Ken Ilsø Larsen (born 2 December 1986) is a Danish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who last played for

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

. He has previously represented

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

at U19, U20 and U21 levels. Ilsø is also currently pursuing a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in law at the

University of Southern Denmark The University of Southern Denmark ( da, Syddansk Universitet, lit=South Danish University, abbr. SDU) is a university in Denmark that has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. The university offers a number of joint programmes i ...

Youth career

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Ilsø started his footballing career at local amateur club BK Pioneren. He subsequently was joined by his brother

Marco Ilsø Marco Ilsø is a Danish actor. His first acting role was as a 14-year-old, playing the lead in 24 episodes of ''Mikkel og guldkortet''. Introduced in season 4, he played Hvitserk in '' Vikings''. Selected filmography * '' Rebounce'' as Niclas ...

, playing for several youth teams in Copenhagen. In 2004, he was signed as a youth player by Dutch side

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 Jul ...

, after being labelled as one of Denmark's finest talents. On 16 April 2006, he made his senior team debut for SC Heerenveen, also his only senior appearance with the club, in an

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

match against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and hos ...

as a 75th-minute substitute for teammate

Arnold Bruggink Arnold Bruggink (born 24 July 1977) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Born in Almelo, Overijssel, Bruggink started his professional career at FC Twente, where he became the club's le ...

Club career

SC Heerenveen

Following his first-team debut with

, Ilsø never managed to make another senior team appearance for the rest of his time at the club. He had a brief loan spell with

FC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a tot ...

on-loan from SC Heerenveen, but did not make a single appearance for the Dutch club.

SønderjyskE

Unable to break into the first-team plans of SC Heerenveen, Ilsø returned in 2007 to Denmark, and joined local club

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team ( SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams ( SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey t ...

. He had a more successful spell with SønderjyskE, scoring 12 goals in 52 league matches for a side that was threatened by relegation.

FC Midtjylland

In summer 2009, Ilsø was signed by

FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...

, who ended in the fourth spot of the Superliga the prior season. Ilsø quickly became an important player for FC Midtjylland. For instance, in the 2010–11 season opener against

Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...

, Ilsø scored the decisive goal to earn a win for the club .

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Following his performance with FC Midtjylland, Ilsø joined

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

club

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

on-loan in the 2010 winter transfer window. Fortuna Düsseldorf subsequently signed him permanently in the following year's summer transfer window, for a reported fee of €300,000. On 15 December 2012, in a

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

match against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...

, Ilsø played an integral role by scoring the decisive goal for Fortuna Düsseldorf to end the tie in a 2–1 victory. By the end of the Bundesliga 2012–13 season, Fortuna Düsseldorf was in the 17th place, and had to face

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

in the relegation play-off. Across both legs of the play-off, Ilsø assisted twice, once in each leg, but could not prevent Fortuna Düsseldorf from being relegated back to 2. Bundesliga after a single season in the top flight as the aggregate score of the play-off ended in a 3–4 loss.

VfL Bochum

In the summer 2013 transfer window, a transfer deal was agreed, with Ilsø joining

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundesli ...

from Fortuna Düsseldorf. Apart from playing for VfL Bochum's first team, Ilsø also made a single appearance for the club's reserve team, VfL Bochum II, in a

Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...

match against

Sportfreunde Siegen Sportfreunde Siegen is a German association football club based in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. After going through insolvency in 2008, the first team was forcibly relegated to the fifth-tier NRW-Liga. Promotion to fourth division Regionalli ...

Guangzhou R&F

In February 2014, Ilsø joined

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home ven ...

, but he left the club after only three months due to a reduction in his playing time.

Home United

In January 2015, Ilsø signed a contract with

Home United Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Since the 2021 season, the ...

to play for the remainder of the season. Before he signed the contract, he attracted the interest of several clubs from his home country, as well as from Thailand, but Ilsø wanted to embark on an adventure far away from home. Ilsø ultimately decided to sign for Home United as he was impressed by the club's youth development philosophy. Ilsø scored his first competitive goal for Home United just 23 minutes into his

S.League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which ...

debut. Ilsø scored his second goal for Home United in his second match, finding the back of the net from the spot. He continued his goalscoring start to the season by scoring his 3rd goal in the 3rd game of the season. He also laid on an assist for teammate

Sirina Camara Sirina Camara (born 12 April 1991) is a French footballer who plays for S.League club Home United as a defender. Camara can play either as a left-back or centre-back. Prior to playing for Home United, Camara has also played for Étoile and Yo ...

to secure his team's first win of the season over

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league ...

. Ilsø notched his 4th of the season in his 4th consecutive league match for Home United, scoring the first goal of a 2–2 draw against

Brunei DPMM Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club in English, commonly known as DPMM FC) is a professional football club based in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The club played in the Brunei ...

. On 23 December 2015, it was confirmed by Home United that Ilsø will be staying with the club to participate in the

2016 S.League The 2016 S.League (also known as the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st season of the S.League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1996. The s ...

season. Home United coach, Philippe Aw, was chosen to manage the Singapore Selection side for the 2016 Sultan of Selangor Cup. Ilsø was selected in the 18-man squad for the cup tie that took place at the

Shah Alam Stadium The Shah Alam Stadium (Malay: ''Stadium Shah Alam'') is a multi-purpose stadium located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. It is used mostly for football matches but also has facilities for athletics. The stadium is the officially home of Red Gi ...

on 7 May 2016. Ilsø featured for the entirety of the match which eventually ended 1–1 (3–4 on penalties) in a win for the Singapore Selection team. In a S.League fixture against reigning champions

, Ilsø scored 2 of Home United's 5 goals in an eventual 5–0 win, bringing his personal tally to a total of 6 goals in his last 5 competitive games. The win also represented Home United's fourth successive win in the S.League, last achieved by the club in the

2013 S.League The 2013 S.League was the 18th season since the establishment of the S.League, the top professional football league in Singapore. It is known as the Yeo's Great Eastern S.League for sponsorship reasons. The season began in February 2013 and en ...

season. Ilsø went on to extend his goal scoring streak to a record 8 goals in his last 7 league games after netting once each in S.League fixtures against Young Lions on 11 June 2016 and

Albirex Niigata (S) Albirex Niigata Singapore FC, abbreviated as Albirex Niigata (S), is a Singaporean football club that plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan. History Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellit ...

on 18 June 2016. On 22 November 2016, it was announced that Ilsø will not extend his stay at Home United beyond the 2016 S.League season, despite being offered a contract extension.

Kedah FA

Following speculation after his rejection of a contract renewal with Home United, Ilsø was confirmed to be on trial with the

2016 Malaysia Cup The 2016 Malaysia Cup ( Malay: ''Piala Malaysia 2016'') was the 90th edition of Malaysia Cup tournament organised by Football Association of Malaysia. The 2016 Malaysia Cup began on July with a preliminary round. A total of 16 teams took part in ...

champions,

Kedah FA Kedah Darul Aman Football Club ( ms, Kelab Bola Sepak Kedah Darul Aman) is a football club based in Alor Setar, Kedah, that competes in the Malaysia Super League. They are the only team in the history of Malaysian football to have won two tre ...

, on 27 December 2016. It was later officially announced on 3 January 2017 that Ilsø had signed a one-year contract with the club to play for the entirety of the

2017 Malaysia Super League The 2017 Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia 2017) was the 14th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/malay2017.html 2017 Liga Super The season began o ...

season, after impressing head coach Tan Cheng Hoe during the trial. Ilsø joins Kedah FA as the club's third foreign signing, linking up with

Liridon Krasniqi Liridon Krasniqi (born 1 January 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim. Born in Kosovo, he represents the Malaysia national team. Krasniqi made his senior debu ...

of Kosovo, and

Sandro da Silva Mendonça Sandro da Silva Mendonça (born 1 October 1983 in Brazil), or simply Sandro is a Brazilian football player who plays as an attacking midfielder. Club career Kedah On 9 April 2015 Sandro signed a contract with Malaysian side club Kedah. He mad ...

of Brazil.

Penang FA

On 16 January 2018, Ilsø signed a one-year contract with

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League ( ms, Liga Premier) was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The league replaced the former second-tier league, Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier Leagu ...

side

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

. He terminated his contract with Penang by mutual consent on 18 May 2018. Ilso claimed that Penang have not paid him for three months from February 2018 and he will take the case to FIFA through the Denmark FA if he is not paid soon.

Adelaide United

On 6 July 2018, Ilsø signed a one-year deal with Australian

club

. Ilsø made his debut in a friendly match against

National Premier League The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it ...

side

Para Hills Knights Para Hills Knights SC is a Association football, soccer club based in Para Hills West, South Australia, a suburb in the north of Adelaide. Founded in 1964, the club has multiple State League 1 South Australia, State League championships, and hav ...

where he earned an assist in a 2–0 victory on 10 July 2018. Ilsø was suspended by

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only estab ...

(FFA) under its National Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for cocaine. On 18 October 2019,

FFA FFA may refer to: Aviation and military * First Flight Airport, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States * Free-fire area in U.S. military parlance * Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein, a Swiss aircraft and railway vehicle manufacturer * ...

suspended Ilsø for 2 years after testing positive for Benzoylecgonine (metabolite of Cocaine). Shortly after this, Ilsø announced his immediate retirement from professional football.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

FC Midtjylland

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official " knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will qu ...

** Runner-up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Home United

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost football cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

** Runner-up:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Kedah FA

* Malaysian Charity Cup ** Winner:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

** Winner:

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austr ...

: 2018

References

External links

* *
Ken Ilsø profile – Danish National Team

FourFourTwo Article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilso, Ken Living people 1986 births Danish men's footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers SC Heerenveen players SønderjyskE Fodbold players FC Midtjylland players Fortuna Düsseldorf players VfL Bochum players VfL Bochum II players Guangzhou City F.C. players Home United FC players Kedah Darul Aman F.C. players Penang F.C. players Adelaide United FC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Chinese Super League players Singapore Premier League players Malaysia Super League players A-League Men players Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Singapore Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Association football midfielders Association football forwards University of Southern Denmark alumni People from Solrød Municipality Danish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Danish expatriate sportspeople in China Denmark youth international footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Kjøbenhavns Boldklub players Boldklubben Frem players PEC Zwolle players Sportspeople from Region Zealand