| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1971-04-09)9 April 1971 (age 53) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Herning, Denmark | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1998 | Brøndby | 222 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992 | →Ikast (loan) | ||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1992 | Denmark U21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Denmark | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Jens Risager (born 9 April 1971), also known asAyatollah Risager,[1][2] is a Danish former professionalfootballer who played as aleft-back.[3] He most prominently won fiveDanish football championships withBrøndby IF. He played 13 matches for theDenmark national football team, with whom he won the1995 King Fahd Cup and participated in theEuro 1996 tournament. He was selected for the Danish squad at the1992 Summer Olympics, though he did not play any games at the tournament.
Born inHerning,[4] Risager started his career with Danish amateur clubsHerning Fremad andHolstebro BK. He moved to the Danish top-flight club Brøndby IF in January 1990, with whom he won the 1990Danish 1st Division championship. He debuted for theDanish under-21 national team in September 1990, and played two under-21 national team games. Risager won the 1991 Danish championship with Brøndby, and was a part of the Brøndby squad which reached the semi-finals of the 1991UEFA Cup international tournament. In January 1992, Risager was deemed surplus by Brøndby managerMorten Olsen, and was puton loan at secondary league clubIkast FS.[5]
When his half-year loan contract ended later in 1992, Risager returned to Brøndby. He was a part of the Danish squad at the1992 Summer Olympics, but did not play any games in thefootball tournament. Risager won the 1994Danish Cup with Brøndby, and made his debut for the Danish national team under national team managerRichard Møller Nielsen in October 1994. The national team had missed a constant left defender, but the inclusion of Risager ahead ofMichael Schjønberg fromOdense BK was a surprise, not least to Risager himself.[6] Risager was selected to represent Denmark at the 1995 King Fahd Cup, where he played in all three matches, as Denmark won the tournament.
He was called up to the Danish squad for the Euro 1996 tournament, and took part in Denmark's first game of the tournament, againstPortugal. Denmark were ahead 1–0, when Portuguese strikerRicardo Sa Pinto edged ahead of Risager to equal the game at 1–1, the eventual result. Risager was singled out as the reason for the lost victory, and he took the blame for Sa Pinto's goal upon himself.[7] For Denmark's remaining two games at the tournament, Risager was replaced by Schjønberg. Møller Nielsen ended his tenure as Danish national team coach following Euro 1996, and Risager would not play any more national team games.
Risager remained a steady part of the Brøndby starting line-up, and was a part of the Brøndby team which won three Danish championships in a row from 1996 to 1998. He retired from football in the summer 1998, aged 27, as he suffered fromosteoarthritis in his knee.[8]
Denmark squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
