Steffen Bjørnebo Rasmussen (born 30 September 1982), known as Steffen Rasmussen, is a Danish 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
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Grenaa
Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, an ...
, Steffen Rasmussen played his youth football in minor club Stenvad Boldklub, before joining the youth setup of
AGF Aarhus
Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ), is a professional sports club based in Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1880, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country and gymnastics and fencing are featured as its main sports. Howev ...
. He spent a year with lower-league Jutland Series club Grenaa IF, before returning to AGF. He established himself as second-choice keeper behind
Erik Boye
Erik Boye (born 7 February 1964) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Under new manager
Poul Hansen
Hans Christian Poul Hansen (27 February 1913 – 13 August 1966), simply known as Poul Hansen, was a Danish politician, who served as Defence Minister of Denmark from 1956 to 1962 and Danish Minister of Finance from 1962 to 1965. He represented ...
, Rasmussen made his
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 ...
debut for AGF against
Odense Boldklub
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 ...
on 10 November 2002, replacing Boye at half-time. As Boye suffered a back injury, Rasmussen played the next three games in a row. Boye returned to the starting line-up, but following another injury, Rasmussen established himself as AGF's first choice, playing the last 13 games of the
2002–03 Danish Superliga
The 2002–03 Danish Superliga season was the 13th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 27, 2002 to final match on June 22, 2003.
The Danish ch ...
season. In August 2003, AGF brought in Rune Pedersen to replace the retiring Boye. Rasmussen began the
2003–04 Danish Superliga
The 2003–04 Danish Superliga season was the 14th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 26, 2003 to the final match on May 29, 2004.
The Danis ...
season as starting goalkeeper, but lost his place to Pedersen in April 2004 following a slump in form. He was second choice for the
2004–05 Danish Superliga
The 2004–05 Danish Superliga season was the 15th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from 24 July 2004 to 19 June 2005.
The Danish champions qualified for 2005–06 UEFA ...
season, but following an injury to Pedersen in April 2005, Rasmussen got another chance and again established himself in the starting line-up.
He was the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for the
2005–06 Danish Superliga
The 2005–06 Danish Superliga season was the 16th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 19, 2005 to the final match on May 14, 2006.
FC Københ ...
season, missing only four games through a hand injury. He was named the AGF player of the season, but could not keep AGF from being relegated. He stayed with AGF 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 ...
. He suffered a shoulder injury during the season, but helped the club bounce right back into the Superliga. He played all 33 games of the
2007–08 Danish Superliga
The 2007–08 Danish Superliga season was the 18th 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 started with the first ...
season. Before the
2008–09 Danish Superliga
The 2008–09 Danish Superliga was the 19th season of Danish Superliga league championship, which determines the winners of the Danish football championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. The season started on 19 July 2008 and ende ...
season, he was named captain of the team by AGF coach
Ove Pedersen
Ove Pedersen (born 30 August 1954) is a Danish football manager and a former player. He works as an assistant to the sporting director in FC Midtjylland, Svend Graversen.Peter Graulund
Peter Graulund (born 20 September 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for Danish clubs Vejle Boldklub, Brøndby IF and AGF, German side VfL Bochum, and Swedish club Helsingborgs IF. He played six g ...
. He missed only two games that season, due to a hand injury. In a 1–0 defeat to
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 ...
on 14 April 2010, Rasmussen got his first
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...
in his AGF career, following a foul on
Jonas Borring
Jonas Skov Borring (born 4 January 1985) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left winger.
Club career OB
Borring started his career in Glamsbjerg IF and has later played for Årslev Boldklub, Dalum IF and B 1913 before joi ...
. He missed two games through suspension. Despite playing 31 of 33 games, Rasmussen could not keep AGF from being relegated at the end of the
2009–10 Danish Superliga
The 2009–10 Danish Superliga season was the 20th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, which determinates the winners of the Danish football championship. It is governed by the Danish Football Association. The tournament started o ...
season.
International career
Having made his breakthrough with AGF, Rasmussen was called up for the Denmark U21 national team in March 2003, serving as a backup to
Stephan Andersen
Stephan Maigaard Andersen (born 26 November 1981) is a Danish professional football player, who plays as a goalkeeper for VB 1968. He was a full international for the Denmark national team and was chosen to represent his country at UEFA Euro 2 ...
. He made his under-21 debut in an April 2003
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
Morten Olsen
Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...
considered including Rasmussen in the squad for the
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...
games against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
IFK Göteborg
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...
instead. In January 2010, he was called up for the Denmark League XI to replace the injured Stephan Andersen, playing one unofficial national team game for the team.
Retirement
On 20 March 2018, it was confirmed that Rasmussen retired from football.
Style of play
Rasmussen's strengths were in one-on-one situations, relying on his quick reactions and vision for the game, but he was criticized for not commanding his field on especially corner kicks and free kicks, due to his lack of height.
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 ...