Michael Aksel Bataican Falkesgaard (born 9 April 1991) is a 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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from Augu ...

club

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club ( th, สโมสรฟุตบอลทรู แบงค็อก ยูไนเต็ด) is a Thai professional football club based in Pathum Thani province. Formerly known as Bangkok University Foot ...

. Born in Denmark, he represents the Philippines national team. Born in Denmark to a Danish father and a Filipino mother, Falkesgaard represented Denmark at the youth levels and then decided to represent the Philippines at the senior level.

Early life

Falkesgaard was born in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

to a Danish father and a Filipino mother. He was influenced by his father and elder brother to take up football. When he was five years old, he asked his father to take him to the youth academy of the local club

Kastrup BK Kastrup Boldklub (Kastrup BK or KB for short) is a Danish association football club based in the suburb of Kastrup ( Tårnby Municipality) on Amager. As of the 2017/18-season, the club's first senior men's team play in Denmark Series ( level ...

. He stated that his football role model was fellow Danish goalkeeper

Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

Club career

Denmark

Falkesgaard started his senior club career with

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was pr ...

in 2010. In 2015, he moved to

Odense Boldklub Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superlig ...

where he was the first-choice goalkeeper. However, a few matches into the season, he suffered a serious

ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

that required surgery. He returned from injury and later joined rival club

FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...

, but he was not able to play a single match for them.

Bangkok United

In January 2018, Falkesgaard was sold by Midtjylland to

club

, where he is counted as an

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a Political union, political and economic union of 10 member Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental coo ...

player. Falkesgaard kept eleven clean sheets in his first season with Bangkok United, helping his club finish as runners-up in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

International career

Denmark youth

Falkesgaard has represented Denmark at under-18 to under-20 levels.

Philippines

Born to a Filipino mother, Falkesgaard was eligible to represent the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The

Philippine Football Federation The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in the Philippines. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in ...

learned of his eligibility through

Dennis Cagara Dennis Mengoy Cagara (born 19 February 1985) is a retired Danish–Filipino professional footballer who plays as a left back. He represents the Philippines at international level, having previously played for Denmark at various youth levels. E ...

and

Jerry Lucena Jerry Ruben Lucena (born 11 August 1980) is a retired Filipino footballer and currently the manager of the U19 squad of Esbjerg fB. He has represented the Philippines national football team at international level, having previously featured in ...

, both of whom are also Danish-Filipino footballers capped for the Philippines. In March 2018, Falkesgaard received his first call up for the Philippines. He earned his first cap on 22 March in a 3–2 friendly win over Fiji. He did not concede any goal in the first half; however, Nick O'Donnell was subbed in for him at the start of the second half. On 13 October, he came on as a second half substitute for

Neil Etheridge Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a Filipino-English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Birmingham City. Born in England, he captains the Philippines national team. He joined the Fulham Academy a ...

in a 1–1 friendly draw against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. Falkesgaard was named in the Philippines' 23-man squad for the

2018 AFF Championship The 2018 AFF Championship was the 12th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the 6th under the name AFF Suzuki Cup. This was the first time a new format has ...

. He started in the group matches against

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-wes ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. He then played in the first leg of the semi-finals against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, but missed the second leg due to a groin injury. Philippines lost to Vietnam on 4–2

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

. Since Neil Etheridge was unavailable due to club commitments, Falkesgaard was named Philippines' first-choice goalkeeper for the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

—the first time the national team has qualified for the international tournament. Philippines exited the tournament at the group stage after a winless campaign.

Career statistics

Club

International

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Michael Falkesgaard
DBU-statistics * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkesgaard, Michael 1991 births Living people Citizens of the Philippines through descent Danish people of Filipino descent Filipino people of Danish descent Filipino footballers Philippines international footballers Danish men's footballers Denmark youth international footballers Danish Superliga players Brøndby IF players Odense Boldklub players FC Midtjylland players Association football goalkeepers 2019 AFC Asian Cup players People from Tårnby Municipality Sportspeople from the Capital Region of Denmark