Joel Kabongo
Personal information
Full name Joel Zakarias Kabongo
Date of birth (1998-04-05) 5 April 1998
Place of birth Albertslund, Denmark
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
2003–2008 Albertslund IF
2008–2017 Brøndby
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Brøndby 15 (0)
2017 → Fremad Amager (loan) 10 (0)
2021–2022 Randers 2 (0)
Total 27 (0)
International career
2013 Denmark U16 1 (0)
2016 Denmark U18 4 (0)
2016–2017 Denmark U19 6 (0)
2018–2019 Denmark U21 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joel Zakarias Kabongo (Danish pronunciation: [kʰæˈpʌŋko]; born 5 April 1998) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Club career

Early career

Kabongo started playing for hometown club Albertslund IF before signing a youth contract with Brøndby IF. During his time in the youth teams, Kabongo was a part of the under-17 team that won the championship and the domestic cup.[1] On 31 August 2017, Kabongo moved to second division club Fremad Amager on loan until 1 January 2018.[2] He made his first-team debut for Fremad on 3 September, coming on as a substitute for Heini Vatnsdal in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 win home win against Esbjerg fB.[3]

Brøndby

After returning to Brøndby from his loan spell, Kabongo saw playing time in the team's pre-season friendlies, being in the starting lineup in a match against Shakhtar Donetsk.[4] Kabongo made his official debut for Brøndby in the first match of the 2018–19 Danish Superliga season, starting in a 2–0 away win over Randers FC and playing the entire match.[5]

On 16 August 2018, Kabongo made his UEFA Europa League debut, starting in a 2–1 home win over Spartak Subotica. His debut was short-lived, however, as he was sent off in the 15th minute for a professional foul on Dejan Đenić.[6] On 26 August 2018, in a 2–1 win over Vendsyssel FF, Kabongo was sent off again, this time for a 92nd minute foul on Sander Fischer, resulting in a penalty and Kabongo being shown a second yellow card.[7] On 22 April 2019, in a match against FC Midtjylland, Kabongo suffered a cruciate ligament tear and was substituted in the first half.[8] The initial prognosis suggested that he would miss 12 months.[9]

On 5 March 2020, Kabongo, alongside several other Brøndby personnel, was placed in home quarantine after having met with former Brøndby-player Thomas Kahlenberg, who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. Kahlenberg had been infected at a birthday party in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[10] Kabongo made his comeback in football on 21 May 2020 in a friendly against Lyngby.[11][12]

Randers

On 27 July 2021 it was confirmed, that Kabongo had left Brøndby to join fellow league club Randers FC on a three-year deal.[13] He made his debut for the club on 8 August, coming on as a substitute for Frederik Lauenborg in the 88th minute in a 1–0 win.[14] On 28 August, he was injured again and was initially sidelined for the match against Silkeborg on the same day.[15] On 1 October, Kabongo announced via his Instagram account that he had suffered a more serious knee injury which had required surgery.[16]

On 1 August 2022, Randers FC announced that Kabongo had retired, aged 24, after failing to recover from a long-term knee injury originally sustained in a league match for Brøndby against Midtjylland in April 2019.[17][18]

Personal life

Kabongo and his girlfriend, Melanie Litgov, have one daughter, Veneda (born 30 April 2020 at Rigshospitalet).[19]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Danish Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brøndby 2017–18 Superliga 0000—00
2018–19 Superliga 150102[lower-alpha 1]0170
2019–20 Superliga 0000—00
2020–21 Superliga 0000—00
Total 1501020180
Fremad Amager (loan) 2017–18 1st Division 10010—110
Randers 2021–22 Superliga 20000020
2022–23 Superliga 0000—00
Total 20000020
Career total 2702020310
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Brøndby IF

References

  1. ↑ Ingemann Nielsen, Peter (12 April 2016). "Focus On: Joel Kabongo, the Centre-Back with the Big Ambitions" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Joel Kabongo Loaned Out to Fremad Amager" (in Danish). brondby.com. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Kabongo' Lightning-Fast Debut in Fremad Amager's win over Esbjerg" (in Danish). 3Point.dk. 3 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Startopstilling til træningskampen mod Shakhtar Donetsk" (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Kabongo: Fantastisk at få debut" (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Brøndbys 10 mand spiller sig videre i Europa" (in Danish). DR. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Svenningsen, Mette. "Vendsyssel kæmpede forgæves mod Brøndby". TV2 Nord. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Skræk-skade i Brøndby: Stjerne ude resten af 2019". Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Jensen, Kenneth. "Brøndby-forsvarer er blevet opereret: Forventes ude i omkring et år". Tipsbladet. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Jensen, Michael Sten (5 March 2020). "Tidligere landsholdsspiller isoleret med coronavirus". dr.dk. DR. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Margren, Sara (22 May 2020). "Kabongo fik BIF-comeback: Rigtig fed følelse". bold.dk. bold.dk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Møller Karlsen, Nanna (21 May 2020). "Kabongo efter comeback: Det var en rigtig fed følelse – har jeg ventet på i 12 måneder". 3point.dk. 3point. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. ↑ Randers FC forstærker sig med midterforsvareren Joel Kabongo fra de danske mestre, Brøndby IF, randersfc.dk, 27 July 2021
  14. ↑ "Randers vs. SønderjyskE - 8 August 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Dalgård, Jonas (28 August 2021). "Kabongo og Brock-Madsen ude for Randers". bold.dk (in Danish).
  16. ↑ @joelkabongo24 (1 October 2021). "Operation overstået ✔️ Nu venter der desværre en pause fra fodbolden.. Der skal arbejdes hårdt og er ikke i tvivl om det nok skal gå min vej igen 💪🏽 Ses snart på banen! ⚽️". Retrieved 5 October 2021 – via Instagram.
  17. ↑ "Joel Kabongo indstiller karrieren". Randers FC (in Danish). 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  18. ↑ "24-årig Superligaspiller tvunget til at indstille karrieren – TV 2". TV2 Sport (in Danish). 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  19. ↑ Møller Karlsen, Nanna (30 April 2020). "Joel Kabongo er blevet far". 3point.dk. 3point. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "Soccer-Brondby beat Nordsjaelland to clinch Danish league title". Reuters. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
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