Erik Sandvad Rasmussen (born 24 December 1960), nicknamed "''The Wizard''" and "''TryllErik''", is a former

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

football player and manager. He played two games for the Denmark national football team. In March 2014 it was announced that he would be a 2014 inductee into the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame.

Player

During his active career, he was a forward for Danish clubs

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...

Herfølge Herfølge is a suburb of the town of Køge, Denmark, located about 5 kilometers south of Køge, and is a part of Køge Municipality. The suburb is connected to Køge and Næstved by the Lille Syd railway line. Residential areas Holmebækhus ...

, Frem and Brøndby. In 1984, Rasmussen moved to the United States and signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He played five seasons for the Wings. In 1988, he was the league's points leader and was named the MISL MVP. In September 1989, but returned to Denmark and signed with Brøndby in order to make himself available to play for the national team. In January 1998, he returned to the

who were now playing in the National Professional Soccer League. He played for the Wings through the 1998–1999 season. In June 1999, he then moved to the Baltimore Blast.

Coach

After retiring, he managed a number of Danish lower league clubs. In January 2004, he replaced Troels Bech as manager of

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

in the top-flight Danish Superliga. In Midtjylland he led the team to a silver medal in the

2006–07 Danish Superliga The 2006–07 Danish Superliga season was the 17th 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 took place from the f ...

. On 6 March 2008, he published he would leave Midtjylland at the end of the season for personal reasons. He took some time off going back to USA and with no active participation in football, except from being a pundit on Danish TV on some occasions. On 1 January 2009 he started as head coach for AGF. After a good start of the 2009/2010-season, AGF had a terrible spring that ended up in relegation to the Danish 1st Division. Four days after the season had ended Rasmussen was sacked. In October 2012 he replaced Benny Nielsen as manager of

Greve Fodbold Greve Fodbold is a Danish football club currently playing in the Denmark Series, the fifth tier of Danish football. The club have played the entirety of their existence in the lower divisions and spent one season in the second tier in 1980. They ...

on a contract running until the end of 2012. In February 2017 he became new manager of

Vendsyssel FF Vendsyssel Forenede Fodboldklubber is a professional football club based in Hjørring, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football. The club plays home matches at Nord Energi Arena, which has a cap ...

following a takeover of the club. He led the club to 2nd place in his first season, but failed to get the club promoted via play-off. He resigned on 8 May 2018.

References

External links

Danish national team profile

*
Boldklubben Frem profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Erik 1960 births Living people Danish men's footballers Denmark international footballers Danish football managers Køge Boldklub players Herfølge Boldklub players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Boldklubben Frem players Brøndby IF players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players Baltimore Blast (NPSL) players Indoor soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Danish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Køge Boldklub managers Næstved Boldklub managers FC Midtjylland managers Aarhus Gymnastikforening managers Association football midfielders People from Brøndby Municipality Vendsyssel FF managers Sportspeople from the Capital Region of Denmark