Stefan Marius Johansen (born 8 January 1991) is a former Norwegian 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 played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He played for the Norway national team until his international retirement in 2021. Johansen joined Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. He made his first-team debut in 2007, and transferred to

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

in 2011 where he was one of the key players in the team that finished second in the league in 2012 and won the league-title in 2013. Johansen won the Kniksen Award as the midfielder of the year in 2013. He transferred to Celtic in January 2014. At Celtic in 2015 he won their player of the year voted for by fans of the club. Johansen has represented Norway at youth international level, and was a part of the under-21 team at the 2013 European Championship. He made his full international debut in 2013.

Club career

Bodø/Glimt

Johansen was born and raised in

Vardø Vardo or Vardø may refer to: Places * Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Vardø (town) (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vard� ...

, a small town in the far north of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He moved to Bodø to sign for Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. He joined the first-team squad along with Anders Ågnes Konradsen ahead of the 2007 season and Johansen made his debut for the team in the First Round of the 2007 Norwegian Football Cup against

Hammerfest Hammerfest or Hámmárfeasta is a town/cityIn the Norwegian language, the word ''by'' can be translated as "town" or "city". that is also the administrative centre of Hammerfest Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located on the nor ...

. Johansen played six matches in Adeccoligaen when Bodø/Glimt was promoted to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

in 2007, and made his debut in Tippeligaen in the 3–2 win against

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

on 10 August 2008 when he replaced Jan Derek Sørensen in the 85th minute. Johansen made four appearances in the 2009 season, going on to play regularly for Bodø/Glimt in Adeccoligaen in 2010 and was regarded as one of the biggest talents in

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. Clubs like

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

and Aalesund wanted to sign Johansen whose contract expired after the season, but he signed a three-year contract with

in December 2010, and joined the club on a free transfer on 1 January 2011. Johansen played 18 matches in Adeccoligaen in his final season at Bodø/Glimt.

Strømsgodset

Johansen made his debut for Strømsgodset against in the 2–1 against

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

when he came on in the 80th minute and replaced Fredrik Nordkvelle. In his first season at Strømsgodset, Johansen made 13 league appearances and scored one goal. In the match against

Sandnes Ulf Sandnes Ulf is a Norwegian association football club from Sandnes, Rogaland, currently playing in the 2. divisjon, the third highest division in the Norwegian football league system. The club play their home matches at Øster Hus Arena. The cl ...

on 16 May 2012, Johansen scored a goal from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

. In the 5–0 win against

on 27 May 2012, Johansen scored another goal from a free kick, identical to the one he scored 11 days earlier. Johansen made his break-through at Strømsgodset after Mohammed Abu returned to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, when he became a regular in Strømsgodset's starting line-up and was in August 2012 awarded the

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...

Talent Prize for his performances. In 2013, Johansen helped Strømsgodset to win their first league title in 43 years and was voted the Midfielder of the Year in the Norwegian league.

Celtic

On 15 January 2014, Johansen sealed a move to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

for a transfer fee of £2 million. Johansen signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, and became the fourth Norwegian to play for Celtic following

Harald Brattbakk Harald Martin Brattbakk (born 1 February 1971) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the all-time top scorer in the Norwegian top division with 166 goals in 255 matches, before being surpassed by Sigur ...

, Vidar Riseth and Thomas Rogne. He was given the number 25 shirt, the same number worn in previous years by Ľubomír Moravčík and Shunsuke Nakamura. Johansen made his debut for Celtic in the 4–0 victory against Hibernian on 26 January 2014 when he played the last five minutes as a substitute. He scored his first goal for Celtic on 22 March 2014 in a home league match against St Mirren, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win with a header.

Fulham

Johansen signed a three-year deal with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 26 August 2016 for an undisclosed fee. Johansen scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 18 October 2016. On 31 January 2019, Johansen joined West Brom on loan until the end of the season.

Queens Park Rangers

On 26 January 2021, Johansen joined

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 ...

on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for QPR in a 2-1 win over

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 20 February 2021. On 24 July 2021, following a successful loan spell, Johansen returned to Queens Park Rangers on a permanent deal, signing a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 19 June 2023, Johansen had his contract terminated by mutual consent.

International career

Johansen made his debut for Norway when he played for the under-15 team against Poland U15 on 8 August 2006. He has later represented Norway at every level up to under-23, and played both matches for the under-21 team when they eliminated France U21 and qualified for the

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, or simply the 2013 Euro Under-21, was the 19th staging of UEFA's UEFA European Under-21 Championship, European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Israel from 5–18 June 2013. The Is ...

. Johansen was part of the Norway side which beat

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the European Under-21 Championships before losing to eventual winners

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

at the semi-final stage. Johansen has thirty-six full international caps for his country, scoring his first international goal on his debut against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

on 14 August 2014. On 22 March 2017, Johansen was appointed as the new captain of

, replacing Per Ciljan Skjelbred. On 10 March 2021, Johansen announced that he would retire from international football immediately.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Johansen goal''.

Honours

Strømsgodset *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Celtic *

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 2014–15 Fulham *

EFL Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-o ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual * Kniksen Award, Midfielder of the Year: 2013 * Gullballen: 2014 *

PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year The PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year (often called the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Scottish Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in Scottish footba ...

: 2014–15 * Celtic Player of the Year: 2014–15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johansen, Stefan 1991 births Living people People from Vardø Footballers from Finnmark Norwegian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FK Bodø/Glimt players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Celtic F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Sarpsborg 08 FF players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Premier League players Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Norway men's international footballers Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen