1. Overview
Mike Lindemann Jensen (born 19 February 1988) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. Born in Herlev, Denmark, Jensen began his football journey at the Brøndby youth academy at age 13, following in the footsteps of his father, former Brøndby player Henrik Jensen. He made his professional debut with Brøndby in the 2006-07 season, earning the 2006 Danish U19 Player of the Year award and later the 2012 Brøndby IF Player of the Year award.
After a loan spell with Swedish club Malmö FF, Jensen grew into a key figure at Brøndby. In 2013, he transferred to Norwegian club Rosenborg, where he achieved significant success, becoming team captain and leading the team to four league titles and three Norwegian Cups. He also played for Cypriot club APOEL FC before returning to Denmark to join HB Køge. Jensen has represented Denmark at various youth levels and made senior international appearances.
2. Early life and youth career
Mike Lindemann Jensen was born on 19 February 1988 in Herlev, Denmark. His father, Henrik Jensen, was also a professional footballer who played for Brøndby IF. Mike Jensen started his youth career at BK Rødovre before joining the Brøndby youth academy at the age of 13. He stands at 70 in (177 cm) (approximately 5.8 ft) and weighs 165 lb (75 kg) (approximately 165 lb (165 lb)). His talent was recognized early, leading to his promotion to Brøndby's first team in 2006. In recognition of his potential, he was named the 2006 Danish U19 Player of the Year.
3. Club career
Mike Jensen's professional career spans several clubs across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Cyprus, where he established himself as a versatile and influential midfielder, often taking on leadership roles.
3.1. Brøndby IF
Jensen was promoted to the Brøndby IF first team in 2006. He made his professional debut in the Danish Superliga on 13 August 2006 in a 1-1 draw against Randers FC, entering the match as a substitute for Martin Ericsson in the 85th minute. His European debut followed on 28 September 2006 in the second leg of the UEFA Cup first qualifying round against Eintracht Frankfurt, a match that ended 2-2, where he was substituted on in the 86th minute for Thomas Rasmussen.
During the 2006-07 season, Jensen made 11 league appearances. He scored his first senior goal in a 3-1 victory over Silkeborg IF. In the subsequent 2007-08 season, he made 13 appearances. After a loan spell, he returned to Brøndby and became a regular during the 2009-10 season. With Brøndby, he participated in the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League play-off round but was knocked out by Portuguese club Sporting CP. Jensen played 133 league matches for Brøndby, scoring 12 goals. In 2012, he was also named Brøndby IF's Player of the Year.
3.2. Malmö FF (loan)
In July 2008, Jensen moved on a six-month loan to Swedish Allsvenskan club Malmö FF. During his time there, he made 11 appearances before returning to Brøndby.
3.3. Rosenborg BK
After his contract negotiations with Brøndby stalled, Jensen transferred to Norwegian club Rosenborg BK in February 2013, signing a four-year deal. He made his debut for the Trondheim-based club on 17 March 2013 in an away match against Odds BK on the opening day of the season. In this match, he also scored his first goal for Rosenborg in the 71st minute, which proved to be the winning goal in a 1-0 victory.
With Rosenborg, Jensen regularly featured in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, though the team did not advance from the group stages during his tenure. In October 2015, Jensen won the 2015 Tippeligaen title with Rosenborg. The following month, in November, Rosenborg secured the Norwegian double, winning the Norwegian Football Cup in 2015. Jensen scored the final goal against Sarpsborg 08 in the final, which Rosenborg won 2-0. He continued his success by winning three more league titles consecutively in 2016, 2017, and 2018, as well as two more Norwegian Cups in 2016 and 2018.
In January 2016, Jensen was appointed team captain of Rosenborg. The following month, in August 2016, he signed a five-year contract extension with the club. During his seven years at Rosenborg, Jensen made a total of 285 appearances, scoring 52 goals across all competitions. For his outstanding performance in 2016, he was awarded both the Eliteserien Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year awards. He was also the league's top assist provider in 2015.
3.4. APOEL FC
On 11 January 2020, Jensen signed a contract with Cypriot club APOEL FC, scheduled to run until 2021. However, his tenure was brief, as he and APOEL mutually agreed to terminate his contract on 22 December 2020, making him a free agent. He played a total of 22 matches for the club, scoring one goal.
3.5. HB Køge
On 1 February 2021, Jensen returned to Denmark, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with second-tier Danish 1st Division club HB Køge on a free transfer. He made his debut for HB Køge on 13 February 2021 in a 1-1 league draw against Hobro IK, playing the full 90 minutes. The following week, Jensen scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 away win over Skive IK.
4. International career
Mike Jensen represented Denmark at various youth international levels before making his senior debut. He played for the Denmark U-16 team from 2002 to 2003, making 6 appearances. He then progressed to the U-17 team (2003-2005) with 27 appearances and 4 goals, the U-18 team (2005-2006) with 4 appearances, and the U-19 team (2005-2007) with 15 appearances and 3 goals. In 2008, he featured for the U-20 team, scoring 2 goals in 4 appearances. From 2008 to 2010, he played for the Denmark U-21 team, making 27 appearances and scoring 3 goals.
Jensen made his senior international debut for Denmark in August 2010. He played 5 matches for the senior national team between 2010 and 2017, without scoring a goal. In May 2018, he was included in the Denmark national team's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but ultimately did not make the final 23-man roster.
5. Career statistics
5.1. Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brøndby | 2005-06 | Danish Superliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006-07 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2007-08 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2008-09 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2009-10 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2010-11 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2011-12 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 2012-13 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | 21 | 2 | |||
| Total | 133 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 149 | 14 | ||
| Malmö (loan) | 2008 | Allsvenskan | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 11 | 0 | |
| Rosenborg | 2013 | Tippeligaen | 27 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 6 |
| 2014 | 29 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 13 | ||
| 2015 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 47 | 7 | ||
| 2016 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 8 | ||
| 2017 | Eliteserien | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 46 | 8 | ||
| 2019 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 43 | 8 | ||
| Total | 197 | 36 | 21 | 7 | 67 | 9 | 285 | 52 | ||
| APOEL | 2019-20 | Cypriot First Division | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Køge | 2020-21 | Danish 1st Division | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 13 | 1 | |
| 2021-22 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - | 29 | 3 | |||
| 2022-23 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2023-24 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 86 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - | 88 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 444 | 56 | 26 | 7 | 85 | 11 | 555 | 73 | ||
6. Honours
Brøndby
- Danish Cup: 2007-08
- Royal League: 2006-07
Rosenborg
- Eliteserien: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Norwegian Football Cup: 2015, 2016, 2018
- Mesterfinalen: 2017, 2018
Individual
- Danish U19 Player of the Year: 2006
- Brøndby IF Player of the Year: 2012
- Eliteserien Player of the Year: 2016
- Eliteserien Midfielder of the Year: 2016
- Eliteserien Top assist provider: 2015