Brian Jensen (footballer, Born 1975)
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Brian Paldan Jensen (; born 8 June 1975) is a Danish retired 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 lea ...
and current first team goalkeeping coach at Shrewsbury Town. He played more than 300 English league games as a goalkeeper for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
and
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
. Jensen started his career with Danish lower-league club B.93, before joining Dutch Eredivisie club
AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...
in 1997. He made his senior breakthrough with West Bromwich Albion, playing a total of 50 games for the club. He joined Burnley in 2003 and played more than 300 games in all competitions, helping the club win promotion to the top-flight
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
in 2009.


Career


Early career

Born and raised in the
Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...
quarter of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Jensen began playing football as a defender in the youth team of B 93. As the youth team goalkeeper lacked height, the keeper job was given to the "biggest and dumbest" player of the team, according to Jensen himself.Kaspar Steenbach, "Bæstet fra Blågårds Plads", '' B.T.'', 20 August 2000 He was a substitute to goalkeeper Jan Hoffmann at the B 93 senior team. His goalkeeping talent caught the attention of Dutch outfit AZ when he was named best goalkeeper at a youth tournament in the Netherlands.Niels Rasmussen, "Det populære udyr", ''
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
'', 19 March 2001
He was loaned out from Alkmaar to Danish club Hvidovre IF for eight months, while finishing his
electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...
education, before going to play as a full-time professional for Alkmaar in February 1998. Jensen managed one appearance in the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
championship in his time at Alkmaar, serving exclusively as a substitute for
Dutch international The Dutch International is an open international badminton tournament held in the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories i ...
keeper
Oscar Moens Oscar Moens (born 1 April 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. After his retirement, he has held positions in the coaching staff of Sparta Rotterdam ...
.


West Bromwich Albion

While waiting for his Alkmaar contract to run out, Jensen trained with Division One side
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
, where his imposing stature earned him the nickname "The Beast". When West Brom keeper Chris Adamson was asked to comment on Jensen, he told reporters he was "nothing but a beast".Tommy Heisz and Peter Gisselmann, "Talent: Bæstet i buret", Aktuelt, 29 January 2001 Jensen moved to West Brom for a fee of £80,000 in March 2000. He made his Albion debut on 7 March 2000 and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Tranmere Rovers. He stayed at West Brom for three years, playing a total of 50 games. He helped the club survive in Division One in 1999–2000, and was a regular for much of the following season, until the arrival of Russell Hoult saw the end of Jensen's playing time for WBA in February 2001. Jensen never re-gained a regular place, playing only one match in Albion's promotion season of 2001–02. He moved on in 2003, after West Brom were relegated, finishing 19th in the Premier League.


Burnley

He joined Burnley on 30 June 2003 on a free transfer. During his first season at Burnley, he was the only goalkeeper on their books. The club avoided relegation by just two points, finishing in 19th position in the First Division. After the arrival of Danny Coyne in the summer of 2004, he found himself second choice keeper at
Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...
, but through good form and a serious injury to Coyne he earned his place back in the starting line-up. Following impressive form in autumn 2004, Jensen criticised national team manager
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (; born 14 August 1949) is a Danish former Association football, football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national football team, Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding ...
for not having watched him play, when Jensen thought he had earned a place in the Danish national squad. After a run of performances in which Jensen's form was found lacking by Burnley manager Steve Cotterill, goalkeeper Mike Pollitt was brought on loan to Turf Moor in January 2007. In response to being left out of the Burnley team for a match at
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, Jensen wanted to leave the club, and on 22 January 2007 Burnley placed him on the transfer list. However, by April of that year, Jensen had not only re-established himself as the club's first-choice but his relationship with Cotterill had improved and he was taken off the transfer list. Burnley brought in another goalkeeper, Gábor Király, before the 2007–08 season and Jensen found himself once again seemingly second choice, spending four months out of the team from mid-September. He returned to regular first team action in January 2008. He signed a new two-year contract with Burnley in June 2008. He saved two penalties to help Burnley beat Chelsea in the fourth round of the League Cup. He played in the 2009 Football League Championship play-off final, in which Burnley beat Sheffield United 1–0 at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
to earn promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. On 19 August 2009, he was named
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
in Burnley's 1–0 Premier League victory over
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, which was Burnley's first top division win in 33 years. The performance included a range of saves as well as a penalty save against
Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough. He is considered as one of the best midfield ...
. He signed a new two-year contract with the club in June 2010. Jensen played his 300th league game in a 4–0 win over Hull City on 28 September 2010. On 22 December 2010, Jensen officially handed in a written transfer request due to lack of games. However, Jensen decided to withdraw the transfer request. Jensen would then sign a one-year contract with the club. On 6 May 2013, Jensen announced to his followers on Twitter that he was not going to be offered a new contract. Despite being released, Jensen told langebolde.dk in the interview that he ruled out retirement due to desire to play on for many years.


Bury

Jensen joined Bury on a short-term contract on 2 September 2013, and was named player-goalkeeper coach the following January. Having made seventeen appearances, Jensen signed a contract extension with the club until the end of the season. At the end of the season, he was named Bury Player of the Season by both the fans of the club and by local newspaper Bury Times. Despite good performances, Jensen was released by the club in May 2014 after being told that he would not be offered a new contract.


Crawley Town

On 27 May 2014, Jensen signed a one-year contract at Crawley Town under manager John Gregory. He was Crawley's second signing of the 2014–15 season. Jensen made 20 appearances for The Reds before dislocating his finger against MK Dons in January 2015.


Mansfield Town

On 24 June 2015, Jensen signed a one-year deal with League Two rivals
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
on a free transfer as a player and goalkeeping coach. Jensen holds the record for being the oldest player to play for the club at the age of 40 years, seven months and nine days. The Nottinghamshire club extended Jensen's term at Field Mill at the end of the 2015–16 season. He was released by Mansfield at the end of the 2016–17 season.


Crusaders

On 17 May 2017, Jensen signed a one-year contract with
NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...
side
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
.


Coaching career

After a playing career spanning over 25 years, Jensen launched a ne
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youth goalkeeping academy in
Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...
,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
on 31 May 2016. On 1 June 2018, it was announced that he had returned to Bury on a two-year contract as the first team goalkeeping coach, working with manager Ryan Lowe. On 21 June 2019, Jensen joined the backroom staff as goalkeeping coach at League One side Shrewsbury Town.


Personal life

Brian is the father of goalkeeper Sebastian Jensen who currently plays for
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
side Brighton and Hove Albion in their U21 team.


Career statistics


Recognition

A child born to Burnley fans in 2011 was named after Jensen, with thirteen middle names after other players on the team.


Honours

;Burnley * Football League Championship play-offs:
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
;Crusaders *
NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...
: 2017–18


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Brian 1975 births Living people Footballers from Copenhagen Danish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Boldklubben af 1893 players AZ Alkmaar players Hvidovre IF players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Bury F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Crusaders F.C. players Bury F.C. non-playing staff Mansfield Town F.C. non-playing staff Eredivisie players Premier League players English Football League players Shrewsbury Town F.C. non-playing staff Crawley Town F.C. non-playing staff Association football goalkeeping coaches NIFL Premiership players