Christian Keller (footballer)

Christian Thielsen Keller (born 17 August 1980) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented Denmark at various youth levels, making a combined total of 27 appearances.

For other people named Christian Keller, see Christian Keller (disambiguation).

Christian Keller
Personal information
Full name Christian Thielsen Keller
Date of birth (1980-08-17) 17 August 1980
Place of birth Brørup, Denmark
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Vejle BK[1] 85 (11)
2002–2005 Viborg FF[2] 92 (11)
2005 Torino
2005–2006 Lazio 7 (0)
2006–2009 Stabæk 56 (8)
2009–2011 Kasımpaşa 57 (0)
2011–2016 Randers FC 104 (2)
2016–2017 Viborg FF 22 (1)
International career
1996 Denmark U-16[3] 4 (0)
1996–1997 Denmark U-17[3] 16 (2)
1997–1998 Denmark U-19[3] 5 (0)
2000 Denmark U-21[3] 2 (0)
2007 Danish League XI[3] 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Brørup,[4] Keller started playing football in nearby Vejen,[4] before moving to top-flight club Vejle BK. He was called up for the Danish under-17 national team in January 1996,[3] at age 15, before making his under-16 national debut in March 1996.[3] He made his senior debut for Vejle in April 1999.[1] A regular in the Vejle starting line-up, he moved to Viborg FF when Vejle were relegated to the secondary Danish 1st Division at the end of the 2001–02 season. He spent three years at Viborg, playing 92 league games and scoring 11 goals,[2] until his contract ran out in June 2005.

He moved abroad on a free transfer, to play for Italian club Torino F.C., who looked to win promotion for the top-flight Serie A championship. Because of financial irregularities, Torino were not allowed to compete in the Serie A, and were relegated to the secondary Serie B division. After a few games for Torino, Keller was brought to Serie A club S.S. Lazio in August 2005. He played seven Serie A games for the club before moving to Stabæk Fotball in August 2006.

While at Stabæk, Keller was called up for the league national team by national team manager Morten Olsen in January 2007, to play a number of unofficial national team games in the United States, El Salvador and Honduras. He played in all three games of the tour.[5] Keller was also voted 'Player of the Year' by the Stabæk supporters in 2008, after the club took home the Norwegian Championship.[6]

In June 2009, Keller signed a contract with Turkish club Kasımpaşa S.K. On 23 June 2011, he returned to Denmark after signing a four-year deal with Randers.[7]

After signing a one-year contract with Viborg FF in the summer of 2016, the club announced in January 2017, that Keller would retire when his contract expired in the summer of 2017.[8]

Jonas Borring and Keller

In March 2016 it emerged that Keller had been together with Jonas Borring's now ex-wife. This episode escalated quickly, and Keller's teammates in Randers FC would not play with him, though he was the captain of the team. Keller was out of the squad after this episode. Borring left the club in March shortly after the incident, and on 20 June 2016 it was announced that Randers FC had released Keller.[9][10]

Honours

Stabæk

Individual

  • Stabæk player of the year: 2008 (selected by the fans)[6]

References
  1. (in Danish) Christian Keller at Vejle BK
  2. Christian Keller at Danskfodbold.com
  3. (in Danish) Christian Keller – Alle hold (Alle kampe) at Danish Football Association
  4. (in Danish) Superligaspiller køber hus og værksted i Lindknud, JydskeVestkysten, 1 June 2003
  5. (in Danish) Christian Keller – Ligalandshold (Alle uofficielle kampe) at Danish Football Association
  6. (in Danish)Stabæk player of the year
  7. (in Danish)Randers henter Christian Keller
  8. Kellers karriere er færdig til sommer‚ bold.dk, 17 April 2017
  9. Borring tager konsekvensen af Keller-fjendskab: Forlader Randers med øjeblikkelig virkning, bt.dk, 23 March 2016
  10. Randers ophæver med Keller, bold.dk, 20 June 2016
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