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Steffen Højer (born 22 May 1973) is a Danish professional
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 player, who is the head coach of the Danish national under-21 football team. Højer spent most of his career with
Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening ("Viborg Footsport Association"), or Viborg F.F. and VFF for short, is a Danish professional football club based in Viborg. The club was founded in 1896 and waited more than a century before winning its only national ...
, although he also played for a number of other Danish clubs, and most notably won the
1998–99 Danish Superliga The 1998–99 Danish Superliga season was the 9th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 26, 1998, to final match on June 16, 1999. The Danish ...
with AaB. A prolific striker in the Superliga, he finished league top scorer three years in row in the 2003–04 (joint), 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. He played one match for the Danish national team. On 7 January 2008, the day of his retirement from his career as a professional footballer, Højer started as head of sport in Viborg FF.


Playing career

Born in Viborg, Højer made his senior debut for hometown club
Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening ("Viborg Footsport Association"), or Viborg F.F. and VFF for short, is a Danish professional football club based in Viborg. The club was founded in 1896 and waited more than a century before winning its only national ...
in the
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 ...
in 1992. Through four years at the club, Højer and Viborg struggled to get a foothold in the top-flight Danish Superliga. When they succeeded in the 1995–96 season, Højer scored 16 goals in 32 games, and was sold to league rivals
Aalborg Boldspilklub Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but cur ...
(AaB). He made his debut for the Danish national team, when he was substituted into an August 1996 match against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
for the last ten minutes of play. He was an immediate success at AaB, though he did not score as many goals as he did for Viborg FF. In his final year of contract at AaB, he helped the club win the 1998–99 Danish championship. He did not play much that season due to stiff competition from
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...
player Frank Strandli and fellow Dane Søren Frederiksen, which prompted Højer to look for a new club. He signed a contract with Italian club
Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy, that currently plays in . The club holds the record for total number of seasons (64) and consecutive seasons (18, from 1947–48 to 1 ...
and was loaned out from AaB to Viborg FF, while awaiting his AaB contract to expire in the summer 1999. At Viborg, he played four games before he suffered a knee injury, which meant he started his Italian career injured. His stay at Brescia was short, and he never played a game for the club. He moved back to Denmark in 2000, in order to play the season out at Danish 1st Division team
FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...
. He helped the club win promotion to the Superliga, before moving back to play with childhood club Viborg FF. Not regaining his former goal scoring prowess, lacklustre play in the first half of the 2002–03 season meant that Højer was sold to
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 ...
in January 2003. At Odense, he looked to replace league top scorer
Kaspar Dalgas Kaspar Buhl Dalgas (born 11 May 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who was the joint top scorer of the 2001–02 Danish Superliga season with 22 goals in 31 games. He represented the Denmark U21 team once, in 1997. Career Dalgas s ...
, who had been sold to
Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...
before that season. Højer rediscovered his goal scoring form at Odense, as he finished the 2003–04 season as joint top scorer with
Mohamed Zidan Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan ( ar, محمد عبد الله محمد زيدان) (born 11 December 1981), known as Mohamed Zidan, is an Egyptian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Mohamed Z ...
,
Mwape Miti Mwape Miti (born 24 May 1973) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has played 246 matches and scored 109 goals for his team Odense Boldklub, having joined them in the summer of 1997 from Power Dynamos. Prior ...
and
Tommy Bechmann Tommy Bechmann (born 22 December 1981) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger or forward. Career Early years Bechmann began his active career in 2000 at FC Aarhus, now called Aarhus Fremad. In 2002, he moved to fir ...
. He was the sole top scorer of the 2004–05 season. As Højer still lived in Viborg, he decided to once again play for Viborg FF when his contract expired following the 2004–05 season. In his first season back at Viborg FF, he set the record of three consecutive Superliga top scorer titles, improving
Peter Møller Peter Møller Nielsen (born 23 March 1972) is a Danish former professional football player who became a sports journalist after ending his football career in December 2005. In 2018 he became sporting director of Dansk Boldspil Union. He won fo ...
's former record of two, set in the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons. Steffen Højer scored 125 goals in Danish Superliga.


Coaching career

On 9 January 2023, Højer was appointed as the manager of the Danish national under-21 football team, signing a contract until the summer of 2025 and stepping up from his previous role as assistant manager, following Jesper Sørensen's departure.


Honours

*
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 ...
: 1998–99 * Danish Superliga top scorer: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06


References


External links

*
AaB profileCareer stats
at
Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hojer, Steffen 1973 births Living people People from Viborg Municipality Danish men's footballers Association football forwards Denmark international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Danish Superliga players AaB Fodbold players Viborg FF players FC Midtjylland players Odense Boldklub players Brescia Calcio players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Danish football managers Viborg FF managers Danish 1st Division managers Sportspeople from the Central Denmark Region