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Kevin Mensah

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Kevin Mensah
Mensah in 2020
Personal information
Full name Kevin Niclas Mensah
Date of birth (1991-05-15) 15 May 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Viborg, Denmark
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Full-back,[1] forward
Team information
Current team
 Brøndby
Number 14
Youth career
1998–2003 Viborg Søndermarken IK[2]
2003–2008 FK Viborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2015 Viborg FF 110 (20)
2015–2017 Esbjerg fB 38 (8)
2017– Brøndby 126 (5)
International career‡
2007 Denmark U16 2 (0)
2007–2008 Denmark U17 12 (1)
2008–2009 Denmark U18 4 (2)
2009 Denmark U19 5 (1)
2010 Denmark U20 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:41, 10 May 2019 (UTC)

Kevin Niclas Mensah (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰevin ˈne̝klæs ˈmensæ]; born 10 May 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for the Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF.

Starting his career in Viborg FF, Mensah later moved to Esbjerg fB before joining Brøndby in 2017. Originally a forward, Mensah transitioned into a utility player while at Brøndby, starting out as a striker but later becoming a full-back due to a shortage of available players on the position. Under head coach Niels Frederiksen, Mensah has been utilised at both right and left wing-back, where his agility and attacking mentality have come to their right. In July 2019, he was appointed new vice-captain of the club.

Mensah has made appearances for various national youth teams of Denmark while at Viborg, gaining 26 total caps in which he scored four goals.

Career

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Viborg FF

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Mensah with Viborg in 2011

Mensah played his first years of youth football for Søndermarkens IK in his hometown Viborg. When he was 15 he signed with Viborg FF after being part of talent project FK Viborg.[3]

In 2008, he trained regularly with the Danish Superliga squad for Viborg FF, and on 2 May 2009, at 17 years of age, he scored his first goal for the team, in a 2–0 win over Thisted FC in the Danish second tier.[4] The day before his 18th birthday, he was permanently promoted to the first team.[5] He had previously been on trial at Premier League clubs Arsenal and Newcastle United for several laps despite his young age.[6]

On 30 June 2011, his contract with Viborg FF expired, and a few days before he went on a trial with FC Nordsjælland without this materialising in a contract offer.[7] Therefore, Mensah returned to Viborg FF to keep his physical shape straight together with former teammates. When he still had not received any offers from clubs at the beginning of the next season, he started playing as an amateur for Viborg FF. In August 2011, the club offered him a new professional contract,[8] which meant that he signed a two-year deal with the Viborg FF in October 2011.[9]

After Viborg FF reached promotion to the Superliga in 2013, Mensah signed another two-year contract extension keeping him in his hometown club until 30 June 2015.[10]

Esbjerg fB

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On 2 February 2015 Esbjerg fB signed Mensah. Originally, he would transfer to Esbjerg in the summer of 2015. However, Viborg and Esbjerg reached an agreement on a transfer on the last day of the January transfer window, as Viborg had found a replacement for him in the meantime.[11]

On 2 March 2015, Mensah made his debut for Esbjerg in a Danish Superliga match against AaB, coming in as a 72nd-minute substitute for Mohammed Fellah.[12]

Brøndby

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On 23 January 2017, Brøndby confirmed that they had reached an agreement with Esbjerg for the transfer of Mensah.[13] He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.[14] Due to a groin injury, he made his debut months later on 10 April 2017, coming off the bench for Kamil Wilczek in the 74th minute during a 1–0 loss to Copenhagen in a derby at Brøndby Stadium.[15][16] He scored his first goal for the club on 7 May in a 4–2 away loss to Midtjylland.[17]

In the final match of the 2017–18 season, Mensah tore his anterior cruciate ligament, requiring knee surgery that sidelined him for seven to nine months.[18]

After making his return in February 2019, and following the departure of right-back Johan Larsson to Guingamp, Brøndby head coach Alexander Zorniger opted to move Mensah to right back to accommodate the shortage of backs in the squad, which meant that he would serve as the backup to Jens Martin Gammelby.[1] Due to Anthony Jung's poor form at left back, Mensah was utilised in this position too in the 2018–19 season with great success.[19]

In July 2019, he was appointed new vice-captain of the club.[20]

On 6 March 2022, Mensah tore his anterior cruciate ligament once again in a league match against Silkeborg, and was expected to be sidelined for a year.[21]

After Andreas Maxsø's departure in January 2023, Mensah was appointed Brøndby's captain by new head coach Jesper Sørensen.[22] He made his comeback on 10 April 2023, 13 months after suffering the knee injury, replacing Blas Riveros in the 64th minute of a 2–1 loss to Nordsjælland.[23][24] In June 2023, Mensah extended his contract with Brøndby until 31 December 2024.[25]

Playing style

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Mensah plays the ball with both his right-foot and left-foot,[26] and has been described as a technical marvel, an elegant offensive player with a wonderful technique that makes him a crowd favorite in addition of a footspeed that makes him uncomfortable to handle for any defender.

Personal life

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His brother Jeff Mensah, also a professional footballer, retired in 2022.[27] Kevin Mensah holds both Ghanaian and Danish passports.[28]

Honours

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Viborg

Brøndby

References

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  1. ^ a b Jensen, Kenneth; Arp, Andreas. "Mensah er klar til omskoling: Har altid vidst, jeg vil være højre back" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Kevin Mensah - fra Viborg til Vestegnen med et smil". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  3. ^ Viborg sikrer sig stortalent Archived 2006-10-20 at the Wayback Machine Fodboldnyt.com, 18. oktober 2006
  4. ^ 17 årig sikrer Viborg FF sejr over TFC DR Midt/Vest 2 May 2009
  5. ^ Mensah rykkes op i A-truppen Viborg FF – officiel site
  6. ^ Player profile VFF.dk
  7. ^ Kristensen, Danni (29 June 2011). "Kevin Mensah prøver sig af i Nordsjælland" (in Danish). Viborg Stifts Folkeblad. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  8. ^ Blond, Mikael (31 August 2011). "Kevin Mensah prøver sig af i Nordsjælland" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  9. ^ Viborg F.F. skriver med Kevin Mensah Viborg FF, accessed 10 May 2019
  10. ^ Helmin, Jesper (17 June 2013). "Mensah forlænger med Viborg" (in Danish). Bold.dk. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. ^ Kevin Mensah skifter omgående til EfB Archived 2015-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, efb.dk, 2 Februar 2015. Accessed 10 May 2019
  12. ^ "EFB 1-3 AaB". superstats.dk. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Kevin Mensah skifter til Brøndby IF". Brøndby IF (Press release) (in Danish). 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  14. ^ Miles, Peter (23 January 2017). "Kevin Mensah skifter til Brøndby". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  15. ^ Miles, Peter (22 March 2017). "Mensah i spil til Brøndby-debut efter pausen". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  16. ^ Tornby, Gustav (18 April 2017). "Mensah: Er kommet for at vinde kampe". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  17. ^ Ettinger-Erichsen, Robin (8 May 2017). "Målscorer Mensah: Ikke Brøndby værdigt". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Kevin Mensah er ude med skade i syv måneder". DR (in Danish). 23 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Brøndby-chef fik svar: Jeg er stadig bekymret". Ekstra-Bladet. 22 April 2019.
  20. ^ Hoffskov, Ole (11 July 2019). "Kevin Mensah ny viceanfører i Brøndby IF". Tipsbladet. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Kevin Mensah har overrevet sit korsbånd". Brøndby IF (in Danish). 8 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022.
  22. ^ Nelausen, Raymund (15 February 2023). "Kevin Mensah er ny anfører i Brøndby". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Nordsjælland vs. Brøndby 2–1: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  24. ^ Bellaiche, Emil (11 April 2023). "Mensah kunne ikke nyde sit comeback: En følelsesmæssig tid". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Brøndby IF og Kevin Mensah forlænger". Brøndby IF (in Danish). 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Kevin Mensah". zerozerofootball.com. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  27. ^ "Jeff Mensah stopper karrieren". Viborg FF (in Danish). 29 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Danish giants Brøndby announce signing of Danish-born Ghanaian striker Kevin Mensah on three-year deal". Ghana Soccernet. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  29. ^ Rasmussen, Thomas M. (13 May 2013). "Viborg: Fantastisk og fortjent oprykning". TV 2 (in Danish). Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Viborg slår Roskilde og er tilbage i Superligaen". Sjællandske Medier (in Danish). 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Soccer-Brondby beat Nordsjaelland to clinch Danish league title". Yahoo Sports. Reuters. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  32. ^ "Brøndby vs. Silkeborg – 10 May 2018 – Soccerway". Soccerway. Perform. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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