I played for Chelsea in the FA Cup final before career-ending injury – now I’m like Ant and Dec on Danish TV
A FORMER Chelsea defender who was forced to retire through injury is Danish television’s version of Ant and Dec.
Jakob Kjeldbjerg, 54, had to rethink his entire career when he hung up his football boots at 27.
The ex-Denmark international defender was brought to the Premier League in 1993 by Glenn Hoddle and played in the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United at the end of his first season there.
But a knee injury led to him calling it day just four years later after making over 50 appearances for the Stamford Bridge side.
Kjeldbjerg, who represented his country at the 1992 Olympics, tried to remain in the game by hosting football matches from the Danish Superliga and Champions League for TV3 in his homeland following his retirement.
And it was in front of the camera that he found his true calling.
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Kjeldbjerg has now been dubbed the Ant and Dec of Danish TV as host of the channel’s most popular reality TV show, Robinson Ekspeditionen.
He has now been on the small screen for over twenty years and has also hosted I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Kjeldbjerg previously told SunSport: “I was lucky enough to be asked to do some football commentary for Danish TV on a Chelsea match. I did that, grabbed the chance, and it went from there.
“It was a tough time for me, but I got a lucky break. It was never on my agenda to work in TV.
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“But I started taking an interest in writing and TV when I was injured and I was fascinated by it.
“I did interviews with Gianluca Vialli and Ruud Gullit for Danish TV. They knew me, so I didn't have the journalist background but I had a foot inside the door.
“I have to admit, my TV work happened because I played football.
"My football career was fine, but I never really got enough years out of the game. It was certainly a stepping stone.”
Despite all of his success on the pitch and playing alongside the likes of Gullit, Vialli and Gianfranco Zola at Chelsea, he now believes that television was also his destiny.
Kjeldbjerg said: “My conclusion is that I was born to do TV, not born to be a footballer
“I had some wonderful teammates and experiences, but I wasn't made or destined to be a player.
“My last years at Chelsea were difficult, I had issues with my body and that was maybe a sign I had to do something else.
“Also, being a footballer is quite narrow-minded, everything is taken care of for you. You have to perform on the pitch, if you don't you're off, then you don't do anything.
“In the end, there wasn't enough in it for me. And we were paid peanuts in comparison to the guys today.
“The players today wouldn't get out of bed for what I was paid back then!
“Now, I make more money as a TV host, but I don't make as much as Gary Lineker!”
And he also admitted that he would love the chance to return to England, saying: “I could see myself working on British TV, that would definitely be a great challenge.
“I am a character doing what I do, so who knows? If my company here would allow me to, I'd love to do a stint in the UK.
“I could take over from Ant! But in truth, they were both much better than me at hosting I'm a Celeb…”
Despite the injury problems that plagued his final few years at Chelsea, he still holds his time in London close to his heart.
He added: “I did have some great times at Chelsea and I have so much respect for Glenn Hoddle, what he did and what he wanted to do.
“He was the man who started that revolution, if you like, of Chelsea wanting to play football and I was a part of that.
“I don't know how much credit he gets today, but without him Gullit would never have been there or Vialli or even Gianfranco Zola.
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“I sometimes wonder what would've happened if I didn't get injured, but I'm not so sure I would've been in the starting eleven.
“Marcel Desailly was signed just a few years later, so I may not have played much. But I do treasure those moments I had with Chelsea.”
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