Ruben Yttergård Jenssen
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Ruben Yttergård Jenssen (born 4 May 1988) is a Norwegian
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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for
Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...
club
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
, and the Norwegian national team. He was playing regularly for
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
in the
Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...
since 2008, and became one of the team's most important players before transferring to Kaiserslautern. Early in his career, Jenssen played as a winger, but he has later played as a central midfielder. Jenssen made his international debut for Norway in May 2010, and has since then been a member of the national team, and a regular starter since September 2012. He is the son of former footballer Truls Jenssen.


Early life

Born in
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
, Jenssen played for Fløya during his youth. His family moved to
Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; literally "Parish and the Fjords") was a Counties of Norway, county in western Norway, from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, after it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsda ...
when his father, Truls Jenssen, was head coach of
Sogndal IL Sogndal Idrettslag is a Norwegian alliance sports club from Sogndalsfjøra, Vestland. It has departments for association football, handball, volleyball, track and field, orienteering, taekwondo, swimming, powerlifting, speed skating, cross-countr ...
during the 1997 season, and the nine-year-old played for a team in Sogndal's youth department. Jenssen's mother, Ann-Torild, who played basketball for Tromsø Basketballklubb (now
Tromsø Storm Tromsø Storm is a Norwegian basketball team from the city of Tromsø, playing in the Norwegian Basketball Premier League, BLNO. The home arena of Tromsø Storm is Tromsøhallen, which has an official capacity of approximately 2,500 spectators, t ...
) did not want him to play football and wanted him to try out gymnastics and basketball instead. After he played basketball for a year when he was 13, he asked his mother if he could quit.


Club career


Tromsø


2006 season

After playing for Tromsø's youth team, Jenssen was promoted to the first-team squad ahead of the 2006 season. He signed a four-year contract with the club in April 2006, and Steinar Nilsen, Tromsø's director of sports, stated that Jenssen was one of the most talented footballers hailing from Tromsø ever. Tromsø's head coach
Ivar Morten Normark Ivar Morten Normark (born 27 May 1963) is a Norwegian football coach and former player. His most recent head coaching job was at FK Mjølner in the 2. divisjon. Normark resigned from this position at the end of the 2013 season. Normark led Aal ...
claimed that the signing of Jenssen was better for the development of young players from
Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...
, than if the club had signed
Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...
. Jenssen had been playing as a central midfielder during his youth, but was retrained as a left wing in 2006. He made his debut for Tromsø in the first match of the
2006 Tippeligaen The 2006 Tippeligaen was the 62nd completed season of top division football in Norway. The season began on April 9, 2006 and ended on November 5, 2006. Rosenborg became champions on October 29, with one round to go, by defeating Viking at home. T ...
against
Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
on 9 April 2006. Despite starting the first match of the season, Jenssen did not play regularly for the Tromsø-team that battled against relegation in 2006. He made four more appearances as a substitute in the league, and played one match in the
Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...
. Following
Ole Martin Ã…rst Ole Martin Ã…rst (born 19 July 1974) is a Norwegian retired professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He is a former top scorer in both Belgium's and Norway's top leagues. Club career ...
's transfer from
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...
to Tromsø in 2006, the Belgium club had secured an option to sign Jenssen free of charge, and he was in 2006 offered a contract with the club's academy. Jenssen rejected this offer. He was again offered a one-year contract with Standard in June 2007, this time with the club's first team, but Jenssen also turned this offer down.


2007 season

With Steinar Nilsen as head coach in the 2007 season, Jenssen made 15 appearances in the league, all as a substitute.


2008 season

After starting a few matches for Tromsø in the 2008 season, Jenssen scored his first goal in Tippeligaen with a match-winning goal against
HamKam Hamarkameratene (), often abbreviated to HamKam or Ham-Kam, is a Norwegian professional football club based in the town of Hamar. The club was founded in 1918, originally under the name Freidig. HamKam were most recently promoted to the Elites ...
on 20 July 2008. Jenssen scored another match-winning goal in August, this time against Aalesund, and became a regular starter for Tromsø during the season, contributing to the team's bronze medals.


2009 season

After Steinar Nilsen moved to Brann,
Per-Mathias Høgmo Per-Mathias Høgmo (born 1 December 1959) is a Norway, Norwegian football manager and former player. who is the head coach of Eliteserien club Molde FK, Molde. He has previously been head coach of Norway women's national football team and the Tipp ...
became the head coach of Tromsø, and Jenssen was in the 2009 season Høgmo's most used player as he played all of the 30 matches in the
2009 Tippeligaen The 2009 Tippeligaen was the 65th completed season of top division football in Norway. The competition began on 15 March and end on 1 November. Stabæk were the defending champions. Odd Grenland, Sandefjord and Start entered as the three promot ...
. After having played as a winger for Tromsø, he became a central midfielder this season.


2011 season

Jenssen also played most of the matches in the 2011 season, but after playing 89 matches in a row for Tromsø he missed the match against
Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
in August 2011 due to a suspension after three yellow cards. Jenssen scored his first Tippeligaen-goal in three years in the 3–1 win against
Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...
on 21 August 2011. He scored the first goal in the match after two minutes.


2012 season

In the 2012 season, Jenssen was again playing every match until he had to skip the match against
Sandnes Ulf Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club from Sandnes, Rogaland, currently playing in the 2. divisjon, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system. The club play their home matches at Øster Hus Arena. The cl ...
in November 2012 due to an injury. This was the first time Jenssen was unable to play a match for Tromsø, since he became a regular in the first time in 2008. Tromsø's
Miika Koppinen Miika Johannes Koppinen (born 5 July 1978) is a Finnish football coach and former international player who is currently an assistant coach at Finnsnes IL. Koppinen played professional football as a central defender from 1998 to 2014. He starte ...
was placed on the bench in the
2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final The 2012 Norwegian Football Cup final was the 107th final of the Norwegian Football Cup. The final was contested by Hødd and Tromsø and took place on 25 November 2012 at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, in front of a crowd of 24,217. This was Tromsø's ...
, and Jenssen captained the side in the club's third Norwegian Football Cup final.


1. FC Kaiserslautern

On 4 June 2013, he signed a three-year contract with 2. Bundesliga club
1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...
.


Groningen

On 7 June 2016, he signed with Dutch
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 ...
side
FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...
. In January 2018, Jenssen re-joined former club
1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...
on loan for the second half of the season.


Brann

Yttergård Jenssen signed with Brann on 11 August 2018 on a 2 years contract.


Tromsø

Yttergård Jenssen signed with
Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
on 18 January 2020 on a 4 years contract.


International career

Jenssen first represented Norway at the under-16 level, and soon became a regular on Norwegian youth teams. He played 21 matches and scored two goals from under-16 level to under-19 level, and became the captain of the under-21 team in 2009. He played a total of 13 matches for the under-21 team. In May 2010, Jenssen was selected for the Norwegian national team for the first time along with Jonathan Parr, as a replacement for Bjørn-Helge Riise and
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian former professional Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), coach. With 110 caps, Riise is the most capped player for the Norway national football te ...
who attended Bjørn-Helge's wedding. Jenssen made his debut for Norway when he started the match against
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
and played for 57 minutes. Parr and Jenssen were originally returning to the under-21 for a match against Finland U21 after the Montenegro-match, but they both returned to their clubs with injuries. Jenssen has since then been a regular in
Egil Olsen Egil Roger Olsen (born 22 April 1942), nicknamed Drillo, is a Norwegian former football manager and player. He is best known as a highly successful manager of the Norway national team. He also served as the manager of the Iraq national team, ...
's national team, and he has been a regular starter since he started the World Cup qualifier against
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
on 11 September 2012. Jenssen was awarded the Gold Watch after his 25th cap against
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
on 11 June 2013, and became the eighth footballer from
Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...
to reach that milestone.


Personal life

Jenssen comes from a family of footballers; his father Truls, is a former Tromsø player and he has also coached Sogndal, Tromsdalen and Tromsø. His brother Markus won the Norwegian Youth Cup with Tromsø, and the youngest brother
Ulrik Ulrik is a male name, a Scandinavian form of Ulrich. Ulrik may refer to: *Ulrik Frederik Christian Arneberg (1829–1911), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party * Albert Ulrik Bååth (1853–1912), Swedish poet * Ulrik Balling (born 1975 ...
has been a regular on Norwegian national youth teams and moved to
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
in 2013. Jenssen married his girlfriend of eight years, Maria Evertsen Berg, in December 2012. His best man was
Christer Johnsgård Christer Johnsgård (born 17 February 1987) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a striker for Tromsdalen. Johnsgård was born in Silsand. After one season in Tromsø IL he joined Tromsdalen UIL ahead of the 2017 season. Later that same seas ...
, a former
Tromsdalen or is an urban neighborhood in the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coast of the Tromsøysundet strait. The v ...
-player who now works in
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
.


Style of play

Being a central midfielder his biggest talent is his passing ability. His vision and orientation of the game combine with an outstanding left-foot to make him a powerful player.


Career statistics


Club

;Notes


International


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenssen, Ruben Yttergard 1988 births Living people Footballers from Tromsø Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Norway men's international footballers Sogndal Fotball players Tromsø IL players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players FC Groningen players SK Brann players Eliteserien players 2. Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen