Jens Martin Knudsen (footballer)

Football player infobox
playername = Jens Martin Knudsen
fullname =
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1967|6|11
cityofbirth = Saltangará
countryofbirth = Faroe Islands
height = 1,81 m.
currentclub = NSÍ Runavík
clubnumber = 1
position = goalkeeper player/manager
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1985-1986 1986-1987 1988-1991 1992-1997 1998-1999 1999 1999-2000 2000 2000 2001-2002 2003 2004-2007
clubs = NSÍ Runavík Frederikshavn fI NSÍ GÍ Gøta Leiftur GÍ → Ayr United "(loan)" B36 Tórshavn Leiftur NSÍ NSÍ NSÍ
caps(goals) = ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) 105 (0) 36 (0) 1 (0) 4 (0) 1 (0) 16 (0) 36 (0) ? (?) 69 (0)
nationalyears = 1988-2006
nationalteam = flagicon|Faroe Islands Faroe Islands
nationalcaps(goals) = 65 (0)
pcupdate = 4 November 2007
ntupdate = 11 October 2007

Jens Martin Knudsen (born 11 June 1967, in Saltangará) was a Faroese footballer who played as a goalkeeper.He was perhaps best known for wearing a cap in his matches as a result of an injury he suffered at age 14.

Club career

Knudsen started his career as an amateur footballer for local team NSÍ Runavík. In 1992 he moved to GÍ Gøta to win a Faroese championship medal four times in a row between 1993 and 1996. After two seasons in Iceland with Leiftur he returned to the Faroe Islands and spent a short time on loan at Scottish team Ayr United before moving back to Leiftur for one more season. In 2001 he finally returned to his NSÍ again to become player/manager. At the age of 40, he retired from NSÍ Runavík.

International career

He is famous for his 65 appearances for the Faroe Islands national football team, [ [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/far-recintlp.html Faroe Islands - Record International Players] RSSSF] and his penchant for wearing a white, wooly bobble hat. [ [http://img.fifa.com/aboutfifa/developing/news/newsid=75241.html Plastic revolution symbolizes progress in the Faroes] FIFA, 30 October 2000] Knudsen made his debut in an August 1988 friendly match against Iceland, the country's first FIFA-recognized match.

Despite being one of the weaker members of UEFA, the Faroe Islands pulled off one of the most famous upsets in soccer history beating then FIFA World Cup 1990 competitors Austria 1-0 in a UEFA 92 qualifier. Knudsen was one of the heroes on that night, pulling off a massive string of saves and becoming a cult hero in the process. At the time he was a part-time forklift truck driver from the Runavik fish factory. Also, due to the aforementioned bobble hat, in international football journalism he earned the nickname "The Keeper with the Bobble Hat."

On the BBC TV series Fantasy Football League in 1996, he appeared with presenters Frank Skinner and David Baddiel on the shows famous segment "Phoenix From The Flames" to re-create the famous moment. David and Frank played the part of the Austrian strikers and Jens played the part of himself, saving their shots exactly the same as in the actual match with the real footage played after. A running gag seen in the sketch, was two people dressed as Egyptian ferro's, getting confused thinking the islands are near there hence the name, only to be told by Frank Skinner "You've got it all wrong, the Faroe Islands are near Iceland", only to receive a reply in a stereotypical Egyptian accent of "Oh you mean the freezer place!". Jens is later seen standing outside an outlet of the store holding up a piece of card reading "FAROE ISLANDS".

He played his final international match on 14 May 2006 against Poland.

Personal life

* Knudsen is married and has four children.
* Knudsen became national gymnastics champion and stood in goal for the national handball team.

External links

* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=2460 National Football Teams]

References