Mikkel Jensen (footballer, born 1977)


Mikkel Jensen is a retired Danish football player in the central midfielder position. He has won three Danish Superliga championships with Brøndby IF. Jensen played 47 games and scored one goal for various Danish national youth selections, including 21 matches for the Danish under-21 national team. He was named 1998 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year.

Playing career

Born in Værløse, Jensen started playing football with Værløse BK, before moving to multiple Danish champions Brøndby IF. He made his Danish Superliga debut for Brøndby IF in April 1997, and played two games as Brøndby won the 1996-97 Superliga championship. He made his debut for the Denmark national under-21 football team in August 1997. Jensen went on to play 21 games for the under-21 team until December 1999, and was named 1998 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year.
Jensen won the 1997-98 and 2001-02 Danish Superliga championships with Brøndby, and played for Brøndby in the 1999 UEFA Champions League. He played a total 108 games in all competitions for Brøndby, including 88 games and two goals in the Superliga. When Brøndby hired new manager Michael Laudrup in the summer 2002, Jensen was deemed surplus to requirements. He had a short stop at league rivals FC Midtjylland, playing 11 games in the first half of the 2002-03 Superliga season, before leaving Brøndby.
In early 2003, Jensen joined Swedish club Hammarby IF for their winter training camp, competing with Finnish midfielder Simo Valakari for a permanent contract. He scored a goal in a training game against the Malta national team and subsequently signed a three-year contract with Hammarby. He played six years at Hammarby and served as team captain. In the summer of 2006, he suffered a knee injury which eventually demanded a one-and-a-half-year recovery period. He returned in 2007, but suffered a relapse.
In July 2009, Jensen left the club and moved on loan to fellow Stockholm-based club, IF Brommapojkarna for the remainder of the season. At Brommapojkarna, he looked to establish himself as a central defender. After the loan period ended, he got a permanent two-year contract with Brommapojkarna, signing on a free transfer. In 2011 Jensen decided to retire from football

Honours