Espen Johnsen (born 20 December 1979) is a retired Norwegian

football goalkeeper Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. His brother

Marius Johnsen Marius Johnsen (born 28 August 1981) is a Norwegian footballer defender. His older brother Espen Johnsen is a former professional goalkeeper. Career During the summer of 2005, he made his debut on the Norwegian national team. In the end of 2 ...

is also a footballer, currently playing for

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 ...

Football career

His career started in local club Vigør. After a few years playing for

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms * ...

, he was brought to Rosenborg in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

. He was mostly benched his first two years there because of the

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

Arni Gautur Arason, who left Rosenborg in 2003 for

Manchester City 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 two ...

. Espen then established himself as the first-choice in Rosenborg as well as on the

Norwegian national team 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 ...

, but lost his place after a six-month injury layoff resulting from an injury sustained while playing against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. After becoming second choice in Rosenborg after the purchase of Lars Hirschfeld, Johnsen made it clear that he was not satisfied with his "demotion", and on 6 October 2006, Strømsgodset announced that he had agreed to join them on a one-year loan deal starting January 2007. He returned to Rosenborg in 2008. In March 2010 he was linked to Swedish champions AIK and according to Norwegian press, he was edging closer to a deal with them. Despite offers from Rosenborg and others Johnsen retired as a player in 2010 due to suffering from

jumper's knee Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper's knee, is an overuse injury of the tendon that straightens the knee. Symptoms include pain in the front of the knee. Typically the pain and tenderness is at the lower part of the kneecap, though the upp ...

, and to focus on his studies.

Education and personal life

Espen is studying to be an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

at the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology 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 th ...

in Trondheim, Norway. When living in Kristiansand, he studied at the Agder University College, taking his exam in Christian studies. He is an active member of the

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, or the Free Church as it is commonly known ( no, Den Evangelisk Lutherske Frikirke, shortened ''Frikirken''), is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway, consisting of 83 congregations and 21,817 baptised memb ...

. Johnsen is in 2019 the doctor assigned to the

first team.

Honours

Individual

Kniksen award The Kniksen Award ( no, Kniksenprisen), established in 1990, honors the best players in the Norwegian football premiership. The award is named after the legendary Norwegian football player Roald Jensen, nicknamed "Kniksen". Categories Categ ...

as Goalkeeper of the year: 2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnsen, Espen 1979 births Living people Kniksen Award winners Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Rosenborg BK players IK Start players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Eliteserien players Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni University of Agder alumni Footballers from Kristiansand