Steffen Rasmussen
Encyclopedia
Steffen Bjørnebo Rasmussen (born 30 September 1982), known as Steffen Rasmussen, is a Danish
professional football player in the goalkeeper position, who currently plays for Danish Superliga
team AGF Aarhus. He has played two games with the Denmark national under-21 football team
.
, and signed a professional contract with AGF in March 2002.
Under new manager Poul Hansen
, Rasmussen made his Danish Superliga
debut for AGF against Odense Boldklub on 10 November 2002, replacing Boye at half-time. As Boye suffered a back injury, Rasmussen played the next three games in a row. Boye returned to the starting line-up, but following another injury, Rasmussen established himself as AGF's first choice, playing the last 13 games of the Danish Superliga 2002-03
season. In August 2003, AGF brought in Rune Pedersen
to replace the retiring Boye. Rasmussen began the Danish Superliga 2003-04
season as starting goalkeeper, but lost his place to Pedersen in April 2004 following a slump in form. He was second choice for the Danish Superliga 2004-05
season, but following an injury to Pedersen in April 2005, Rasmussen got another chance and again established himself in the starting line-up.
He was the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for the Danish Superliga 2005-06
season, missing only four games through a hand injury. He was named the AGF player of the season, but could not keep AGF from being relegated. He stayed with AGF in the Danish 1st Division
. He suffered a shoulder injury during the season, but helped the club bounce right back into the Superliga. He played all 33 games of the Danish Superliga 2007-08
season. Before the Danish Superliga 2008-09
season, he was named captain of the team by AGF coach Ove Pedersen
, replacing Peter Graulund
. He missed only two games that season, due to a hand injury. In the 0–1 defeat to FC Midtjylland
on 14 April 2010, Rasmussen got his first red card
in his AGF career, following a foul on Jonas Borring
. He missed two games through suspension. Despite playing 31 of 33 games, Rasmussen could not keep AGF from being relegated at the end of the Danish Superliga 2009-10 season.
in March 2003, serving as a backup to Stephan Andersen
. He made his under-21 debut in a April 2003 friendly match, and played an additional friendly game for the team in August that year.
Danish national team
coach Morten Olsen
considered including Rasmussen in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
games against Portugal
and Albania
in September 2009, but chose Kim Christensen from IFK Göteborg
instead. In January 2010, he was called up for the Denmark League XI national football team
to replace the injured Stephan Andersen, playing one unofficial national team game for the team.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
professional football player in the goalkeeper position, who currently plays for Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
team AGF Aarhus. He has played two games with the Denmark national under-21 football team
Denmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
.
Playing style
Rasmussen's strengths are in one-on-one situations, relying on his quick reactions and vision for the game, but he has been critizised for not commanding his field on especially corner kicks and free kicks, due to his lack of height.Club career
Born in Stenvad near Grenaa, Steffen Rasmussen played his youth football in minor club Stenvad Boldklub, before joining the youth setup of AGF Aarhus. He spent a year with lower-league Jutland Series club Grenaa IF, before returning to AGF. He established himself as second-choice keeper behind Erik BoyeErik Boye
Erik Boye is a former Danish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.He started his career with FC Fredericia before transferring to Vejle in 1993. In the Danish Superliga 1996-97 he was ever present as his club finished in 2nd place and qualified for the 1997–98 UEFA Cup...
, and signed a professional contract with AGF in March 2002.
Under new manager Poul Hansen
Poul Hansen (football manager)
Poul Hansen is a Danish football manager, currently director of sports at Odense Boldklub. He was awarded Danish Football Manager of th Year in 1999.He has been the manager of Haderslev FK, Ikast fS, Lyngby FC, and AGF Aarhus...
, Rasmussen made his Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
debut for AGF against Odense Boldklub on 10 November 2002, replacing Boye at half-time. As Boye suffered a back injury, Rasmussen played the next three games in a row. Boye returned to the starting line-up, but following another injury, Rasmussen established himself as AGF's first choice, playing the last 13 games of the Danish Superliga 2002-03
Danish Superliga 2002-03
The 2002–03 Danish Superliga season was the 13th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association...
season. In August 2003, AGF brought in Rune Pedersen
Rune Pedersen
Rune Pedersen is a former football referee, representing SK Sprint-Jeløy. He was regarded as the best match official in Norway during the 1990s, and won the Kniksen award for "Referee of the year" 10 times between 1990 and 2000. Only Roy Helge Olsen stood in the way of Pedersen winning the award...
to replace the retiring Boye. Rasmussen began the Danish Superliga 2003-04
Danish Superliga 2003-04
The 2003-04 Danish Superliga season was the 14th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 26, 2003 to the final match on May 29, 2004....
season as starting goalkeeper, but lost his place to Pedersen in April 2004 following a slump in form. He was second choice for the Danish Superliga 2004-05
Danish Superliga 2004-05
The 2004-05 Danish Superliga season was the 15th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 24, 2004 to the final match on June 19, 2005....
season, but following an injury to Pedersen in April 2005, Rasmussen got another chance and again established himself in the starting line-up.
He was the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for the Danish Superliga 2005-06
Danish Superliga 2005-06
The 2005-06 Danish Superliga season was the 16th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 19, 2005 to the final match on May 14, 2006....
season, missing only four games through a hand injury. He was named the AGF player of the season, but could not keep AGF from being relegated. He stayed with AGF in the Danish 1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
. He suffered a shoulder injury during the season, but helped the club bounce right back into the Superliga. He played all 33 games of the Danish Superliga 2007-08
Danish Superliga 2007-08
The 2007–08 Danish Superliga season was the 18th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, which determined the winners of the Danish football championship. It was governed by the Danish Football Association. It started with the first match on July 18, 2007 and ended with the final match...
season. Before the Danish Superliga 2008-09
Danish Superliga 2008-09
The 2008–09 Danish Superliga was the 19th season of Danish Superliga league championship, which determines the winners of the Danish football championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. The season started on 19 July 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. The defending champions were Aalborg...
season, he was named captain of the team by AGF coach Ove Pedersen
Ove Pedersen
Ove Pedersen is a Danish football manager and a former player, who managed FC Midtjylland and Esbjerg fB to bronze medals in the Danish Superliga. He was the manager of Danish club AGF until 31 December, on 1 January 2009 he returned as manager at Esbjerg fB, but resigned on 14 March 2011...
, replacing Peter Graulund
Peter Graulund
Peter Graulund is a Danish professional footballer who currently plays for AGF Aarhus. He is a striker, and has previously played for Danish clubs Vejle Boldklub and Brøndby IF. He has played six games and scored two goals for the Denmark national under-21 football team...
. He missed only two games that season, due to a hand injury. In the 0–1 defeat to FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland is a professional Danish football team from Herning and Ikast. The team is a result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad...
on 14 April 2010, Rasmussen got his first red card
Red card
Red card may refer to:* A penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction* A suit of hearts or diamonds* Red Card , 1976 release by Streetwalkers* RedCard 20-03, 2002 extreme football video game...
in his AGF career, following a foul on Jonas Borring
Jonas Borring
Jonas Skov Borring is a Danish footballer currently playing for FC Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga.Borring was called up for the league national team, which plays a number of unofficial national team games in the United States, El Salvador and Honduras in January 2007, by national team manager...
. He missed two games through suspension. Despite playing 31 of 33 games, Rasmussen could not keep AGF from being relegated at the end of the Danish Superliga 2009-10 season.
International career
Having made his breakthrough with AGF, Rasmussen was called up for the Denmark national under-21 football teamDenmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
in March 2003, serving as a backup to Stephan Andersen
Stephan Andersen
Stephan Maigaard Andersen is a Danish professional football player, who plays as a goalkeeper for Évian in the Ligue 1...
. He made his under-21 debut in a April 2003 friendly match, and played an additional friendly game for the team in August that year.
Danish national team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
coach Morten Olsen
Morten Olsen
Morten Per Olsen is a Danish football manager and former football player. He has been the head coach of the Danish national team since 2000, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup...
considered including Rasmussen in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...
games against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
and Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
in September 2009, but chose Kim Christensen from IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....
instead. In January 2010, he was called up for the Denmark League XI national football team
Denmark League XI national football team
The Denmark League XI national football team is an unofficial national football team run by the Danish Football Association.The team generally consists of Danish players playing in the Danish Superliga, or other leagues if the clubs there agree to release them...
to replace the injured Stephan Andersen, playing one unofficial national team game for the team.