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Jens Peter Hansen, alternatively spelled Jens Peder Hansen (15 March 1927 – 16 November 1996) was a Danish
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, rugby lea ...
who played 465 games and scored 150 goals for
Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional Association football, football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, Jylland, that plays in the Danish 1st Division, 1st division, the sec ...
in Denmark. He was the top goalscorer of the 1951
Danish football championship The Danish football champions are the winners of the highest league of football in Denmark. The title has been contested since 1913, in a varying form of competitions. Since 1991, the winners have been found through the Danish Superliga championsh ...
, and played 38 games and scored 18 goals for the
Denmark national football team The Denmark national football team ( or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark and Greenland in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing body for ...
. He represented Denmark at the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...
. He also played 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 ...
.


Club career

Hansen made his first-team debut as a 16-year-old, and would go on to play continuously for the club's first team for more than 22 years and achieve the unusual feat of playing alongside his son, Jørgen Peter Hansen, who made 37 appearances for the club between in the period 1964 and 1969. In total, Hansen made 465 appearances between 1942 and 1966, in which he scored 150 goals for Esbjerg fB, and is only surpassed in terms of number of matches by
Ole Kjær Ole Kjær (born 16 August 1954) is a Danish former association football, footballer, who won the 1978 Danish Player of the Year, Danish ''Player of the Year'' award. He played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, and most prominent ...
(474 matches) and in number of goals only by Michael Pedersen (159 goals). Hansen experienced helping to bring home the club's first Danish Championship in 1961, where at age 34 he was ten years older than the team's second oldest player. Hansen had an important share when the championship had to be decided in the last round away against Køge Boldklub. Esbjerg had to win the match to become champions. Køge took the 1–0 lead, but Hansen later scored directly from a corner kick, and Esbjerg ended up winning 2–1. He also won the championship in 1962, 1963 and 1965 as well as the
Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...
in 1964. Hansen never went abroad to play professionally despite receiving offers from Sampdoria and Hull City. After ending his active career, he joined Esbjerg's veteran team on several occasions to play matches in Canada, where a Danish emigrant who had seen Hansen play in his heyday, invited the team – with everything paid for – to come to his new homeland, provided that Jens Peder Hansen joined.


International career

Hansen gained two caps for Denmark U21 team after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after which he made his senior debut for
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in August 1949 in
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
against
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, who played their first international away game and thus also their first game on a grass pitch. 22-year-old Hansen played
centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
and scored two goals in the match, which Denmark won 5–1. He first played his final international match twelve years later and would during his national team career, among others, participate at the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...
in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, where he played all three matches. Hansen managed to play all five attacking positions for the national team in a period where the game was played after a fairly fixed system. He gained 38 caps from 1949 to 1961 and scored 18 goals.


Style of play

Hansen was known for his narrow, fast moves and his unpredictable
dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...
. He was a mood player who in his best days was difficult to control. Although he was distinctly right-footed, he mostly played on the left side, often cutting inside to score. Noted for his entertaining style, he was a popular figure also among opposing fans. In 1962, Hansen was apparently bored during a match against AB, and suddenly he left the pitch to buy a sausage by the hot dog stand, whereupon he came back and played on – to the great amusement of the audience and the coach's corresponding anger.


Outside football

Besides football, Hansen first worked as a depot worker at DSB, then as a municipal worker in Esbjerg Sports Park and later a driver. In 1962, he wrote the book ''Kom Så Jens Peder''. At the end of his life, Jens Peder Hansen was the coach of Esbjerg IF 92. He died on 16 November 1996.


Notes


References


Further reading

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External links

*
Esbjerg fB profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Jens Peter 1927 births 1996 deaths Danish men's footballers Esbjerg fB players Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Denmark Men's association football forwards Footballers from Esbjerg 20th-century Danish sportsmen