Pascal Johansen (born 28 April 1979) is a French former 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 played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Pascal Johansen was born in

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He is a younger brother to Frédéric Johansen, former player of

FC Mulhouse Football Club de Mulhouse (; commonly referred to as FCM or simply Mulhouse) is a French association football club based in Mulhouse. The club was founded in 1893 and currently play in the Championnat National 3, the fifth level of French footb ...

and one of France's most promiseful prospects, who died in a car crash in 1992. Johansen followed his brothers' footsteps, also becoming a footballer, and was signed by RC Strasbourg as a youngster. He made his first pro appearance against harsh rivals

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

on 15 January 2000 and quickly established himself as a regular first team player at the age of 21. The following season he was among the rare satisfactions in a team that won the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

but was relegated to Ligue 2 after a terrible season in the league. Johansen played the full match in the 2001 Coupe de France Final in which they beat

Amiens SC Amiens Sporting Club (; commonly referred to as Amiens SC or simply Amiens) is a French association football club based in the northern city of Amiens in the Hauts-de-France region. The club was formed in 1901 and play in Ligue 2, the second d ...

on penalties. In 2002, after Strasbourg earned promotion from Ligue 2, Johansen was transferred to Olympique Marseille. His first season was successful with the club earning a Champions League berth. Early in the 2003–04 season, OM manager

Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (born 7 October 1956) is a French professional football manager and former player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes, whom he took from the fourth tier to Ligue 1 and UEFA Cup qualification by winnin ...

, who had recruited Johansen to Marseille, was sacked and replaced by

José Anigo José Anigo (born 15 April 1961) is a French football former manager and former defender. Career Anigo was born in Marseille, and after a tough childhood went on to play for his home town club for eight years where he established a reputation ...

. This change relegated Johansen of the bench and he did not take part in Marseille's 2004 UEFA Cup final when they reached the finals against Valencia FC. Johansen subsequently went back, on loan, to Strasbourg for the 2004–2005 season, winning the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

. He was then definitively transferred, but struggled in a team that was again relegated at the end of the 2005–2006 season. Strasbourg regained immediately its place in France's top division after only one year at the lower stage with Johansen as a regular team member in the second half of the season.

References

External links

* 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Colmar Footballers from Haut-Rhin French men's footballers French people of German descent Men's association football midfielders Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Olympique de Marseille players FC Metz players Grenoble Foot 38 players FC Mulhouse players US Raon-l'Étape players {{france-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub