Joel Kabongo Explained

Joel Zakarias Kabongo (pronounced as /da/; born 5 April 1998) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Club career

Early career

Kabongo started playing for hometown club Albertslund IF before signing a youth contract with Brøndby IF. During his time in the youth teams, Kabongo was a part of the under-17 team that won the championship and the domestic cup.^[1] On 31 August 2017, Kabongo moved to second division club Fremad Amager on loan until 1 January 2018.^[2] He made his first-team debut for Fremad on 3 September, coming on as a substitute for Heini Vatnsdal in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 win home win against Esbjerg fB.^[3]

Brøndby

After returning to Brøndby from his loan spell, Kabongo saw playing time in the team's pre-season friendlies, being in the starting lineup in a match against Shakhtar Donetsk.^[4] Kabongo made his official debut for Brøndby in the first match of the 2018–19 Danish Superliga season, starting in a 2–0 away win over Randers FC and playing the entire match.^[5]

On 16 August 2018, Kabongo made his UEFA Europa League debut, starting in a 2–1 home win over Spartak Subotica. His debut was short-lived, however, as he was sent off in the 15th minute for a professional foul on Dejan Đenić.^[6] On 26 August 2018, in a 2–1 win over Vendsyssel FF, Kabongo was sent off again, this time for a 92nd minute foul on Sander Fischer, resulting in a penalty and Kabongo being shown a second yellow card.^[7] On 22 April 2019, in a match against FC Midtjylland, Kabongo suffered a cruciate ligament tear and was substituted in the first half.^[8] The initial prognosis suggested that he would miss 12 months.^[9]

On 5 March 2020, Kabongo, alongside several other Brøndby personnel, was placed in home quarantine after having met with former Brøndby-player Thomas Kahlenberg, who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. Kahlenberg had been infected at a birthday party in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.^[10] Kabongo made his comeback in football on 21 May 2020 in a friendly against Lyngby.^{[11] [12]}

Randers

On 27 July 2021 it was confirmed, that Kabongo had left Brøndby to join fellow league club Randers FC on a three-year deal.^[13] He made his debut for the club on 8 August, coming on as a substitute for Frederik Lauenborg in the 88th minute in a 1–0 win.^[14] On 28 August, he was injured again and was initially sidelined for the match against Silkeborg on the same day.^[15] On 1 October, Kabongo announced via his Instagram account that he had suffered a more serious knee injury which had required surgery.^[16]

On 1 August 2022, Randers FC announced that Kabongo had retired, aged 24, after failing to recover from a long-term knee injury originally sustained in a league match for Brøndby against Midtjylland in April 2019.^{[17] [18]}

Personal life

Kabongo and his girlfriend, Melanie Litgov, have one daughter, Veneda (born 30 April 2020 at Rigshospitalet).^[19]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Danish Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brøndby	2017–18	Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2018–19	Superliga	15	0	1	0	2	0	17	0
	2019–20	Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21	Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		15	0	1	0	2	0	18	0
Fremad Amager (loan)	2017–18	1st Division	10	0	1	0	—		11	0
Randers	2021–22	Superliga	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2022–23	Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Career total			27	0	2	0	2	0	31	0

Honours

Brøndby IF

• Danish Superliga: 2020–21^[20]
• Danish Cup: 2017–18

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ingemann Nielsen . Peter. Focus On: Joel Kabongo, the Centre-Back with the Big Ambitions. Tipsbladet. 24 April 2018. Danish. 12 April 2016.
2. Web site: Joel Kabongo Loaned Out to Fremad Amager. brondby.com. 24 April 2018. Danish. 31 August 2017.
3. Web site: Kabongo' Lightning-Fast Debut in Fremad Amager's win over Esbjerg. 3Point.dk. 24 April 2018. Danish. 3 September 2017. 12 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180812062417/http://3point.dk/kabongo-lyndebuterede-i-fremad-amagers-sejr-over-esbjerg/. dead.
4. Web site: Startopstilling til træningskampen mod Shakhtar Donetsk. Brøndby IF. 18 July 2018. Danish. 26 June 2018.
5. Web site: Kabongo: Fantastisk at få debut. Brøndby IF. 18 July 2018. Danish. 16 July 2018.
6. Web site: Brøndbys 10 mand spiller sig videre i Europa. DR. 27 August 2018. Danish. 16 August 2018.
7. Web site: Svenningsen. Mette. Vendsyssel kæmpede forgæves mod Brøndby. TV2 Nord. 24 August 2019.
8. Web site: Skræk-skade i Brøndby: Stjerne ude resten af 2019. Ekstra Bladet. 24 August 2019.
9. Web site: Jensen. Kenneth. Brøndby-forsvarer er blevet opereret: Forventes ude i omkring et år. Tipsbladet. 24 August 2019.
10. Web site: Jensen . Michael Sten . Tidligere landsholdsspiller isoleret med coronavirus . dr.dk . . 30 May 2020 . 5 March 2020.
11. Web site: Margren . Sara . Kabongo fik BIF-comeback: Rigtig fed følelse . bold.dk . bold.dk . 30 May 2020 . 22 May 2020.
12. Web site: Møller Karlsen . Nanna . Kabongo efter comeback: Det var en rigtig fed følelse – har jeg ventet på i 12 måneder . 3point.dk . 3point . 30 May 2020 . 21 May 2020.
13. https://www.randersfc.dk/nyheder-superliga/juli-2021/randers-fc-henter-kabongo/ Randers FC forstærker sig med midterforsvareren Joel Kabongo fra de danske mestre, Brøndby IF
14. Web site: Randers vs. SønderjyskE - 8 August 2021 - Soccerway . int.soccerway.com . 8 August 2021.
15. News: Dalgård . Jonas . Kabongo og Brock-Madsen ude for Randers . bold.dk . 28 August 2021 . da.
16. joelkabongo24 . CUfBPwCKhTq . 1 October 2021 . Operation overstået ✔️ Nu venter der desværre en pause fra fodbolden.. Der skal arbejdes hårdt og er ikke i tvivl om det nok skal gå min vej igen Ses snart på banen! ⚽️ . 5 October 2021.
17. Web site: Joel Kabongo indstiller karrieren . Randers FC . 1 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801172459/https://www.randersfc.dk/nyheder-superliga/2022/08-august-2022/joel-kabongo-indstiller-karrieren . 1 August 2022 . da . 1 August 2022 . live.
18. News: 24-årig Superligaspiller tvunget til at indstille karrieren – TV 2 . 1 August 2022 . TV2 Sport . 1 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801172730/https://sport.tv2.dk/fodbold/2022-08-01-24-arig-superligaspiller-tvunget-til-at-indstille-karrieren . 1 August 2022 . da.
19. Web site: Møller Karlsen . Nanna . Joel Kabongo er blevet far . 3point.dk . 3point . 17 May 2020 . 30 April 2020.
20. Web site: Soccer-Brondby beat Nordsjaelland to clinch Danish league title . Reuters . 1 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522212655/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-denmark-superliga-idUKKCN2D51RJ . 22 May 2022 . 24 May 2021 . live.