Jean Ronny Johnsen (born 10 June 1969) is a Norwegian former

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, rugb ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

. Johnsen played club football in Norway, Turkey, and England for Sem,

Stokke Stokke is a town in Sandefjord municipality in Vestfold County, Norway. It lies in-between Sandefjord and Tønsberg, two of Vestfold's largest cities. It was a municipality from 1838 to 2016. The administrative centre of the municipality was th ...

, Eik-Tønsberg,

Lyn Ubisoft Montpellier is a French video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Castelnau-le-Lez. Founded in 1994 as Ubi Pictures, it is best known for developing the ''Rayman'' and '' Beyond Good & Evil'' series. At 350 employees as of ...

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger b ...

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, ...

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park, ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

and

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for its ...

. He was capped 62 times for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, and competed at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for t ...

Club career

Born in Sandeford, Johnsen grew up in

where he played for the local sides Sem IF and Stokke IL during his youth. He started his senior career as a striker in the second tier side Eik-Tønsberg in 1987, but was retrained as a

by head coach

Nils Johan Semb Nils Johan Semb (born 24 February 1959) was the coach of the Norway national football team from 1998 to 2003, presiding over 68 matches. He led the team to its first European Football Championship in 2000. Though successful, at least in the beg ...

. Johnsen wanted to play as a striker and after he transferred to

ahead of the 1992 season he played as a striker for the club in

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

. Halfway through the 1994 season, Johnsen transferred to

, where he was used more as a centre-back than a striker, before he moved to

in 1995. After a half season in Turkey, Johnsen was approached by

manager,

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

who wanted to sign him. Johnsen turned down the first offer, but transferred to Manchester United during the summer of 1996, and signed a five-year contract with the club. With a fee of £1.2million, Johnsen became the then most expensive Norwegian defender. While at Manchester United, he won 4 league titles (1997, 1999, 2000, and 2001), and one

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

in 1999 with the club. He was also a part of the team that won the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

in 1999. He covered the central midfield position in Manchester United's away win over

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

in the semi-final. He also played the whole of the final in Barcelona, this time in defence, alongside

Jaap Stam Jakob Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. Stam played for several European clubs including ...

. He has the rare distinction of also winning four medals in four consecutive appearances with the club. He was on the pitch for the title clincher, FA Cup final, and Champions League final in 1999, and because of injury, the 2000 league title clincher against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. Although he fell well short of the 10 appearances required for a title winner's medal in 2000, he received a title winner's medal through special dispensation – similar to the one credited to

Dion Dublin Dion Dublin (born 22 April 1969) is an English former professional footballer, television presenter and pundit. He is a club director of Cambridge United. As a player he was a centre-forward, notably playing in the Premier League for Mancheste ...

for the same reason seven years earlier. The following season, he just met the criteria for a title medal. While at Manchester United, he scored eight goals in all competitions – the first coming against Chelsea in the

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

in August 1997. He remained with them until his contract expired at the end of the 2001–02 season, when he was given a free transfer. In 2002, Johnsen and fellow Norwegian international

Øyvind Leonhardsen Øyvind Leonhardsen (born 17 August 1970) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He retired after the 2007 season, ending a career with nine years in English football at clubs Wimbledon, Liverpool, Tottenham H ...

had a trial at German side Schalke 04. After that move fell through, Johnsen signed with

. In two years at Aston Villa, he scored once in the league, against Leeds United in February 2004. After leaving Aston Villa, Johnsen was offered a trial at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and played against

Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...

in a friendly, ultimately he could not agree terms with the club. Johnsen then signed for

but only played a handful of games before being released with concerns over his fitness levels. In February 2005, Johnsen announced his retirement from professional football. Shortly afterwards he changed his mind, signing a one-year contract with the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

club

. Subsequently, he renewed this contract three times for the following 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons. Johnsen retired as an active football player on 3 November 2008, with Vålerenga losing their final game of the 2008 season 1–0 to

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...

International career

Johnsen did not represent Norway at youth level; but while Johnsen was playing for Eik at the second tier, national team coach Egil Olsen, because of a recommendation from Nils Johan Semb, included Johnsen in his squad without having seen him play. Johnsen made his debut for the Norwegian national team in a friendly match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

in 1991. He played as winger, striker and midfielder during his early career at the national team, before he was used primarily as a centre-back. Johnsen played some of the matches in the

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

, and played as a striker when Norway won 3–0 away against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in 1993 and qualified for the World Cup, but was left out of the squad that travelled to the United States. Four years later, Johnsen was first choice at centre-back, and played all four matches in the

. Johnsen played 61 matches for Norway, until May 2004 when he played against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Three years later, he made a comeback for the national team, and played the whole match home against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, which was Johnsen's last match at international level. He was 38 years and 73 days when he was last capped, making him the second-oldest player for the Norwegian national team, only beaten by Gunnar Thoresen.

Career statistics

¹ Includes

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) 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 footba ...

and

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas� ...

. ² Includes Champions League and

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. ³ Includes

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...

and

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...

Honours

Manchester United *

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

: 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01 *

: 1998–99 *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

: 1998–99 Vålerenga *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

Individual * Kniksen Awards: Kniksen's honour award in 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnsen, Ronny 1969 births Living people People from Stokke People from Sandefjord Sportspeople from Tønsberg Norwegian footballers Norway international footballers Eik-Tønsberg players Lyn Fotball players Lillestrøm SK players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Manchester United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Vålerenga Fotball players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Eliteserien players Premier League players Süper Lig players Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in England Association football defenders Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate footballers UEFA Champions League winning players FA Cup Final players Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark