Jens Berthel Askou (born 19 August 1982) is a Danish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former professional player. He is in charge of AC Horsens. Askou has played for a number of Danish clubs before moving abroad, first to Turkish club Kasımpaşa and then to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

in England, before moving back to Denmark to play for

Vejle BK Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

. in August 2013 he signed a two-year contract with Esbjerg.

Club career

Born in

Videbæk Videbæk is a town, with a population of 4,242 (1 January 2022),Ikast FS Ikast FC is an association football club based in the town of Ikast, Denmark, that competes in the Series 1, the sixth tier of the Danish football league system and the second tier of the regional DBU Jutland. Founded in 2018 as a superstructur ...

before moving to

Holstebro Boldklub Holstebro Boldklub (; also known as ''HB'') is a football club based in the town of Holstebro, West Jutland, Denmark, that competes in the Denmark Series, the fifth tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1921, it is affiliated to ...

in 2002. His performances led to a contract with 1st Division

Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...

in the summer of 2003, following a successful trial. He helped the club regain promotion to 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 ...

during his first season, and became a regular for four years. In 2007, Askou failed to agree a new deal with SIF, which led to a move to Turkish football with Kasımpaşa. Kasımpaşa finished bottom of the

2007–08 Süper Lig The 2007–08 Süper Lig season, (also known as the Turkcell Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons), was the 50th anniversary of top-flight professional football in Turkey. It was won by Galatasaray, who won their 17th championship. Since Turkey ...

, with Askou appearing frequently and scoring twice. However, despite Askou's own goal in the playoffs semi-final, the club returned to the top flight at the first attempt in 2008–09. His contract was not renewed the following summer.

Norwich City

In July 2009, Askou linked up with English

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club

on their pre-season tour of Scotland. He impressed suitably with his defensive displays in the club's friendly matches, also managing to score with a header against Airdrie United. Then manager

Bryan Gunn Bryan James Gunn (born 22 December 1963) is a Scottish former professional goalkeeper and football manager. After learning his trade with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, he spent most of his playing career at Norwich City, the club with which h ...

confirmed on 27 July he had offered Askou a contract. It was revealed on 30 July that Askou had signed a two-year deal with Norwich. He made his debut in a 4–0 win over

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

on 11 August, helping to keep a clean sheet. Four days later, he scored on his league debut as Norwich drew 1–1 with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

. Askou became a regular starter for Norwich until picking up a metatarsal injury in a league game against Yeovil in December, which kept him out until May 2010. He scored a header against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in the

in August 2010; a game which Norwich lost 3–1. Askou's opportunities at Norwich were limited in the 2010–11 season, making only two

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

starts in the first half of the campaign. In January 2011, Askou moved to fellow Championship side

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

on a one-month loan. He was sent off on his debut against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

for a two-footed lunge on

Yakubu Yakubu is an English transliteration of a West African name and is a cognate of Jacob and James. Notable people with the name include: ;Given name * Yakubu (born 1982 as Yakubu Ayegbeni), Nigerian footballer * Yakubu (Gobir ruler), historical ruler ...

. This was his only appearance for the club and he returned to Norwich in February. He did not appear again for his parent club either and was released by the club at the end of the season after his contract expired.

Vejle Boldklub Kolding

Askou signed a two-year contract with Danish first division team

Vejle Boldklub Kolding Vejle Boldklub Kolding (Vejle Kolding or VB Kolding) was a short lived professional Danish football club. The club played two seasons in the Danish 1st Division before being dissolved in 2013. The club was founded in June 2011, when Vejle Boldkl ...

in August 2011.Vejle henter forsvarsspiller i Norwich
Jyllans-Posten, 26 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.Dagens transferrygter: Golfkøllesvinger kan vende tilbage til Liverpool
Politiken, 26 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. During his time a Vejle, he scored six goals in 55 appearances and was appointed club captain in the summer of 2012. Askou signed a two-year deal with Esbjerg in the Danish Superliga On 2 August 2013 for an undisclosed fee.

Coaching and later career

In 2015 Askou became playing assistant manager at

Skive IK Skive Idræts Klub, commonly known as Skive IK, SIK (especially locally) or simply Skive, is a Danish professional Football team, football club based in Skive, Denmark, Skive, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1901, the club is affiliated with ...

. A year later he took up the same position at

Thisted FC Thisted Fodbold Club () is an association football club based in the town of Thisted, North Jutland, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 2nd Division, the third tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1989, it is shortly known as ...

. In June 2017 Askou became Erik Rasmussen's assistant manager at

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 ...

. On 8 May 2018 Rasmussen resigned as manager and was replaced by Askou. After an overall defeat against AC Horsens in the

relegation play off games, Askou and his staff was fired on 20 May 2019. In October 2019, Askou signed with Denmark Series 4 amateur club TIF All Stars. In the beginning of November 2019 it was confirmed, that Askou would become the manager of HB Thorshavn in the Faroe Islands starting from 1 December 2019. One year later, on 5 December 2020, he had won the double with HB Tórshavn by first winning the

Faroe Islands Premier League The Faroe Islands Premier League (also known as ''Betri deildin menn'' for sponsorship reasons) is the top level of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1942 as Meistaradeildin, and it is played in current format since 2005, when Prem ...

and then the

Faroe Islands Cup The Faroe Islands Cup (, literally the Prime Minister Cup) is the main football cup competition in the Faroe Islands. The first edition was played in 1955. History The HB–TB decade The first decade of the competition was marked by the alternanc ...

. He also won the honour as the best football manager 2020 in the Faroe Islands, chosen by the Venjarafelag Føroya (Faroese Association of Football Managers). In January 2021 he left Tórshavn to become new manager of struggling

club AC Horsens.

Personal life

Askou is married to Rikke. The couple have three children – Julius, Cornelius and Augusta. Julius and Cornelius attend the International School Ikast-Brande in Ikast, Denmark.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Silkeborg IF *

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...

: 2003–04 Kasımpaşa * TFF 1. League Playoffs Winners: 2008–09 Norwich City *

: 2009–10 *

runners-up: 2010–11

Manager

Havnar Bóltfelag *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* Won the Double in Faroese football: 2020

Individual

Manager of the Year:

References

Topscorer og assistent forlader Skive
bold.dk, 31 May 2016

External links

*
Jens Berthel Askou Superliga statistics
by

Danish Football Association The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national t ...

*
Jens Berthel Askou player profile
at canaries.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Askou, Jens Berthel Living people 1982 births People from Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality Association football defenders Danish men's footballers Danish football managers Ikast FS players Holstebro BK players Silkeborg IF players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers Norwich City F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Vejle Boldklub Kolding players Esbjerg fB players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Süper Lig players English Football League players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Vendsyssel FF managers Havnar Bóltfelag managers AC Horsens managers Danish 1st Division managers Sportspeople from the Central Denmark Region