 Præst in action with Juventus in the 1950s | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1922-02-26)26 February 1922 | ||
| Place of birth | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| Date of death | 19 November 2011(2011-11-19) (aged 89) | ||
| Place of death | Frederiksberg, Denmark[1] | ||
| Position | Left winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1936–1940 | Østerbros Boldklub | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1940–1949 | Østerbros Boldklub | 250 | (?) |
| 1949–1956 | Juventus[3] | 232 | (51) |
| 1956–1957 | Lazio[3] | 7 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1945–1949 | Denmark[2] | 24 | (17) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Karl Aage Præst, also spelledCarl Aage Præst, (26 February 1922 – 19 November 2011)[4] was a Danishfootball player. Playing in theleft winger position, Præst won twoSerie A championships withItalian clubJuventus FC. He played 24 games and scored 17 goals for theDanish national team from 1945 to 1949, and won abronze medal at the1948 Summer Olympics.[5] He is aDanish Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Born in Copenhagen,[6] Karl Aage Præst attended the Royal Orphanage.[7] The orphanage became the youth team of football clubØsterbros Boldklub (ØB) in 1936, and Præst was among the first boys to join ØB. In his second year in the ØB youth team, Præst scored 57 goals in 16 games.[7] He made his senior debut in 1940.[7] At ØB, he played alongside later Danish internationalHelge Broneé. Præst was acknowledged as a world-class talent, with great balance anddribbling, and a great end-product of either precisecrossing or a goodshot on goal.[8] Præst played around 250 games while at ØB.[7]
He became internationally known through international exhibition games for Danish representative teamsStævnet andAlliancen,[7] and made his debut for theDenmark national football team in June 1945.[2] In May 1947, he was selected for theEurope XI representative team, which lost 1–6 to theGreat Britain national football team.[7] Præst was a part of the Danish team at the1948 Summer Olympics inLondon, where Præst played four games and scored two goals as Denmark won abronze medal.[9] After the Olympics, Præst signed a professional contract withItalian clubJuventus FC, and was thus banned from the amateur-only Danish national team.
_-_Boniperti_and_Pr%25C3%25A6st_in_training.jpg)
With Juventus, Præst won the1949–50 and1951–52 Serie A championships. Though considered fast in Denmark, Præst was not as fast as most Italian defenders, but succeeded through his dribbling skills.[8] Præst played alongside DanesJohn Hansen andKarl Aage Hansen at Juventus, and his dribbling and crossing ability was a key in making John Hansentop goal-scorer of the 1951–52 season.[8] Præst played 232 games and scored 51 goals for Juventus in the Serie A championship from 1949 to 1956.[3] In 1956, Præst moved on to league rivalsS.S. Lazio. He played seven games for the club, before ending his career in 1957.[3]
Upon his return to Denmark, Præst's status as ex-professional meant theDanish Football Association (DBU) kept him banned from playing in the Danish leagues. Præst and John Hansen had both bought vacation homes inLiseleje, and Præst's summer residence "Juve" was soon the gathering place of the 1948 Olympics team. The team was reformed, amateurs and ex-professionals alike, and played a string of unofficial high-profile exhibition matches that drew many spectators.[10] This provoked DBU to move on the issue of ex-professionals, and it was decided that following a quarantine of two years, ex-professionals were allowed to re-enter the Danish football league.[11]
At ØB's 75th anniversary in 1969, Præst andFlemming Nielsen arranged anold boys exhibition match between the 1948 Olympic team and Juventus FC, with the proceeds going to ØB.[12] In November 2008, Præst was voted into theDanish Football Hall of Fame, for his achievements with Juventus FC and the Danish national team.[13]
Præst died on 19 November 2011 at age 89.[14]
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sFootball | ||
Representing Denmark | ||
 | 1948 London | Team Competition |
Media related toKarl Aage Præst at Wikimedia Commons
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