Claus Jensen


Claus William Jensen is a Danish professional football manager, and former player who is the manager of Danish 1st Division club Nykøbing FC. During his active playing career, he played as an attacking midfielder. Jensen made 47 appearances for the Denmark national football team, in which he scored 8 goals. He also represented Denmark at the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship tournaments. He is the cousin of former winger Anders Due, who currently works as his assistant in Nykøbing FC.

Biography

Jensen was born in Nykøbing Falster, and played for a number of Danish lower-league teams, making his debut for the Danish under-19 national team in November 1995. In May 1996, he was loaned out from Danish second division club Nykøbing Falster Alliancen to Næstved BK in the Danish Superliga. He played four games while at Næstved, but could not prevent the club from being relegated at the end of the season. He moved permanently to Superliga club Lyngby FC in June 1996, signing a contract alongside later Danish international Dennis Rommedahl.
He played two years at Lyngby before moving to play in England in July 1998. He was bought by First Division club Bolton Wanderers in a deal worth 1.8 million DKK. While at Bolton, he debuted for the Danish national team in March 2000.
In July 2000, he moved to London to join promoted Premier League club Charlton Athletic for £4 million, and became a popular player with fans due to his influence during games. The Charlton fans would sing his name to the tune "charge", using Claus for the build-up and singing his full name "Claus William Jensen" at the climax. He was called up to the Danish squad for the 2002 World Cup, where he made a single appearance as a substitute. In February 2003, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 friendly win against Egypt; one of the goals was scored from a direct free kick. He also represented Denmark at the 2004 European Championship, where he took part in three of Denmark's four matches.
After more than 100 games for Charlton, in July 2004 he moved to the Addicks' London rivals Fulham in a transfer deal worth £1.25 million. He made his Fulham debut at Manchester City on 14 August 2004. He spent three years with Fulham, but was plagued by injury and on 17 May 2007, Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez decided to release him; Jensen claims his release was inevitable because he did not fit into Sanchez's long ball tactics. After three years with repeating injuries, he chose to end his professional career on 25 August 2007.

Managerial career

On 7 January 2020, Jensen was appointed manager of Nykøbing FC in the Danish second tier, a team in which he formerly held the position of general manager.

Career statistics

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
124 March 2001Valletta, Malta4–05–02002 World Cup qualification
212 February 2003Cairo, Egypt1–14–1Friendly match
312 February 2003Cairo, Egypt3–14–1Friendly match
412 February 2003Cairo, Egypt4–14–1Friendly match
511 June 2003Luxembourg, Luxembourg1–02–0Euro 2004 qualification
618 August 2004Poznań, Poland4–15–1Friendly match
73 September 2005Istanbul, Turkey1–02–22006 World Cup qualification
87 September 2005Copenhagen, Denmark1–06–12006 World Cup qualification