Bjørn Iversen Paulsen (born 2 July 1991) is a Danish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays for
OB in the
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...
. Primarily a
centre back, he is known for his versatility in playing
several positions on the pitch.
Early life
Paulsen was born in
Augustenborg and started his youth career in local clubs Midtals, Haderslev and Sønderborg. On 1 January 2007, he joined the youth ranks of
SønderjyskE
SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...
.
Club career
SønderjyskE
Paulsen made his debut for SønderjyskE in the
Superliga during the
2009–10 season, coming on as a late sub in a 1–3 away loss against
Nordsjælland
North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...
on 25 April 2010 at age 19.
In
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Paulsen played 21 games. His first start for SønderjyskE came on 14 August 2010, home at
Haderslev Football Stadium
Haderslev Football Stadium ( da, Haderslev Fodboldstadion, ) is an Football (soccer), association football stadium located in Haderslev, Denmark. It is the home ground of SønderjyskE Fodbold, SønderjyskE. It has been known as Sydbank Park due t ...
, in a 1–3 loss against
Odense. A week later, in a 2–0 win against
Horsens
Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...
, Paulsen provided his first assist in the Danish top tier.
The following campaign, in
2011–12, Paulsen played 19 games under the reign of new manager
Lars Søndergaard
Lars Søndergaard (born 5 April 1959) is a Danish professional football manager and former player who works as manager of the Denmark women's national team.
On 18 December 2017, it was announced by the Danish Football Association (DBU) that ...
. He provided three assists during the season and scored his first Superliga goal in a fixture against
Aalborg
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...
on 23 May 2012, in the 75th minute as SønderjyskE won 5–0.
In
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Paulsen established himself as an important first team player for SønderjyskE. He appeared in 31 games, scoring three goals.
During the upcoming two seasons, Paulsen developed his play dramatically and progressed to become a highly rated defender and midfielder in the Superliga. He was also assigned the role as
vice captain at SønderjyskE. The club finished 10th in the table, just above the relegation zone, in both
2013–14 and
2014–15. Paulsen played 32 games and scored four goals in both of the separate campaigns.
Ahead of the
2015–16 season,
Jakob Michelsen
Jakob Saldern Stein Michelsen (born 30 September 1980) is a Danish football manager. He is currently the manager of Norwegian Eliteserien club HamKam.
Jakob Michelsen was selected coach of the year in Denmark in 2015. He was the coach behind the ...
was appointed as the new manager of SønderjyskE. Paulsen played an integral part during his first months at the club, appearing in the seven first fixtures of the campaign.
Esbjerg
On 31 August 2015, on the closing day of the international transfer window, Paulsen transferred to
Esbjerg fB
Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Foun ...
in the same league. Reports suggested a fee of 5 million Danish kroner (approximately £0,6 million), as Paulsen signed a four-year deal.
He made his debut on 14 September 2015, home at
Blue Water Arena
The Esbjerg Stadium ( da, Esbjerg Stadion), known as the Blue Water Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium located within Esbjerg Idrætspark in Esbjerg, Denmark. It is the home ground of Esbjerg fB and has a capacity of 16,942, of w ...
, in a 4–2 win against
Odense BK
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
.
Paulsen started out playing as a central defender, but in October the same year, Esbjerg appointed
Jonas Dal
Jonas Dal Andersen (born 7 July 1976) is a Danish former professional football defender and current sporting director of AB Argir.
Coaching career
In January 2013, Dal was named new manager of Hobro IK replacing Klavs Rasmussen, who had resi ...
as their new manager. He used Paulsen at different outfields position, mainly in either one of the offensive winger positions.
Paulsen scored his first goal for Esbjerg against domestic giants
F.C. Copenhagen
Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
on 28 February 2016, an equalizer as Esbjerg eventually lost 2–1 on away turf. In total, Paulsen made 25 league appearances in the campaign, scoring three goals, whilst being an important member of the Esbjerg squad.
During the upcoming season, in
2016–17, Paulsen continued to play at either flank during the reign of new manager
Colin Todd. However, the results during the first half went against Esbjerg, that soon found themselves at the foot of the table. Paulsen was named as one of five players that could be deemed surplus to requirements at the club during the January transfer window, due to his reportedly high salary.
Hammarby IF
On 16 January 2017, Paulsen was sold to the Swedish club
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
in
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...
. He signed a three-year deal and rejoined Jakob Michelsen, his former manager from SønderjyskE. The fee was reported as being 1.6 million Danish kroner (approximately £200,000). On 9 April, he scored his first competitive goal for Hammarby, a late equalizer as his side drew 1–1 against
Kalmar FF on the second matchday of the league campaign. On 29 April, Paulsen scored a brace as Hammarby defeated the newly promoted side
AFC Eskilstuna in a 4–0 win. He scored another two goals as Hammarby won against
IF Elfsborg
Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Allsvenskan and have spent ...
on 24 July, with Paulsen deciding the result to 2–1. Throughout the season, Paulsen played 29 league games and scored eight goals in total, being voted Hammarby Player of the Year for 2017 by the supporters of the club.
In August 2018, following a number of impressive performances in the central defender position, Paulsen attracted interest from
AEK Athens. Hammarby reportedly turned down an offer of around 8.4 million Swedish kronor (approximately £700,000) from the
Superleague Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
club. He eventually played 29 league games during the 2018 Allsvenskan season, scoring five goals, as Hammarby finished fourth in the league. He was nominated for the prize
Allsvenskan defender of the year, that eventually was awarded to
Per Karlsson
Per Jonas Karlsson (born 2 January 1986) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Making his senior debut for AIK in 2003, he made a club record 455 appearances for the club and helped the team win the 2009 and 201 ...
,
and chosen as one of the eleven best players of the season by Cmore Sports, Fotbollskanalen and Playmaker.
FC Ingolstadt
On 7 January 2019, Paulsen completed a transfer to
FC Ingolstadt
Fußball-Club Ingolstadt 2004 e.V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingols ...
in the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
for an undisclosed fee.
He signed a two and a half-year contract with the German club.
In the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga, Paulsen played 16 games and scored twice, as Ingolstadt finished 16th in the table and lost the relegation playoff against
SV Wehen Wiesbaden
SV Wehen Wiesbaden is a German association football club based in Wiesbaden, Hesse. Since the beginning of the 2007–08 season the club no longer plays its home games in Taunusstein, where they were originally located. In the summer of 2007 ''W ...
on away goals.
In the 2019–20
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
season, Paulsen made 30 league appearances for Ingolstadt, as the club qualified for the promotion playoffs but lost to
FC Nürnberg
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakist ...
on away goals. In 2020–21, Paulsen played 28 games as Ingolstadt reached the playoff once again and succeeded to win a promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, through a 4–3 win on aggregate against
VfL Osnabrück
VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its football section.
History Foundation to WW2
The cl ...
. At the end of the season, Paulsen was named in the official Team of the Season of 3. Liga as one of three centre-backs.
On 31 May 2021, Paulsen left Ingolstadt at the expiration of his contract.
Return to Hammarby
On 4 June 2021, Paulsen returned to his former club Hammarby IF in Allsvenskan, signing a three and a half-year contract. The transfer came to effect on 15 July the same year, at the start of the summer transfer window.
He featured in all six games as the side reached the play-off round of the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.
The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Roma ...
, after eliminating
Maribor
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
(4–1 on aggregate) and
FK Čukarički (6–4 on aggregate, in which Paulsen scored), where the club was knocked out by
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
(4–4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out.
Paulsen featured in the final of the
2021–22 Svenska Cupen
The 2021–22 Svenska Cupen is the 66th season of the Svenska Cupen and the tenth season with the current format. The winners of the competition will secure a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, unl ...
, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...
after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.
OB
On 11 July 2022, Paulsen returned to the Danish Superliga for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract with
OB.
Style of play
Paulsen prefers to play as a central
defender. However, he has been known as a
utility player
In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo.
The ...
throughout his whole career in Denmark, making appearances in almost every outfield position during his time with both SønderjyskE and Esbjerg. At Hammarby, Paulsen started out playing as a central offensive midfielder, before pairing up with compatriot
Mads Fenger in the central defence during the second half of the 2017 season.
International career
Paulsen won two caps for the
Danish U-20 national team during the
SuperCupNI
SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...
in 2010. He scored a brace in a fixture against
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during the same tournament.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Individual
*
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
Player of the Year: 2017
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulsen, Bjorn
1991 births
Living people
People from Augustenborg, Denmark
People from Sønderborg Municipality
Expatriate footballers in Sweden
Association football midfielders
Association football defenders
Danish men's footballers
Denmark youth international footballers
Danish expatriate men's footballers
Danish Superliga players
Allsvenskan players
2. Bundesliga players
3. Liga players
FC Sønderborg players
SønderjyskE Fodbold players
Esbjerg fB players
Hammarby Fotboll players
FC Ingolstadt 04 players
Odense Boldklub players
Sportspeople from the Region of Southern Denmark