Introduction
Ken Ilsø Larsen (born 2 December 1986) is a Danish professional footballer who currently plays for Kedah FA in the Malaysia Super League. He has previously represented Denmark at U19, U20 and U21 levels.
Despite his busy schedule as a professional football player, Ilsø is currently pursuing a law degree from University of Southern Denmark.
Youth career
Born in Copenhagen, Ilsø started his footballing career at local amateur club BK Pioneren. He subsequently went on to play for several youth teams in Copenhagen. In 2004, he was signed as a youth player by Dutch side SC Heerenveen, 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 match against AZ Alkmaar as a 75th-minute substitute for teammate Arnold Bruggink.
Club career
SC Heerenveen
Following his first-team debut with SC Heerenveen, 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 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. 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, who ended in the fourth spot of the Superliga the prior sesason. Ilsø quickly became an important player for FC Midtjylland. For instance, in the 2010–11 season opener against Silkeborg IF, Ilsø scored the decisive goal to earn a win for the club .
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Following his performance with FC Midtjylland, Ilsø joined 2. Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf 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 match against Hannover 96, 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 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 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 match against Sportfreunde Siegen.
Guangzhou R&F
In February 2014, Ilsø joined Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F, 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 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 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 to secure his team's first win of the season over Tampines Rovers. 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.
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 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 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 Brunei DPMM, 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 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) 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 champions, Kedah FA, on 27 December 2016. Ilsø has stated it was Kedah's development of good young players policy and fans affinity that attracts him to join them. 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 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 of Kosovo, and Sandro da Silva Mendonça of Brazil.
Career statistics
- As of 08:33, 21 January 2017 (UTC)
| Club | League | Season | League | Domestic Cup | Regional Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| SC Heerenveen | Eredivisie | 2005-06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006-07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2007-08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| FC Zwolle (loan) | Eredivisie | 2006-07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| SønderjyskE | Superliga | 2008-09 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 9 | ||
| 2009-10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 9 | ||||
| FC Midtjylland | Superliga | 2009-10 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||
| 2010-11 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 15 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 39 | 10 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 44 | 12 | ||||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 2.Bundesliga | 2010-11 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 7 | ||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2011-12 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| Bundesliga | 2012-13 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||
| Total | 71 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 73 | 13 | ||||
| VfL Bochum | 2.Bundesliga | 2013-14 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||
| Total | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
| VfL Bochum II | Regionalliga West | 2013-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Guangzhou R&F | Chinese Super League | 2014 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
| Total | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Home United | S.League | 2015 | 19 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 13 | |
| 2016 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 27 | 23 | |||
| Total | 41 | 30 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | 52 | 36 | |||
| Kedah FA | Malaysia Super League | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career Total | 211 | 66 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 231 | 74 | ||
Honours
Club
FC Midtjylland
- DBU Pokalen
- Runner-up: 2010
Home United
- Singapore Cup
- Runner-up: 2015
- Kedah FA
- Malaysia Charity Shield : 2017
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