Mads Fenger Nielsen (born 10 September 1990) is 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

AC Horsens Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...

. Fenger holds the record for most first team appearances in the history of

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

Early life

Mads Fenger grew up 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 ...

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

and started his football career at local club

IK Skovbakken Vejlby Skovbakken Aarhus (; commonly known as VSK Aarhus) is a Danish football club based in Risskov, a neighbourhood in Aarhus. The club was founded in 2016 when the football departments of Vejlby IK Fodbold and Idrætsklubben Skovbakken decid ...

. In 2007, he joined

youth academy but soon started to play senior football with their reserve team

Randers Freja Randers Sportsklub Freja (often abbreviated Randers Freja) is a Danish sport club with teams in athletics, handball, table tennis and football. History Randers Freja was founded in 1898, and was accepted into the Jydsk Boldspil-Union, JBU i ...

Club career

Randers FC

Fenger made his competitive debut for Randers in the 2008–09 season, making three appearances. During the 2009–10 season, Fenger formed a strong central-defence with

Anders Egholm Anders Høyen Egholm (born 15 May 1983) is a retired Danish professional football defender. Career On 6 November 2009, the central defender, with a contract expiring within the end of November 2009 with Danish side of SønderjyskE, signed an ...

as part of a Randers-team that miraculously avoided relegation after being 13 points under the relegation-line half way through the season. Fenger and Randers ultimately ended up 10th and avoided relegation, in a season that has since been described as the most dramatic in the history of the club. The upcoming

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Fenger played 16 league games as Randers had a hard time following up on their results from the previous season. Ultimately the club finished 11th, thus facing relegation to the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

. Staying with the club despite the relegation, Fenger, once again, played a vital part in a team that secured a second place in the Danish 1st Division and thereby earned a promotion to the Danish Superliga in the 2011–12 season. Fenger played a total of 25 league games throughout the campaign. In the 2012–13 season, Fenger was a key player in the central defence, playing a total of 32 league games. The season ended with Randers securing a third place – the best league result in the history of the club. Fenger also helped the club to reach the final of the Danish Cup, where the team lost 0–1 to

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 ...

. Following several strong seasons, Fenger was promoted to vice-captain of Randers during the 2014–15 season, marking his growing influence in the squad. Fenger played a total of 32 out of 33 league games, as Randers finished 4th in the league. On August 16, 2015, in a match against OB, Fenger made his 200th appearance the club, becoming only the second player in the club's history to reach this milestone. In March 2016, Fenger was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

at Randers. He left the club at the end of the 2016–17 season. Fenger holds the record for most first team appearances in the history of said club, 262 across all competitions.

Hammarby IF

2017

On 17 February 2017, Fenger agreed to join the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

club

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

on a pre-contract. The three-year deal came to effect on 15 July the same year, at the start of the summer transfer window. Fenger made his competitive debut for the side on 17 July, playing the whole game in 3–0 loss against

Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Allsvenskan and have spent ...

. He quickly established himself as an important member in manager

Jakob Michelsen Jakob Saldern Stein Michelsen (born 30 September 1980) is a Danish football manager. He is currently the manager of Norwegian Eliteserien club HamKam. Jakob Michelsen was selected coach of the year in Denmark in 2015. He was the coach behind t ...

's side, usually pairing up with compatriot

Bjørn Paulsen Bjørn Iversen Paulsen (born 2 July 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays for OB in the Danish Superliga. Primarily a centre back, he is known for his versatility in playing several positions on the pitch. Early life Paulsen was ...

in the central defence. After making ten appearances for Hammarby, Fenger was ruled out for the remainder of the season following a serious groin injury, which he attracted in a 2–1 win against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

on 20 September. Fenger went under the knife in October, with an expected return in early 2018.

2018

In 2018, Fenger played 18 league games as the club finished 4th in the table. On 7 October, Fenger scored his first goal for Hammarby, from a spectacular free kick, in a 4–2 away win against

Brommapojkarna Idrottsföreningen Brommapojkarna, more commonly known as Brommapojkarna (meaning ''the Bromma boys'') or simply BP, is a Swedish football club based in the borough of Bromma, in the western parts of Stockholm municipality. Brommapojkarna is th ...

2019

In 2019, Fenger made 23 appearances in the league. Hammarby finished 3rd in the Allsvenskan table after eight straight wins at the end of the season. On 24 December the same year, Fenger signed a new four-year contract with the club lasting until the end of 2023.

2020

In 2020, a season postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Fenger continued as a regular starter and played 28 league games, although the side disappointedly finished 8th in the Allsvenskan table. He featured in the first round of the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Villarreal defeated Manchester United i ...

against Puskás Akadémia (in a 3–0 win), before the club was eliminated from the tournament in the second round against

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

(in a 0–3 loss).

2021

On 30 May 2021, Fenger won the

2020–21 Svenska Cupen The 2020–21 Svenska Cupen was the 65th season of the Svenska Cupen and the ninth season with the current format. Hammarby won the cup for the first time and secured a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference Le ...

, the main domestic cup, with Hammarby through a 5–4 win on penalties (0–0 after full-time) against

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

in the final, where he scored his attempt. He featured in all six games as the side reached the play-off round of the

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Rom ...

, after eliminating

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

(4–1 on aggregate) and

FK Čukarički Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football. Founded in 1926, the club spe ...

(6–4 on aggregate), where the club was knocked out by

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(4–4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out, in which Fenger scored his attempt. On 23 September 2021, in a 3–0 home win against IFK Göteborg, Fenger made his 100th league appearance for Hammarby. He ended the 2021 season making 29 league appearances for Hammarby, that finished 5th in Allsvenskan.

2022

Fenger featured in the final of the

2021–22 Svenska Cupen The 2021–22 Svenska Cupen is the 66th season of the Svenska Cupen and the tenth season with the current format. The winners of the competition will secure a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, unl ...

, in which Hammarby lost by 4–5 on penalties to

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

after the game ended in a 0–0 draw. In the league, Fenger made 26 appearances, scoring once, helping his side to finish 3rd in the 2022 Allsvenskan table.

2023

On 2 April 2023, he was appointed as the new vice-captain of the club, behind Nahir Besara. At the end of the season, on 3 November 2023, Fenger signed a new two-year contract with Hammarby. Throughout the campaign, Fenger made 23 league appearances in Allsvenskan, although Hammarby disappointedly finished 7th in the table.

AC Horsens

On 13 December 2024,

announced the signing of Fenger, starting from 1st January 2025.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Hammarby IF *

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

*
Mads Fenger
official

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

statistics at danskfodbold.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenger, Mads 1990 births Living people Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Randers FC players Hammarby Fotboll players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Allsvenskan players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Aarhus VSK Aarhus players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Danish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 21st-century Danish sportsmen