Espen Johnsen is a retired Norwegian football goalkeeper. His brother Marius Johnsen

Marius Johnsen

Marius Johnsen is a Norwegian football defender. His older brother Espen Johnsen is a former professional goalkeeper.-Career:...

 is also a footballer, currently playing for Lillestrøm.

Football career

His career started in local club Vigør

FK Vigør

FK Vigør is a Norwegian football club from Hellemyr, Kristiansand. Vigør is the Norwegian name for vigor. The club colors are brown and white, and the club was founded on 5 October 1918....

. After a few years playing for Start, he was brought to Rosenborg in Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

. He was mostly benched his first two years there because of the Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic goalkeeper Arni Gautur Arason

Árni Gautur Arason

Árni Gautur Arason is an Icelandic football goalkeeper, who currently playing for Lierse SK in Belgium. Arason is also an educated lawyer from the University of Iceland.-Club career:...

, who left Rosenborg in 2003 for Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

. Espen then established himself as the first-choice in Rosenborg as well as on the Norwegian national team

Norway national football team

The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

, but lost his place after a six-month injury layoff resulting from an injury sustained while playing against Spain

Spain national football team

The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

.

After becoming second choice in Rosenborg after the purchase of Lars Hirschfeld

Lars Hirschfeld

Lars Justin Hirschfeld is a Canadian football goalkeeper currently playing for Vålerenga Fotball in Norway.-Club career:Hirschfeld started his career with the Edmonton Drillers, playing indoor soccer...

, Johnsen made it clear that he was not satisfied with his "demotion", and on 6 October 2006, Strømsgodset announced that he had agreed to join them on a one year loan deal starting January 2007. He returned to Rosenborg in 2008. In March 2010 he was linked to Swedish champions AIK

AIK Fotboll

AIK, , an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben, , when needed internationally AIK Stockholm, is a Swedish football club based at Råsunda stadium in Solna, a municipality in Stockholm County bordering to Stockholm City Centre...

 and according to Norwegian press, he was edging closer to a deal with them.

Education and personal life

Espen is studying to be an M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology , commonly known as NTNU, is located in Trondheim. NTNU is the second largest of the eight universities in Norway, and, as its name suggests, has the main national responsibility for higher education in engineering and technology...

 in Trondheim, Norway. When living in Kristiansand, he studied at the Agder University College

Agder University College

University of Agder is a public university located in both Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a University college in 1994 with the merger of six colleges and was granted its current status as a University in 2007, but its academic activity dates as far back as...

, taking his exam in Christian studies

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

. He is an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, or the Free Church as it is commonly known, is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway consisting of 81 congregations and 21,817 baptized members. It was founded in 1877 in Moss. It should not be confused with the Church of Norway, though both churches are...

, although since his move to Trondheim, he has also visited and attended other churches and congregations.

External links