Michael Bro Johansen (born 22 July 1972) is a Danish former professional football player who played as a midfielder in the Danish Superliga for FC Copenhagen and for English club Bolton Wanderers. He played two games for the Danish national team in 2000 and 2002, and was an unused substitute at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He is the older twin brother of former footballer Martin Johansen, and played alongside him in several clubs.

Michael Johansen
Personal information
Full name Michael Bro Johansen
Date of birth (1972-07-22) 22 July 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Glostrup, Denmark
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1976–19?? Rosenhøj BK
19??–1990 Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Kjøbenhavns Boldklub 15 (1)
1991–1992 B 1903 26 (1)
1992–1996 FC Copenhagen 114 (17)
1996–2000 Bolton Wanderers 137 (16)
2000–2004 AB Copenhagen 96 (13)
2004–2007 Greve IF
Total 388+ (48+)
International career
2000–2002 Denmark 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Biography

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Born in Glostrup, both Michael and Martin Johansen started playing for local Copenhagen club Rosenhøj IF at the age of four.[2] They both went on to play for Kjøbenhavns Boldklub where they made their senior debut in the second-best Danish division in 1990. They moved to Danish Superliga club B 1903 in 1991 before they signed for FC Copenhagen upon the founding of that club in 1992. They helped the club win the Danish Superliga title in its first year of existence, and in 1996 the twins parted ways as Michael Johansen moved to the English First Division to join Bolton Wanderers. Signed for £1.250.000, he became a star at Bolton, earning the nickname "Smurf", and helped the club earn promotion to the Premier League for the 1997–98 season. Bolton's stint in the Premiership only lasted a year, before the club was once again relegated to the First Division. He also helped Bolton to the FA Cup semi final in 2000, but he was one of two Bolton players to have their penalty saved by Aston Villa goalkeeper David James as they crashed out in a penalty shootout.[3] In all, Johansen played 137 matches and scored 16 goals for Bolton.[4]

In June 2000, he returned to Denmark to play for Superliga bronze winners AB Copenhagen. As Morten Olsen became Danish national team coach in 2000, he called Johansen up for his national team debut in August 2000, in a 2–0 win against the Faroe Islands. In November 2002, Johansen won his second and last cap for Denmark, in a 2–0 win against Poland. As AB was relegated following the Danish Superliga 2003-04 season, Michael moved to amateur club Greve IF where he was reunited with Martin Johansen.[5] Michael Johansen is now a FIFA-licensed player agent.[6]

Honours

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Copenhagen

Bolton Wanderers

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Michael Johansen at WorldFootball.net  
  2. ^ Steen Uno, "Lille forskel — stor virkning", B.T. article, 18 August 1991
  3. ^ Lacey, David (2 April 2000). "Bolton miss out as Dublin delivers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  4. ^ Michael Johansen at Sporting-Heroes.net
  5. ^ "Johansen-brødrene samlet", Politiken article, 28 July 2004
  6. ^ Martin Kloster, "Agenter kender spillet indefra", Fyens Stiftstidende article, 3 April 2006
  7. ^ "Thursday 25/05 1995 at 15:00". fck.dk. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Wednesday 21/06 1995 at 20:00". fck.dk. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
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