Brede Hangeland is a Norwegian defender born on June 20, 1981 in Houston, Texas, the United States. He was part of the Norway national U-21 football team for which he played 12 games during the 2001-2003 season. Brede Hangeland made his national debut in a 1-0 win against Austria in 2002. On August 12, 2008, he was made the captain of the Norway national football team.
After playing for the youth club FK Vidar, he started his senior club career in 2001 with Viking FK, a Norwegian football club. Brede Hangeland was instrumental in winning the Norwegian cup in a 3-0 victory over Bryne FK during his debut season. In 2005, he was made the captain of Viking FK, and has played a total of 187 games for it. He moved on to Danish side FC Copenhagen on a contract in January 2006, where he gained Champions League experience. His team played against Manchester United and won the match 1-0 at the 2006-07 Champions League group phase. Brede Hangeland had a very successful stint with FC Copenhagen and he was a part of the team that emerged victorious at the Royal League of 2005-06 and the Danish Superliga of 2005-06 and 2006-07.
In January 2008, Brede Hangeland signed a contract with Fulham F.C., an English football team, for a whopping £2.5m. He made his debut later that month at the Reebok stadium against Bolton Wanderers F.C., and was voted ‘Man of the Match’ by Sky Sports, after the game. His first goal for the club came in a 1-0 win over Arsenal F.C., a fine start for his 2008-09 season.
