Thomas Kahlenberg

Thomas Zeuthen Kahlenberg (born 20 March 1983) is a Danish former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

He started his career with Brøndby IF, winning two Danish Superliga championship, and played four seasons at French club Auxerre.

In April 2002, Kahlenberg signed his first professional contract with Brøndby.

After the club's youth team coach Tom Køhlert was promoted to head coach, he made his Superliga debut against arch-rivals, København on 12 May 2002, in a 1–1 draw, at the penultimate match of the 2001–02 season and helped Brøndby secure the 2001–02 Danish championship on goal difference.

Kahlenberg went on to make two appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2002–03 season, Kahlenberg played in the central midfield for Brøndby, where he set up the attacks with his great technique and view for the game.

Kahlenberg made his UEFA Champions League debut, coming against Dinamo Tirana in the first leg of the tournament second round, starting a match and played 67 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 win.

In the return leg, Kahlenberg started the whole game, as he helped the club win 4–0 to progress to the next round.

Kahlenberg made an interview over his frustration to score his first goal despite making good chances.

But on 10 November 2002 he scored his first goal for Brøndby, in a 1–1 draw against Esbjerg fB.

Two weeks later on 23 November 2002, Kahlenberg scored his second goal for the club, in a 7–1 win against Farum BK.

A month later, he was named Talent of the Year by the Players' Association and Ekstrabladet.

His performance attracted interests from European clubs, leading his agent stating Kahlenberg is worth 5 million kroner.

He later scored two more goals later in the 2002–03 season, coming against FC Midtjylland and Odense BK.

However, Brøndby failed to defend the league title after they ended up finishing second place in the league.

Despite this, Kahlenberg helped the club reach the Danish Cup Final after beating AaB 4–1 on aggregate.

In the final against FC Midtjylland, he started the whole game, as Brøndby won 3–0 to win the tournament.

Despite suffering injuries during the 2002–03 season, he ended the season, making forty–three appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Kahlenberg continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, playing in the central midfield for Brøndby.

However, in a match against Viborg on 17 August 2003, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, in a 2–2 draw and served a one match suspension as a result.

Amid to serving a one match suspension, Kahlenberg played in both legs of the UEFA Cup Qualification Round, as he helped the club win 5–0 on aggregate against Dinamo Minsk.

Kahlenberg returned to the starting line–up against FC Nordsjælland on 31 August 2003 and set up Brøndby's only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win.

This was followed up by scoring his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Akademisk Boldklub.

Six days later, on 20 September 2003, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–0 win against Nordsjælland.

It was announced on 3 October 2003 that Kahlenberg signed a contract with Brøndby, keeping him until 2008.

This was followed up by scoring in the next two matches against Esbjerg fB (brace) and AGF.

He then scored two more goals by the end of the year.

Kahlenberg also played an important role in the UEFA Cup matches when he helped the club beat Viktoria Žižkov and Schalke 04.

A month later, Kahlenberg, once again, was named Talent of the Year by the Players' Association and Ekstrabladet.

Despite signing a contract with Brøndby, his performance continued to attract interests from European clubs, mostly from Germany, but he ended up staying at the club.

Despite facing setbacks during the 2003–04 season, he went on to make forty–two appearances and scoring twelve times in all competitions, making him the club's top scorer.

He has played 46 games and scored five goals for the Denmark national team, and represented Denmark at the 2004 European Championship, 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2012 European Championship.

He was named 2004 Danish under-21 Player of the Year.

Born in Hvidovre, Denmark, Kahlenberg was fifteen years old when he moved from lower-league club Hvidovre IF to Brøndby.

Kahlenberg progressed through the ranks at the club's youth system and said that he learned a lot from development to "behaving as a professional footballer".

Kahlenberg then scored two separate in two separate matches; the first one came between 18 April 2004 and 24 April 2004 against AaB and Viborg respectively; and the second one came between 16 May 2004 and 23 May 2004 against FC Midtjylland and BK Frem.

However, Brøndby, once again, finished second in the league.

In the 2004–05 season, Kahlenberg was moved out as left midfielder, following the sale of Swedish international left winger Mattias Jonson.

He started the season well by setting up two goals in the first two league matches of the season.

His performance led him to sign a contract extension, keeping him until 2006.