Stefan Marius Johansen (born 8 January 1991) is a Norwegian 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 ...

who plays as a

central 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 ...

and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

EFL Championship club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. In 2021 he announced that he had retired from international duty with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. Johansen joined Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. He made his first-team debut in 2007, and transferred to Strømsgodset in 2011 where he was one of the key players in the team that finished second in the league in 2012 and won the league-title in 2013. Johansen won the

Kniksen Award The Kniksen Award ( no, Kniksenprisen), established in 1990, honors the best players in the Norwegian football premiership. The award is named after the legendary Norwegian football player Roald Jensen, nicknamed "Kniksen". Categories Catego ...

as the midfielder of the year in 2013. He transferred to Celtic in January 2014. At Celtic in 2015 he won their player of the year voted for by fans of the club. Johansen has represented Norway at youth international level, and was a part of the under-21 team at the 2013 European Championship. He made his full international debut in 2013.

Club career

Bodø/Glimt

Johansen was born and raised in

Vardø ( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administr ...

, a small town in the far north of

. He moved to Bodø to sign for Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. He joined the first-team squad along with Anders Ågnes Konradsen ahead of the 2007 season and Johansen made his debut for the team in the First Round of the

2007 Norwegian Football Cup The 2007 Norwegian Football Cup was the 102nd season of Norwegian annual knockout football tournament. The competition started on 19 May 2007 with the first-round games and ended on 11 November 2007 with the final. The defending champions were ...

against

Hammerfest Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerf ...

. Johansen played six matches in

Adeccoligaen The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon and OBOS-ligaen (named sponsor is property developer OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are p ...

when Bodø/Glimt was promoted to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

in 2007, and made his debut in Tippeligaen in the 3–2 win against

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

on 10 August 2008 when he replaced Jan Derek Sørensen in the 85th minute. Johansen made four appearances in the 2009 season, going on to play regularly for Bodø/Glimt in Adeccoligaen in 2010 and was regarded as one of the biggest talents in Northern Norway. Clubs like

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

and Aalesund wanted to sign Johansen whose contract expired after the season, but he signed a three-year contract with Strømsgodset in December 2010, and joined the club on a free transfer on 1 January 2011. Johansen played 18 matches in

in his final season at Bodø/Glimt.

Strømsgodset

Johansen made his debut for Strømsgodset against in the 2–1 against

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

when he came on in the 80th minute and replaced Fredrik Nordkvelle. In his first season at Strømsgodset, Johansen made 13 league appearances and scored one goal. In the match against

Sandnes Ulf Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club from Sandnes, Rogaland, currently playing in the 1. divisjon, the second highest division in the Norwegian football league system. The club play their home matches at Øster Hus Arena. The cl ...

on 16 May 2012, Johansen scored a goal from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

. In the 5–0 win against

on 27 May 2012, Johansen scored another goal from a free kick, identical to the one he scored 11 days earlier. Johansen made his break-through at Strømsgodset after

Mohammed Abu Mohammed Abu (born 14 November 1991) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. He previously played for Strømsgodset, Rayo Vallecano, Lorient, Columbus Crew SC, and Vålereng ...

returned to Manchester City, when he became a regular in Strømsgodset's starting line-up and was in August 2012 awarded the Statoil Talent Prize for his performances. In 2013, Johansen helped Strømsgodset to win their first league title in 43 years and was voted the Midfielder of the Year in the Norwegian league.

Celtic

On 15 January 2014, Johansen sealed a move to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

club Celtic for a transfer fee of £2 million. Johansen signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, and became the fourth Norwegian to play for Celtic following Harald Brattbakk,

Vidar Riseth Vidar Riseth (born 21 April 1972) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or midfielder. He played for Neset, Rosenborg, Kongsvinger, Lillestrøm and Strømsgodset in Norway, and Luton Town, LASK Linz, Celti ...

and Thomas Rogne. He was given the number 25 shirt, the same number worn in previous years by

Ľubomír Moravčík Ľubomír "Lubo" Moravčík (born 22 June 1965) is a Slovakian football manager and former footballer. A creative midfielder renowned for his technical ability, he was capable of unleashing powerful, accurate shots, and pinpoint crosses with bo ...

and

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

. Johansen made his debut for Celtic in the 4–0 victory against Hibernian on 26 January 2014 when he played the last five minutes as a substitute. He scored his first goal for Celtic on 22 March 2014 in a home league match against St Mirren, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win with a header.

Fulham

Johansen signed a three-year deal with Fulham on 26 August 2016 for an undisclosed fee. Johansen scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against

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 ...

on 18 October 2016. On 31 January 2019, Johansen joined West Brom on loan until the end of the season.

Queens Park Rangers

On 26 January 2021, Johansen joined

on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for QPR in a 2-1 win over Bournemouth on 20 February 2021. On 24 July 2021, following a successful loan spell, Johansen returned to Queens Park Rangers on a permanent deal, signing a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Johansen made his debut for Norway when he played for the under-15 team against Poland U15 on 8 August 2006. He has later represented Norway at every level up to under-23, and played both matches for the under-21 team when they eliminated France U21 and qualified for the

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

. Johansen was part of the Norway side which beat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the European Under-21 Championships before losing to eventual winners

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at the semi-final stage. Johansen has thirty-six full international caps for his country, scoring his first international goal on his debut against Sweden in Stockholm on 14 August 2014. On 22 March 2017, Johansen was appointed as the new captain of

, replacing

Per Ciljan Skjelbred Per Ciljan Skjelbred (born 16 June 1987) is a Norwegian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Rosenborg. He has previously played for Hertha Berlin and Hamburger SV, and has been capped 43 times playing for Norway, but as of 2017, ...

. On 10 March 2021, Johansen announced that he would retire from international football immediately.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Johansen goal''.

Honours

Strømsgodset *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Celtic *

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: 2014–15 Fulham * EFL Championship play-offs:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Individual *

, Midfielder of the Year: 2013 * Gullballen: 2014 *

PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish footbal ...

: 2014–15 * Celtic Player of the Year: 2014–15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johansen, Stefan 1991 births Living people People from Vardø Norwegian footballers Norway youth international footballers Norway under-21 international footballers Norway international footballers Association football midfielders FK Bodø/Glimt players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Celtic F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players Scottish Professional Football League players Norwegian expatriate footballers English Football League players Premier League players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Sportspeople from Troms og Finnmark