Henrik Andersen (born 7 May 1965) is a Danish former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, who played eight years at Belgian club

RSC Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Div ...

as a defender, with whom he won the 1983

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He played for the Danish national team in 30 matches, and scored two goals. He represented Denmark at the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

and the triumphant

Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

tournament, where he suffered a serious

knee injury In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, during the semi-final. His son Kristoffer Andersen is also a retired professional footballer.

Club career

Born at

Amager Amager ( ), located in the Øresund, is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 216,000 inhabitants (January 2022). The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (including Kalvebod Fælled) makes up more than one-third of the ...

, Andersen started his career in

Fremad Amager Boldklubben Fremad Amager (meaning in English: The Ball Club Forward Amager; abbreviated Fremad A) is a Danish professional football club based in the district of Amager Vest, Copenhagen. As of the 2024–25 season, the club's senior men's team ...

, where he made his senior debut at the age of 16. In July 1982, he moved abroad to play for Belgian club

in the Jupiler League championship. In his first season with the club, at the age of 18, he won the international 1983

tournament. In the following years, he won three Jupiler League championships and two

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

s with Anderlecht. Andersen moved on to Germany in July 1990, where he played for German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

. He did not win anything in his time with Köln. Though the club reached the 1991

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

cup final, they were beaten by Werder Bremen in

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Following his knee injury at the

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

, Andersen spent 11 months in rehabilitation, before he returned for Köln in May 1993. He soon thereafter suffered another knee injury to his

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

, and was out until February 1994. Following continued injury problems, he finally became fit for the 1996–97 season where he played 28 of 34 games. After another injury, he ended his career in May 1998, 33 years old, and went on to become a

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

in December that year.

International career

Andersen made his international debut with the Danish under-16s in April 1980. He went on to play 35 youth internationals until October 1985, including seven games for the

Denmark national under-21 football team The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years. Tournament record UEFA European U-21 Championship *''*Draws include knockout matche ...

. While at Anderlecht, he received his first call-up for the senior Danish national team by national team manager

Sepp Piontek Josef Emanuel Hubertus "Sepp" Piontek (born 5 March 1940) is a German former football player and manager. Playing career Born in Wrocław during World War II, Piontek started his playing career with VfL Germania Leer. Between 1963 and 1972, the ...

. He made his debut in May 1985, and was selected to represent Denmark at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

. He started the World Cup as a substitute, but played in the last three matches before Denmark were eliminated. Andersen was once more called up to represent Denmark at an international tournament at the Euro 1992, under national manager

Richard Møller Nielsen Richard Møller Nielsen (19 August 1937 – 13 February 2014) was a Danish football player and manager. He coached the Denmark national football team that won the UEFA Euro 1992 tournament. In 1995, he was awarded a gold version of the Medal of ...

. Andersen played full-time in Denmark's three first matches at Euro 1992, but the tournament ended in tears. In the semi-final against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Andersen collided with Dutch striker

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

, and cracked his

kneecap The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

. He re-entered the Danish national team for a single match in August 1994, which was the last of his 30 national team matches.

Honours

Anderlecht *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 *

: 1987–88, 1988–89 *

: 1982–83 Denmark * 1992 European Championship

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Henrik 1965 births Living people Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Danish men's footballers Denmark men's international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers 1. FC Köln players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Bundesliga players Belgian Pro League players 1986 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1992 players UEFA European Championship–winning players Men's association football fullbacks Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium 20th-century Danish sportsmen