AB and the club career
Jan Michaelsen, like Rene Henriksen, has had a different path to professional football than most other football players. He got his first professional contract in AB as a 25-year-old after 14 days of trial training, where he had previously enjoyed divisional football in HIK. He had his heyday in the late 1990s and early 00s, when Jan made life difficult for various strikers with his toughness in the duels. Jan Michaelsen made 170 appearances for Akademisk Boldklub. In his 5 years in AB, he won two Danish Championship bronze medals and a cup title. In addition to AB, Jan Michaelsen represented Panathinaikos from 2001-2004, where he won the double and played Champions League matches against opponents such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Arsenal. HamKam was the last destination for Jan as a player.
National team career for Denmark
Jan Michaelsen joined the national team under Morten Olsen and reached 19 A-caps and a single goal between 2000 and 2004. He was in central midfield, and out of the 19 A-caps he got, he and the national team won 14 games, drew 3 and lost 2. He also participated in the World Championships in Japan and South Korea in 2002.
The Coach Path
After his career as a professional football player, Jan Michaelsen became a coach and has held many different positions. He started as a youth coach at FCK and was for a number of years before he became head coach of the U17 men’s national team and was for four years. From there, he moved to Fremad Amager and Vendsyssel as head coach and assistant respectively, before he was given a leadership role at Nykøbing FC as head of football. After four years in NFC, he has been employed by DBU in various roles. He is currently employed in a combined position as U20 men’s national team coach and U23 women’s national team coach, as well as an instructor at DBU’s coaching educations. Jan Michaelsen also holds a UEFA Pro license, which is the highest coaching license you can get.
Interest in podcasts
In addition to his coaching career, Jan Michaelsen also has the podcast “Behind the Shirt.” He started it back in 2019. The guests who participate have in common that they have played in and exchanged for completely unique shirts that represent periods in their respective careers. There is also talk about anecdotes and legendary moments.
