Eriksen after his successful first season in Palermo. In January 2010, he was also named as Danish Footballer of the Year for 2009. The next day, he celebrated with a goal against Cagliari that decided the match for Palermo as the match ended 2–1. He scored twice during the season, and played a total 35 Serie A games.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 30 June 2010, VfL Wolfsburg confirmed they had opened talks with Kjær. Wolfsburg signed the player in the presence of interest from teams across Europe including English sides Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur plus Italian side Juventus. On 8 July 2010, Wolfsburg signed Kjær for an undisclosed fee believed to be in excess of £10million. Following his move to Wolfsburg, Kjær said: "The transfer means I have the chance to play for a top club, I think this is the right step for me. We have a strong team that can challenge at the top of the Bundesliga. First, I need to secure a regular place." The deal made Kjær the most expensive Danish footballer in the world. Making the shift from Serie A football to the Bundesliga meant that Kjær would become one of the best paid Danish footballers with an annual salary of around €3 million. The move from Serie A to the Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg was not only economically justifiable for the young Danish defender. Both national coach Morten Olsen and Kjær himself said after the shift that this is both sporty and developmentally was a step in the right direction for him.
Kjær made his unofficial debut for VfL Wolfsburg in a pre-season fixture against FC Augsburg, in which Wolfsburg ran out 1–0 winners.
Kjær made his Bundesliga debut for Wolfsburg in a 2–1 loss against Bayern Munich on 20 August 2010.
After a poor start to the season for Wolfsburg, with varying results and unmet expectations; Kjær scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 2–0 win over Stuttgart when he headed the ball in over the line after a corner kick. Several statisticians have noted that the ball took a deflection, however the goal was eventually credited to Edin Džeko. Despite much criticism from the media for his poor performances, Kjær played in the starting lineup in all 17 Bundesliga matches in the autumn 2010 season. After having formed a successful partnership with Italy international Andrea Barzagli in Wolfsburg's central defence, Kjær would then feature alongside German international Arne Friedrich. In his 19th appearance in the league, Kjær scored his first Bundesliga goal for the club. Kjær was match winner in the 0–1 away game against Mainz 05, with a headed goal in the 83rd minute, which Kjær secured the first Wolfsburg victory in eight matches – after seven drawn games in a row.
Following Steve McClaren's sacking due to further poor results in February 2011, Felix Magath returned to Wolfsburg. Magath made a comment on criticising the 'poor condition' of the players he inherited from McClaren. During the English coach had Kjær started 20 out of 21 Bundesliga matches, after having been out with an injury in round 20 against Dortmund. In connection with the dismissal declared affection in public, that he was sorry for firing, and that he had been happy to work with Steve McClaren. In his first season, Kjær made 32 appearances and scored two goals.
In his second season at Wolfsburg, Kjær made three appearances for Wolfsburg. Kjær's time at Wolfsburg has been met by frustration, as the club narrowly avoided the drop last season and he has come under fire for some lacklustre displays.

Loan to Roma

In the summer transfer window 2011, Kjær revealed that head coach Magath told him that he'll be allowed to leave this summer and reported that he had fallen out favor with Magath.
Italian side Roma revealed the club are on the verge of signing Kjær on a €10 million move from Wolfsburg as a replacement for centre-back Philippe Mexès who left for AC Milan on a free transfer. However, the move to Roma was put back on hold after reports in Italy claimed the defender had been recalled by his club Wolfsburg. Instead on 30 August 2011, Kjær went out on a season-long loan deal to Roma, with the option to purchase at the end of the season.
Kjær made his debut for Roma in a 0–0 draw against Inter Milan on 17 September 2011. On 16 October 2011, Kjær received a red in a 2–1 loss against Lazio.
Roma director Walter Sabatini dropped a strong hint that the club may decide against signing Kjær on a permanent basis due to his poor performance at Roma. He has been largely disappointing for Roma after he was to blame after Roma's 4–2 defeat to Cagliari on 1 February 2012. In the end, Roma decided against signing Kjær permanently, stating that he had made too many costly errors.

Return to Wolfsburg

After his loan-spell at Roma ended, Kjær stated he would not return to Wolfsburg, after coach Magath decided the Dane was not going to be part of his first team plans for the club's 2012–13 season. However, Magath soon after announced he was now willing to bury the hatchet with Kjær and would be keen to bring him into his first team at Wolfsburg.

Lille

On 5 July 2013, it was announced that Kjær had signed a four-year deal with Ligue 1 side, Lille. Kjær impressed during his first season in the French Ligue 1 as leader of the best defense in the major European national leagues in the 2013–14 season conceding only 26 goals in 38 matches including an impressive number of 21 clean sheets.
As a result of the solid performances Kjær frequently appeared on various medias team of the week during the entire season, eventually earning a spot on "the Ligue 1 Team of the Season" alongside teammate and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. He scored his first ever Ligue 1 goal against Lorient with a deflected free kick.

Fenerbahçe

On 16 June 2015, Kjær joined Turkish side Fenerbahçe, signing a four-year deal for €7.65 million.

Sevilla

On 2 August 2017, Kjær joined Spanish side Sevilla signing a four-year deal.
On 1 September 2019, Kjær was loaned to Atalanta. However, just like Martin Škrtel, he failed to convince the team's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and, as a result, the club chose to terminate the loan deal six months ahead of expiration.
Loan to Milan
On 13 January 2020, Kjær signed with Milan on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season, with the option to make the transfer permanent for an undisclosed sum. He had been linked with the club in the late 2000s and early 2010s during his time with Palermo and even praised in the media by then-current Milan's head coach Carlo Ancelotti yet the move eventually broke down as two clubs failed to agree on his transfer fee. In his debut season under head coach Stefano Pioli, Kjær would compete with other central defenders, namely Mateo Musacchio, Léo Duarte, and Matteo Gabbia, for a starting line-up spot in the team's back four alongside left central defender and captain Alessio Romagnoli. On 15 January 2020, he made his debut for the club, playing for 82 minutes in a home 3–0 win against S.P.A.L. in the round of 16 of Coppa Italia. Four days later, he played his first game in Serie A as a Milan player in a dramatic 3–2 home win against Udinese. Kjær would make 11 more appearances for Milan before the club bought him out from Sevilla for €3.5 million on 15 July 2020, the expiry date of the buy-out clause in his loan deal.

Milan

On 15 July 2020, Kjær signed a contract with Milan until 30 June 2022.

International career

Kjær made his debut for the Denmark national under-19 football team in September 2006, at the age of 17. He played a total 10 games and scored one goal for the under-19s until October 2007, and was named 2007 Danish under-19 talent of the year as the under-19s coach found Kjær had shown himself a talented defender despite his young age. Following his breakthrough with Midtjylland, Kjær was rested from the under-19s in March 2008 to avoid wearing him out.
He was called up for the Denmark national under-21 football team in May 2008 as a replacement for Michael Jakobsen, making his debut in a 0–4 defeat against the Germany under-21s. He was out of the under-21 team during his first time at Palermo, but was recalled in October 2008, spending the game as an unused substitute to Magnus Troest and Mathias Jørgensen. Kjær was called up to the senior Danish national team in February 2009, as national team coach Morten Olsen was impressed by his form for Palermo, and saw him and Per Krøldrup as main competitors to replace the retired defender Martin Laursen. He was an unused substitute for the friendly match against Greece, and returned to the under-21s for a single game in March 2009, playing well enough that under-21 coach Keld Bordinggaard recommended him for a recall to Olsen's squad.
He was once again a part of the senior squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Sweden on 6 June 2009. Per Krøldrup was unavailable due to injury, and Kjær played the full game despite an injury of his own, as Denmark won 1–0. Kjær established himself in the Danish starting line-up, played the following three qualification games, and helped Denmark qualify for the 2010 World Cup. For the September 2009 qualification game against Portugal, Kjær told reporters that Cristiano Ronaldo should be stopped by a series of small fouls and one hard tackle. This prompted a complaint to FIFA by the Portuguese Football Federation requesting Kjær be suspended for unsportsman-like conduct, but the case was dropped following the mediation of the Danish Football Association.
On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach Morten Olsen announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He was in the starting eleven in Denmark's first two games, against the Netherlands and Cameroon, where he received a yellow card in both games and therefore missed the third and crucial group game against Japan. However, in the match against Cameroon he was highly praised for his excellent long-range passing which helped to set up Nicklas Bendtner's first goal.
On 7 September 2010, following Denmark's win over Iceland, Stig Tøfting was not impressed by Kjær and criticized him for making too many mistakes. This left Kjær offended and he hit back on Tøfting saying "These statements hit me personally! It is the first time that I have come under pressure and I try to take these words as a motivation. I am not happy about his opinion. He just says that to stay in the public attention. He should be serious!"
Kjær was a part of the Danish UEFA Euro 2012-team, and was among the starting 11 in each of the three group games, against the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany. He served as Denmark's captain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 March 2013Andrův stadion, Olomouc, Czech Republic2–03–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.14 November 2014Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia2–13–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
3.3 June 2016Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan1–02–2 2016 Kirin Cup

Honours

Individual