Martin Albrechtsen
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Martin Albrechtsen (; born 31 March 1980) is a Danish former 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 primarily played 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 ...
. He currently plays for Danish amateur club FK Prespa. He played four games for the Danish national team and is the older brother of Jacob Albrechtsen.


Career


Akademisk Boldklub (AB)

Born in
Værløse Værløse () is a town in Furesø Municipality in the northwestern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. As of 1 January 2025, it has a population of 13,200. Situated on the west side of the Hillerød Motorway, between Farum Lake to the north and Søn ...
in the
Capital Region of Denmark The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...
, Albrechtsen started his career at Akademisk Boldklub (AB). Alongside later Danish international
Peter Løvenkrands Peter Rosenkrands Løvenkrands (born 29 January 1980) is a Danish professional football manager and former player. He played mainly as a striker or as a winger, and was known for his pace. Løvenkrands began his career in his native Denmark, w ...
, he was called up for the Danish under-19 national team in September 1997. In February 1998 they both signed their first professional contracts with AB, joining the senior squad which competed in the
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 ...
championship. In the 1998–99 season, he scored 1 league goal in 9 games for tAB, while the following season he scores one goal in 31 league games. Albrechtsen was a part of the AB team which won the 1999
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 ...
, and he was named 2000 Danish ''under-21 Talent of the Year''. He made his debut 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 ...
under national team manager
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (; born 14 August 1949) is a Danish former Association football, football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national football team, Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding ...
in April 2001. As AB struggled financially, Albrechtsen was sold to defending Superliga champions
F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklub ...
(FCK) in a DKK 9 million
transfer deal In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can only ...
in January 2002.


F.C. Copenhagen

Albrechtsen signed a -year contract with Copenhagen, looking to replace former team captain
Jacob Laursen Jacob Thaysen-Laursen (born 6 October 1971) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Laursen most notably played for English club Derby County and won the Danish Superliga championship with Silkesborg and Copenhage ...
in the central defence. In total he played 14 league games for Løverne in the latter part of the 2001-02-season, while he made 27 league matches in 2002–03. He helped the club.win the 2003 and 2004 Danish Superliga championships, as well as the 2004 Danish Cup trophy. His performances for the club led to two additional national team matches, but after an unimpressive effort during the 0–2 loss to
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
in April 2003, his national team career went on a hiatus. He made his debut for the club on 3 March 2002 when they played 0–0 against AGF. Albrechtsen made his first European appearance for Copenhagen on 27 November 2003 when they drew 1–1 at Mallorca in a match in the UEFA Cup.


West Bromwich Albion

In June 2004, he moved abroad to play for English club
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
in the
FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...
. He was bought in a £2.7 million transfer deal, making him the most expensive player the club had ever bought at that point. He made his debut for the club on 28 August 2004, coming on as a substitute in a Premiership match against Everton. Albrechtsen was a regular for Albion during 2004–05, helping them to avoid relegation on the final day of the season. He also figured prominently during the following season, and scored his first ever goal for the club in the 1–0 win against
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
at the
JJB Stadium The Brick Community Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Robin Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is used by Wigan Warriors rugby league club and Wigan Athletic football club. The stadium is owned by local businessman, Mike Danson, w ...
in January 2006. He stayed with the club as Albion were
relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
to the secondary
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
in the summer 2006, and he scored his second goal for the club against
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
in September 2006. After an absence of more than three years, he was recalled for the Danish national team in November 2006. Despite being signed as a central-defender, Albrechtsen had, prior to the 2007–08 season, been utilised mainly as a full-back. In August 2007 however, Albion manager
Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...
decided to move the Danish player back into the centre of defence. Albrechtsen made his 100th appearance for Albion in the 1–0 defeat at Sheffield United on 25 August 2007.


Derby County

After failing to agree terms with West Brom on a new deal, Albrechsten joined
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
on a Bosman free transfer, signing a two-year contract with the club on 30 June 2008. In the process he became manager
Paul Jewell Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town. Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...
's eighth signing of the season. Albrechtsen made his debut for Derby in a 1–0 home defeat to
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
on the opening day of the 2008–09 season, and in September scored his first goal for the club, against
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
and netted his second in the next match, a 2–0 win at
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
. Albrechtsen's fine start to his Derby career saw him nominated for the September Championship Player of the Month award, though he lost out to
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
's Kevin Doyle. The following month he underwent a
hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...
operation and kept him away from first team action for around a month. On his return from injury, he slotted back into the defence and on 18 February he played in his 300th career league game against Blackpool at Pride Park. He quickly fell out of favour with new manager
Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was capped by ...
, however, and his contract at the club was cancelled by mutual consent on 30 August 2009. After a few days joining FC Midtjylland, Albrechtsen revealed the motives behind his decision to part ways with Derby County. He claimed to have been annoyed at being handed a number of fines by Clough for breaches of club rules like doing interviews without permission.


FC Midtjylland

After being released from Derby County,
FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...
announced the club have signed Albrechtsen on a free transfer and returned to Denmark after spending 5 years in England. Following his move, Albrechtsen was given a number 5 shirt. Albrechtsen made his debut in a FC Midtjylland shirt against
FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish association football, football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the to ...
on 12 September 2009 in a 2–0 loss. Albrechtsen scored his first goal for the club against
Aalborg BK Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but curr ...
in a 3–2 win on 2 May 2010. In his first season, Albrechtsen made 21 appearances and scoring 1. In his second season, Albrechtsen scored his first of the season against
Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
in a 2–1 win on 27 November 2010 and scored his second of the season against
F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklub ...
in a 5–2 loss on 19 May 2011. Albrechtsen made 20 appearances and scoring 2.


Brøndby IF

He signed a one-year-long contract with Brøndby IF on 15 August 2012. On 2 April 2013 the contract was renewed for another two years.


AC Horsens

On 23 December 2016 it was announced, that Albrechtsen had signed half-year contract with
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 ...
, starting from the new year. Albrechtsen suffered from several injuries in the first four months at his new club. He played his first game for the club on 18 February 2017 against
Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
. Albrechtsen had suffered from some problems in his groin since the start of the season. The problem became more and more comprehensive during the season, and he was actually out on the sideline from March to May 2017. He left the club at the end of the season.


BK Avarta

After leaving
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 ...
, Albrechtsen signed for
BK Avarta Boldklubben Avarta is a Danish professional Association football, football club currently competing in the Danish 3rd Division, 3rd division, which ranks as the fourth-highest league in the country. Avarta's home ground is Espelundens Idrætsanlà ...
, where he also got reunited with his brother, Jacob, who already played there. Albrechtsen left the club again when his contract expired at the end of the year, due to the lack of playing time and for personal reasons.


Later career

In January 2018, Albrechtsen joined
Denmark Series The Denmark Series () is the fifth tier in the Danish football league system. Teams are divided into four groups of ten. The top team in each following promotion group is promoted to the Danish 3rd Division. The bottom three teams in each group ...
club
VB 1968 FC Gladsaxe, previously VB 1968 is a football club based in , Bagsværd, Denmark. Founded in 1968, the club describes itself as multicultural and working towards integration through football. History Foundation VB 1968 was established on 15 Oct ...
. After a spell at FC Græsrødderne, Albrechtsen returned to VB 1968 in July 2021. On 31 January 2023 Albrechtsen confirmed, that he had left VB 1968. In April 2023, he moved to Fremad Valby and in August, to FK Prespa.


Honours

;Akademisk Boldklub *
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 ...
: 1998–99 ;Copenhagen *
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 ...
: 2003–04 *
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 ...
: 2003, 2004 ;West Bromwich Albion *
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...
: 2007–08 ;Individual * Danish ''U-21 Talent of the Year'': 2000


Trivia

* Albrechtsen's nicknames include ''Dolph'' and ''He-Man'', due to his resemblance to the actor
Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...
(who portrayed
He-Man He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman s ...
in the movie ''
Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...
'').


Personal life

Albrechtsen has two children, Justin and Cassandra. He had their names displayed on a specially designed pair of football boots, which he wore in a league match against Sheffield United in February 2008. The boots were a present from his girlfriend Camilla Malmberg. However, Albrechtsen and Camilla got separated in 2011. He later came in a relationship with a Danish model named Emilie Posborg, but got also separated in 2015. It was revealed in 2016, that Albrechtsen's son, Justin, suffered from an extremely rare disease named
esophageal atresia Esophageal atresia is a congenital medical condition (birth defect) that affects the alimentary tract. It causes the esophagus to end in a blind-ended pouch rather than connecting normally to the stomach. It comprises a variety of congenital anat ...
. In 2023, he competed as a contestant on the Danish version of ''
Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
'', ''
Robinson Ekspeditionen is a popular Danish reality television program debuting in 1998. In the spring of 1998 TV3 purchased the broadcast rights to air their own version of '' Expedition Robinson''. Following the success of the Swedish version, Denmark was the first ...
''.


References


External links

* * *
Controversy over his transfer
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albrechtsen, Martin 1980 births Living people Footballers from Furesø Municipality Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Danish men's footballers Danish Superliga players Denmark men's international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England F.C. Copenhagen players Men's association football defenders Premier League players English Football League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Brøndby IF players AC Horsens players Boldklubben Avarta players VB 1968 players Fremad Valby players 21st-century Danish sportsmen