Kai Johansen (23 July 1940 – 13 May 2007) was a Danish professional
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 ...
who played as a full-back. He spent a large proportion of his career playing in Scotland with
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
.
Career
Born in
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 2 ...
, Johansen began his football career in the small club of Korsløkke before moving to Boldklubben 1909 in Odense as a striker. However, he was not successful, and moved to another of the major clubs in the city, Odense Boldklub. Here he found his natural place as a right full back and soon attracted attention from the Denmark national team manager. Johansen made his debut as a member of the national team on 11 June 1962 against
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
. The following year and a half he played 20 national matches.
After attracting international interest, Johansen was the first of a number of Scandinavian players signed by Morton in 1964.
The following year, Johansen signed for
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
on 24 June 1965 for £20,000 after impressing manager Scot Symon with his performance for a European Select side against a UK Select in
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while st ...
' testimonial. He scored for Rangers in the
1966 Scottish Cup Final
The 1965–66 Scottish Cup was the 81st staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated Celtic in the replayed final.
Preliminary round 1
Replays
Preliminary round 2
Replays
...
against Celtic, sealing a 1–0 win for Rangers and becoming the first foreign player to score in the final. This cup victory earned Rangers qualification to the following season's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Johansen featured throughout the run to the 1967 European Cup Winners' Cup Final – Rangers' second in their history – including scoring a goal in the 2–1 first leg win against Borussia Dortmund, the holders, who Rangers knocked out of the tournament. He played in the final which Rangers lost 1–0 in extra-time to Bayern Munich.
Becoming a professional footballer excluded Johansen from the national team, which at the time entirely consisted of amateurs. He undoubtedly would have had many more caps without this rule.
He retired in 1970 and returned to a career as a store owner. Before his career in Scotland, he had established a men's wear store in Odense. He also ran pubs in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
and on the
Costa del Sol
The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...
, before becoming a player's agent.
In 1970 Johansen moved to South Africa with joining
Cape Town City
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a Hood (headgear), hood in t ...
. At another South African side
Arcadia Shepherds
Arcadia Shepherds are a South African association football club based in Arcadia, Pretoria. It is affiliated with the Football Association of Pretoria (FAP).
History
The club was founded in 1903, and was briefly renamed ''Arcadia United'' in th ...
he managed the club's treble-winning side of 1974.
He was diagnosed with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
in 2006 and died on 13 May 2007. His death was marked with a minute's silence before Rangers' match against Kilmarnock that day.
NFL Cup
The NFL Cup was the association football cup competition of the National Football League (South Africa), National Football League in South Africa under Apartheid. It was established in 1959 and disbanded in 1977. The competition and only eligible ...