Kristian Majdahl Pedersen (born 4 August 1994) is a Danish 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 plays as a defender for

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 ...

club

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs ''Kölner Ballsp ...

and the Denmark national team. He plays predominantly at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

but can also play at

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He has represented his country at under-21 level, and made his senior debut in 2020.

Club career

He started his early career at Benløse IF, before moving to fourth division side Ringsted IF.

HB Køge

He signed for

HB Køge HB Køge () is a professional Danish football club based primarily in the town of Herfølge, and secondly in the town of Køge, both in the Køge Municipality, part of 'Region of Zealand', in the eastern part of Zealand, south of Copenhagen. ...

on 24 July 2014 under Head Coach Henrik Pedersen. His debut for HB Køge came on 25 July 2014 when he came on as a substitute with the score at 1–1 on the first day of the first division in the away game at

Skive IK Skive Idræts Klub, commonly known as Skive IK, SIK (especially locally) or simply Skive, is a Danish professional football club based in Skive, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1901, the club is affiliated with the DBU Jutland associatio ...

in the 77th minute. On 19 April 2015 he scored his first goal for HBK against AB in a 3–0 win. In the 2015/16 winter break he joined German

side Borussia Moenchengladbach on trial but a move did not materialise. In the second half he came for HB Køge to twelve games in the Danish second division. Pedersen went on to play on more than 50 occasions for the club, scoring twice in total, against AB and Skive.

Union Berlin

Following two seasons at Køge, he signed for German

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 ...

side Union Berlin in 2016. on a three-year deal. He made his debut for Union Berlin on 6 August 2016 against

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 ...

in a 2–1 defeat. 30 September 2016, Pedersen received a red card against 1. FC Nürnberg. Pedersen scored his first goal for Union Berlin on 24 February 2018, in a 2–1 win against

SV Sandhausen Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The club's greatest success c ...

Birmingham City

Pedersen signed a four-year contract with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

(second-tier) club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

on 25 June 2018; the fee was undisclosed. However, Birmingham's unaddressed Financial Fair Play issues left the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

(EFL) "exceptionally disappointed" that the club had nevertheless proceeded with a purchase, and they refused to register him. Two days before the season was due to start, and "after consideration of the legal position as between the Club, Player and the EFL", an agreement was reached such that Pedersen's registration was allowed. He duly made his debut on the opening day, starting at left back in a 2–2 draw at home to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

1. FC Köln

In July 2022, he joined

] on a free transfer.

International career

Pedersen has represented Denmark national under-21 football team, Denmark U-21's. Making his debut in 2016 against Ukraine. Pedersen made his senior international debut on 7 October 2020 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Kristian 1994 births Living people People from Ringsted Danish men's footballers Denmark international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Denmark youth international footballers Association football defenders HB Køge players 1. FC Union Berlin players Birmingham City F.C. players 2. Bundesliga players English Football League players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Sportspeople from Region Zealand 1. FC Köln players