Hans Viggo Jensen (29 March 1921 – 30 November 2005), known simply as Viggo Jensen, was a Danish

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 played 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

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional Association football, football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, Jylland, that plays in the Danish 1st Division, 1st division, the sec ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. He represented

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

internationally, scoring one goal in 15 games. He was also a member of the

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

who won

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

.Danish national team profile
/ref>

Biography

Jensen was born in

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

, but made his senior level break-through with Danish club

in the amateur-only Danish football. He made his debut for Esbjerg in September 1939, and played at least 195 official games for the club until 1948, including 68 games in the Danish top-flight championship from 1941 to 1945. Viggo Jensen was a physically strong player with a great fitness and tackling ability, as well as flair and technique. Jensen got his international debut in June 1945, and was a part of the amateur-only Danish national team until October 1948. He was one of only a few players from outside the

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 ...

area able to force his way into the national team, and was most often the only provincial player in the starting line-up. Jensen's versatility saw him deployed in a number of positions for the national team, as injury or bad form among his teammates dictated, though usually as a wing half back. According to then-captain of the national team, Knud Lundberg, Jensen's best position was as central half back, a position he was only allowed to play once for Denmark; leading the team to an 8-0 win against the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team () represents Poland in men's international Association football, football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football ...

. Following the game, Jensen was criticized by the

Danish Football Association The Danish Football Association (; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues, alongside the men's and women's national teams. Based ...

for successfully dribbling and passing the ball to his teammates instead of doing as he had been instructed; to hoof the ball away whenever he came under pressure. Even though Esbjerg were demoted to the

Danish 2nd Division The 2nd Division () is a professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Football Association (Danish FA; DBU) as part of the nation-wide Da ...

in 1945, Jensen kept his place in the national team squad, and was the only player from a non-Copenhagen team selected to represent his country at the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Here he filled in for injured Poul Petersen as right full back, and played all four games as Denmark won bronze medals. After the London Olympics, Jensen moved to play for English 2nd Division team

from October 1948 to November 1956, appearing in 308 Football League matches and scoring 51 goals. Jensen played the two first years as an amateur, before signing a professional contract with the club. His early appearances were at

inside-right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

, but he demonstrated great versatility, playing in every outfield position except on the wings. His later appearances were mainly as a left-back.HullCityOnline profile
In December 1956, he returned to Denmark to coach

, and he later coached lower-league team Varde Boldklub.EfB profile
at EfBhistorik.dk Upon his return to Denmark, he worked 23 years at the Esbjerg public power plant."The great dane er død", Jydske Vestkysten, December 2, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Viggo 1921 births 2005 deaths Men's association football forwards Danish men's footballers Esbjerg fB players Hull City A.F.C. players English Football League players Denmark men's international footballers Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Denmark Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Danish football managers Esbjerg fB managers Olympic medalists in football People from Skagen Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers from the North Jutland Region Danish expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Danish sportsmen