1. Early life and youth career
Frederik Rønnow began his football journey as a youth player at Horsens club Stensballe IK. At the age of 16, he joined the academy of AC Horsens. This period marked the beginning of his professional development, laying the groundwork for his future career as a goalkeeper.
2. Club career
Frederik Rønnow's club career began in Denmark before he moved to German football, playing for several notable teams.
2.1. Horsens
Rønnow made his first team debut for AC Horsens on September 7, 2011, in a Danish Cup match against Holstebro, which Horsens won 5-0. By the 2012-13 season, he had established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for the Danish U21 team and was awarded the Horsens Player of the Year Award. Following Horsens' relegation from the Danish Superliga, Rønnow's agent, John Sivebæk, expressed concerns about his client playing in the Danish 1st Division. Consequently, on July 5, 2013, Rønnow was loaned to Danish Superliga club Esbjerg fB for a season, following the departure of Lukáš Hrádecký.
2.2. Brøndby IF
In July 2015, Rønnow signed a four-year contract with Brøndby IF. He made two appearances in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers where Brøndby was eliminated by PAOK. In the league, he played 33 games during his first season as the team finished in fourth place.
During the 2016-17 season, Rønnow played seven games in the Europa League qualifiers. He was sent off once in a match that saw Brøndby eliminated by Panathinaikos. He also participated in three Danish Cup matches and appeared in 34 total league matches, encompassing both the regular season and the championship round.
In his final season with Brøndby, the 2017-18 season, the team finished second in the league. They also secured the Danish Cup title, defeating Silkeborg IF 3-1 under head coach Alexander Zorniger.
2.3. Eintracht Frankfurt
In April 2018, it was announced that Rønnow would join Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2018, a move that paralleled Lukáš Hrádecký's earlier transfer to the club. Rønnow made his debut for Frankfurt on August 12, 2018, in the German Super Cup. He was initially brought in as the starting goalkeeper and played in Eintracht's first three competitive matches. However, due to inconsistent performances, Eintracht opted to loan Kevin Trapp from Paris Saint-Germain shortly before the summer transfer window closed, which led to Rønnow losing his starting position.
In his first season, Rønnow made a total of two appearances in the league and in the UEFA Europa League, where Frankfurt impressively reached the semi-finals. After the 2018-19 season, Trapp signed a permanent deal with Frankfurt but sustained an injury that sidelined him for a significant portion of the first half of the 2019-20 season. During this period, Rønnow stepped in as goalkeeper and delivered strong performances, earning confidence from the club.
2.3.1. Loan to Schalke 04
On September 30, 2020, Rønnow joined Schalke 04 on a year-long loan. He initially replaced Ralf Fährmann as the starting goalkeeper, making 7 appearances in the Bundesliga. However, he later suffered an injury. Following his recovery, Schalke's various managers during that turbulent period, including Manuel Baum, Huub Stevens, Christian Gross, and Dimitrios Grammozis, reinstated Fährmann as the primary goalkeeper. Rønnow subsequently made only four more appearances by the end of the season after Fährmann was again sidelined with an injury. At the end of the season, Schalke was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, and Rønnow returned to Eintracht Frankfurt.
2.4. Union Berlin
On July 20, 2021, Rønnow signed a three-year contract with Union Berlin. He initially served as a backup to starting goalkeeper Andreas Luthe. Rønnow made his debut for Union Berlin on October 27, 2021, in a DFB-Pokal match against Waldhof Mannheim, which Union Berlin won 3-1. He has since become a key player for the team, contributing to their ongoing successes in the Bundesliga and European competitions.
3. International career
Frederik Rønnow represented Denmark at various youth levels before earning his call-up to the senior national team. He was first called up to the senior Denmark national team on March 9, 2016, by new head coach Åge Hareide, for friendly matches against Iceland and Scotland.
In June 2018, he was named in Denmark's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia. In June 2021, Rønnow was included in the national team's squad for the 2020 UEFA European Championship (played in 2021), where Denmark reached the semi-finals, though he did not make an appearance in any match during the tournament. He was also part of the Danish squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Rønnow announced his retirement from international football on November 5, 2024, via his personal Instagram account.
4. Career statistics
Frederik Rønnow's professional football career statistics, detailing his appearances and goals for various clubs and the national team.
4.1. Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Horsens | 2010-11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2011-12 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 2012-13 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 41 | 0 | |||
| 2014-15 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 12 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 56 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 69 | 0 | |||
| Esbjerg (loan) | 2013-14 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | - | 26 | 0 | ||
| Brøndby | 2015-16 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2016-17 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | - | 44 | 0 | |||
| 2017-18 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 41 | 0 | |||
| Total | 99 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 0 | - | 119 | 0 | |||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2018-19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019-20 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Schalke 04 (loan) | 2020-21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 0 | |||
| Union Berlin | 2021-22 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2022-23 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | - | 41 | 0 | |||
| 2023-24 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 41 | 0 | |||
| 2024-25 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 87 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 0 | - | 115 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 282 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 361 | 0 | ||
The 'Europe' column includes appearances in UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, and UEFA Champions League. The 'Other' column includes appearances in DFL-Supercup.
4.2. International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2016 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
5. Honours
Frederik Rønnow has achieved the following significant titles throughout his club career:
- Brøndby
- Danish Cup: 2017-18