Asbjørn Sennels

Asbjørn Sennels (17 January 1979 – 9 July 2023) was a Danish professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made two appearances for the Denmark national team.

Asbjørn Sennels
Sennels in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-01-17)17 January 1979
Place of birth Brabrand, Denmark
Date of death 9 July 2023(2023-07-09) (aged 44)
Position(s) Left-back
Youth career
Brabrand IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Skovbakken
1999–2004 Viborg 108 (2)
2004–2007 Brøndby 74 (1)
2007–2010 Viborg 59 (2)
2010–2012 Tjele Vest Sport
2012 Viborg 11 (0)
International career
2000–2001 Denmark U21 10 (0)
2003–2004 Denmark League XI 4 (0)
2003–2004 Denmark 2 (0)
Managerial career
2017–2018 Viborg FF II (player-assistant)
2018–2020 Tjele Vest Sport (player-assistant)
2020–2022 Tjele Vest Sport (player-manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born in Brabrand, Aarhus Municipality, Denmark, Sennels started his football career playing for local lower-league clubs Brabrand IF and Skovbakken.[1] "As a boy, I was a bit too small and too slow. I wasn't always good enough for the first team, but I believe that adversity has benefited me in the long run," he told in an interview with Jyllands-Posten in 2003.[1]

He made his breakthrough with Danish Superliga club Viborg in the 1999–2000 Superliga season, making his professional debut on 21 May 2000 as a starter in a convincing 7–2 victory against AaB.[2][3] He made 108 league appearances for Viborg during his five years at the club.[4]

In February 2004, Sennels was signed by league rivals Brøndby. Their manager, Michael Laudrup, brought in Sennels to fill the left-back position previously held by Aurelijus Skarbalius.[5] Sennels made his debut for Brøndby in the UEFA Cup matches against Barcelona in 2004.[6] Initially, he struggled to perform well in his first appearances for Brøndby, partly because he was replacing fan-favourite Skarbalius.[7] However, he gradually found his rhythm and went on to appear in all 33 matches for Brøndby in the 2004–05 season, during which the club secured both the league title and the Danish Cup.[4][8] Laudrup later brought in Joseph Elanga to compete with Sennels for the left-back position, resulting in Sennels playing in 19 out of 33 matches in the subsequent season.[4][9][10]

When René Meulensteen took over as manager of Brøndby, Sennels faced even tougher competition for his position due to the arrival of on-loan left-back Adam Eckersley from Manchester United.[11] With Meulensteen's departure halfway through the 2006–07 season, Sennels was informed by the caretaker manager, Tom Køhlert, that he had no future at the club.[12][13] Consequently, he returned to Viborg in the summer of 2007, before leaving as his contract expired in 2010.[14][15]

International career

Sennels was called up for the Denmark under-21 national team after making his breakthrough for Viborg, and made his international debut for the U21 team in a friendly against Germany U21 on 14 November 2000, starting in a 2–2 draw.[16] He would gain ten caps for the under-21 side.[17]

Sennels was called up to the Denmark senior squad for the first time on 11 August 2003 by national team manager Morten Olsen.[18] At that point, he had already made two appearances for the Denmark League XI team.[18][17][19] He made his Denmark international debut in a friendly against Finland at Parken on 20 August, replacing René Henriksen after 64 minutes of a 1–1 draw.[20][21] He would go on to make one more appearance for the national team.[17]

Later life

Sennels retired from professional football in the summer 2012, as his job as a high school teacher did not harmonise with his football career. However, he still played for Viborg FF's reserve team in the Denmark Series and as of the summer 2017, he functioned as a player-assistant coach for the team.[22]

In the summer 2018, Sennels returned to Danish seventh division club Tjele Vest Sport as a player-assistant coach.[23] In January 2020, he was promoted to player-head coach.[24]

Death

Sennels died on 9 July 2023, after having been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma in the spring of the same year. He was 44.[25] [26]

Honours

Brøndby

References
  1. "Fodbold: Brabrand-dreng blandt stjerner". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). 20 August 2003. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. "Superligakamp Viborg FF–AaB, 21.05.2000". SuperStats. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. "Superligaen: Viborg-AaB 7-2". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). 21 May 2000. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. "Asbjørn Sennels, statistik fra superligaen, all-time". SuperStats. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  5. "Asbjørn Sennels til Brøndby". B.T. (in Danish). 2 February 2004. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. "Asbjørn Sennels vil glæde sig". bold.dk (in Danish). 26 February 2004. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. Hüttel, Jonas (17 March 2004). "Synd for Sennels". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  8. "Sennels: Glad for min tid i klubben". Brøndby IF (in Danish). 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  9. "Brøndby køber udfordrer til Asbjørn Sennels". Politiken (in Danish). 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  10. "Sennels: Jeg burde spille i stedet for Joseph". DR (in Danish). 12 August 2006. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. "Sennels er røget bagest i køen". Politiken (in Danish). 12 August 2006. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  12. "Sennels: Jeg er meget skuffet". Tipsbladet (in Danish). 25 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  13. Ferdinand, Poul (7 February 2007). "Sennels overhalet af ungdoms-spiller". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  14. "Asbjørn Sennels til Viborg". Brøndby IF (in Danish). 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  15. Kronenberg, Rune. "Sennels og VFF stopper samarbejdet til sommer". Viborg F.F. Prof. Fodbold A/S (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  16. "Danmark – Tyskland 2–2". DBU (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  17. Asbjørn Sennels national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
  18. Jensen, Jan B. (11 August 2003). "Fodbold: Sennels ny mand i truppen". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  19. "Asbjørn Sennels på ligalandsholdet". Viborg F.F. Prof. Fodbold A/S (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  20. "Danmark – Finland 1–1". DBU (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  21. "Danmark–Finland i fyldt Parken". Parken Stadion (in Danish). 21 March 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  22. Rutineret VFF'er bliver spillende assistent for danmarksserieholdet, viborg-folkeblad.dk, 11 July 2017
  23. Tjele Vest Sport lokker kendt navn til som spillende træner, viborg-folkeblad.dk, 4 July 2018
  24. Har spillet på landsholdet og mødt Barcelona - nu skal han være træner i serie 2, viborg-folkeblad.dk, 11 January 2020
  25. Wibe, Jonatan (9 July 2023). "Asbjørn Sennels er død". viborg-folkeblad.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  26. "Asbjørn Sennels".
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