Rune Pedersen (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Rune Pedersen is a Danish
professional footballer
who plays as goalkeeper for Lyngby Boldklub
. He won two Danish Superliga
championships with his first club F.C. Copenhagen
, and has since played for Danish clubs Aarhus GF, Lyngby, and OB, as well as Italian club Modena F.C.
and Nottingham Forest
in England. He has played 17 matches for various Danish youth national teams.
, Rune Pedersen started his career off at clubs in his hometown. He played youth football with Hvidovre IF
, before moving to Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
(KB), the reserve team
of F.C. Copenhagen
(FCK) in the top-flight Danish Superliga
championship. He got his first team debut for FCK in August 2000, when he replaced the injured Michael Stensgaard
. He went on to win two Superliga championships with FCK, but never fully established himself as FCK's starting goalkeeper. He saw competition from a number of goalkeepers, including Swedish international
goalkeeper Magnus Kihlstedt
and Norwegian international
goalkeeper Thomas Myhre
. After two and a half years with FCK, he rejected a contract offer from the club in January 2003.
He trained with English club Chelsea
, but did not get a contract offer. Instead, he was sold to Italian
club Modena F.C.
in the Serie A
championship. Pedersen only spent half a year with the club, before he was released in the summer 2003, after claiming he did not enjoy life in Italy.
He trained with an English club once again, this time Portsmouth
, but finally moved back to Denmark to play for AGF Aarhus in August 2003. Initially a substitute for the three years younger Steffen Rasmussen
, Pedersen made his AGF debut in April 2004, and was subsequently kept as starting goalkeeper. During the 2004-05 season
, Rune Pedersen and five other players were fined for partying on a night where the team lost to Aalborg BK. He denied paying the fine, and even though the club later dropped the claim, Rune Pedersen was finished in AGF.
He linked up with English side Nottingham Forest
during their pre-season tour of Denmark in preparation for the 2005-06 season and whilst on trial won himself a two year contract at the City Ground
. After starting the season as first choice keeper the return to fitness of Paul Gerrard and the arrival of Russell Hoult
on loan from West Bromwich Albion
relegated Pedersen to third choice goalkeeper. The departure of manager Gary Megson
, Hoult returning to West Brom and further injury to Paul Gerrard presented Pedersen with the another chance. Pedersen performed well in the eyes of many Forest fans and contributed to a resurgence in form which saw Forest climb to within two points of a play-off berth by the end of the season. The appointment of Colin Calderwood
as the new manager of Nottingham Forest in June 2006 and the arrival of Southampton
goalkeeper Paul Smith limited Rune to just a handful of appearances during the 2006-07 season. His contract was not renewed by the English club and consequently he became a free agent on 30 June 2007.
Rune then signed with Danish Superliga club Lyngby BK. Lyngby were relegated following the Danish Superliga 2007-08
season, but Pedersen stayed with the club in the Danish 1st Division
. August 29 2009 he was loaned to Superliga club Odense Boldklub for the rest of the year, but served as a back-up to Roy Carroll
before returning to Lyngby in January 2010. Back at Lyngby, he helped the club finish second in the 2010 1st Division and gain promotion for the Superliga.
in November 2000, and played eight games for the team until September 2001.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
professional footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who plays as goalkeeper for Lyngby Boldklub
Lyngby Boldklub
Lyngby Boldklub is a professional Danish football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC.-History:...
. He won two Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
championships with his first club F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
, and has since played for Danish clubs Aarhus GF, Lyngby, and OB, as well as Italian club Modena F.C.
Modena F.C.
Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...
and Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
in England. He has played 17 matches for various Danish youth national teams.
Club career
Born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Rune Pedersen started his career off at clubs in his hometown. He played youth football with Hvidovre IF
Hvidovre IF
Hvidovre IF is a Danish football club, founded on 15 October 1925 in Hvidovre.- Current squad :As of 2011-03-21...
, before moving to Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded April 26, 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Football and cricket has been played in KB since 1879, making KB the oldest football club on Continental Europe and...
(KB), the reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
of F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
(FCK) in the top-flight Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
championship. He got his first team debut for FCK in August 2000, when he replaced the injured Michael Stensgaard
Michael Stensgaard
Michael Stensgaard is a Danish former footballer and business conflict mediator. Playing in the goalkeeper position, he represented Danish clubs Hvidovre IF and FC Copenhagen, as well as Liverpool FC and Southampton FC in England. He played eight games for the Denmark national under-21 football team...
. He went on to win two Superliga championships with FCK, but never fully established himself as FCK's starting goalkeeper. He saw competition from a number of goalkeepers, including Swedish international
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
goalkeeper Magnus Kihlstedt
Magnus Kihlstedt
Magnus Kihlstedt is a former Swedish football goalkeeper. As of 2004 he had 13 matches for the national team. He has become Danish league and cup champion with FC København.-Clubs:*Munkedals IF - 1988...
and Norwegian international
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
goalkeeper Thomas Myhre
Thomas Myhre
Thomas Myhre is a Norwegian international football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Kongsvinger, having returned to Norwegian football in July 2007...
. After two and a half years with FCK, he rejected a contract offer from the club in January 2003.
He trained with English club Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, but did not get a contract offer. Instead, he was sold to Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
club Modena F.C.
Modena F.C.
Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...
in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
championship. Pedersen only spent half a year with the club, before he was released in the summer 2003, after claiming he did not enjoy life in Italy.
He trained with an English club once again, this time Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
, but finally moved back to Denmark to play for AGF Aarhus in August 2003. Initially a substitute for the three years younger Steffen Rasmussen
Steffen Rasmussen
Steffen Bjørnebo Rasmussen , known as Steffen Rasmussen, is a Danish professional football player in the goalkeeper position, who currently plays for Danish Superliga team AGF Aarhus...
, Pedersen made his AGF debut in April 2004, and was subsequently kept as starting goalkeeper. During the 2004-05 season
Danish Superliga 2004-05
The 2004-05 Danish Superliga season was the 15th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 24, 2004 to the final match on June 19, 2005....
, Rune Pedersen and five other players were fined for partying on a night where the team lost to Aalborg BK. He denied paying the fine, and even though the club later dropped the claim, Rune Pedersen was finished in AGF.
He linked up with English side Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
during their pre-season tour of Denmark in preparation for the 2005-06 season and whilst on trial won himself a two year contract at the City Ground
City Ground
The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....
. After starting the season as first choice keeper the return to fitness of Paul Gerrard and the arrival of Russell Hoult
Russell Hoult
Russell Hoult is an English footballer. He is a goalkeeper and is currently player/assistant manager/goalkeeping coach for Hereford United.-Playing career:...
on loan from West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
relegated Pedersen to third choice goalkeeper. The departure of manager Gary Megson
Gary Megson
Gary John Megson is an English former football player and is currently manager of Sheffield Wednesday.He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers...
, Hoult returning to West Brom and further injury to Paul Gerrard presented Pedersen with the another chance. Pedersen performed well in the eyes of many Forest fans and contributed to a resurgence in form which saw Forest climb to within two points of a play-off berth by the end of the season. The appointment of Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood
Colin Calderwood is a Scottish football player and coach. In November 2011 he was appointed as Chris Hughton's assistant manager at Birmingham City....
as the new manager of Nottingham Forest in June 2006 and the arrival of Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
goalkeeper Paul Smith limited Rune to just a handful of appearances during the 2006-07 season. His contract was not renewed by the English club and consequently he became a free agent on 30 June 2007.
Rune then signed with Danish Superliga club Lyngby BK. Lyngby were relegated following the Danish Superliga 2007-08
Danish Superliga 2007-08
The 2007–08 Danish Superliga season was the 18th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, which determined the winners of the Danish football championship. It was governed by the Danish Football Association. It started with the first match on July 18, 2007 and ended with the final match...
season, but Pedersen stayed with the club in the Danish 1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
. August 29 2009 he was loaned to Superliga club Odense Boldklub for the rest of the year, but served as a back-up to Roy Carroll
Roy Carroll
Roy Eric Carroll is a Northern Irish footballer who is currently playing for Greek Superleague club OFI Crete. He is a goalkeeper and is best known for his spells at Wigan Athletic and Manchester United, where he won the 2004 FA Cup...
before returning to Lyngby in January 2010. Back at Lyngby, he helped the club finish second in the 2010 1st Division and gain promotion for the Superliga.
International career
While at KB, Pedersen was called up for a number of national youth team matches from April 1995 to September 1996. Having made his breakthrough with FCK, he was called up for the Denmark under-21 national teamDenmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
in November 2000, and played eight games for the team until September 2001.