Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Højbjerg after winning the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final with Bayern Munich
Personal information
Full name Pierre-Emile Kordt Højbjerg[1]
Date of birth (1995-08-05) 5 August 1995
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 23
Youth career
2003–2007 BK Skjold
2007–2009 F.C. Copenhagen
2009–2012 Brøndby IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Bayern Munich II 44 (12)
2013–2016 Bayern Munich 17 (0)
2015 → FC Augsburg (loan) 16 (2)
2015–2016 → Schalke 04 (loan) 23 (0)
2016– Southampton 48 (2)
National team‡
2010–2011 Denmark U16 6 (0)
2011–2012 Denmark U17 18 (5)
2012–2013 Denmark U19 6 (3)
2013–2015 Denmark U21 8 (4)
2014– Denmark 21 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:13, 18 September 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:46, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

Pierre-Emile Kordt Højbjerg (born 5 August 1995) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Southampton.

He played as a youth for BK Skjold, F.C. Copenhagen and Brøndby IF before joining German club Bayern Munich in 2012. He made his senior debut for the reserves that year and his professional debut for the first team in April 2013; at 17 he was the club's youngest player in the Bundesliga. He made 25 total appearances for Bayern and won a variety of domestic and international tournaments, also having loans at fellow league teams FC Augsburg and Schalke 04. In 2016, he signed a five-year contract for Southampton for an estimated £12.8 million fee.

Formerly a youth international at various levels from under-16 to under-21, he made his debut for the Denmark national football team in 2014.

Club career

Early career

While initially playing for BK Skjold and F.C. Copenhagen he moved to Brøndby IF as a junior player at age 14.[2] He looks upon Zinedine Zidane as his role model.[3] Aged just 5, Højbjerg began attending training sessions with his six-year-old brother at local club Skjold. He was deployed as a striker by Copenhagen. Starting from his debut, Højbjerg plays as a central midfielder and sometimes right wide midfielder.

In 2011, Højbjerg was honoured with the title "Danish under-17 player of the year".[4] In 2013, he was honoured with the title "Danish talent of the year" by Spillerforeningen (the Danish equivalent of the English PFA).[5]

Bayern Munich

Højbjerg joined Bayern in July 2012[6] and, at the age of 17 years and 251 days,[7] made his professional debut on 13 April 2013[7] in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Nürnberg,[8] as a substitute for Xherdan Shaqiri[8] and thus became the youngest player ever to play for the Bayern Munich first team in the Bundesliga.[7] He finished the 2012–13 season with no goals in two matches played for the first team and eight goals in 30 matches played for the reserve team.[9]

In December of that year, he was in the Bayern squad which won the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, although he did not enter the field of play during the tournament.[10][11]

On 17 May 2014, Højbjerg started the DFB-Pokal final for Bayern Munich, a 2–0 extra-time win over Borussia Dortmund. He played for a total of 102 minutes before being substituted in the first half of extra time for Daniel Van Buyten.[12] He finished the 2013–14 season with seven Bundesliga appearances and two German Cup appearances for the first team and four goals from 14 appearances for the reserve team.[13]

His first match of the 2014–15 season was the DFL-Supercup on 13 August, playing the first hour and then being substituted for Mario Götze, as Bayern lost 2–0 at Borussia Dortmund.[14] On 8 January 2015, Bayern extended Højbjerg's contract to 2018.[15] He finished the 2014–15 season with no goals from eight Bundesliga appearances, one German Cup appearance, and three Champions League appearances.[16]

On 7 January 2015, Højbjerg was loaned to FC Augsburg, also of the Bundesliga, for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.[17][18] He made his debut on 1 February 2015 against 1899 Hoffenheim.[19] Højbjerg scored his first Bundesliga goal on 11 April against SC Paderborn 07 in a 2–1 loss. On 9 May, he assisted Raúl Bobadilla for the only goal as Augsburg won away at Bayern, who had already won the league by that point.[20] He finished his loan spell with two goals from 16 Bundesliga appearances.[16]

On 28 August 2015, Højbjerg joined fellow Bundesliga side Schalke 04 on a season-long loan.[21] He played 30 games for the Gelsenkirchen-based club, including six in the Europa League, and at the end of the season he told Danish newspaper B.T. that the time had arrived to leave Bayern Munich and become a first-team regular elsewhere.[22]

Southampton

Højbjerg playing for Southampton in 2017.

On 11 July 2016, Højbjerg joined English club Southampton on a five-year deal[23] for an estimated fee of £12.8 million.[24][25] He made his debut in the Premier League on 13 August as the season began with a 1–1 home draw with Watford, coming on in the 55th minute in place of James Ward-Prowse. BBC Sport's Neil Johnston wrote that he "injected pace and urgency" into the Saints, "was not afraid to shoot and was hard-working".[26] Although he played all five matches on the way to the 2017 EFL Cup Final, Højbjerg was an unused substitute in the match at Wembley Stadium, which Southampton lost 3–2 to Manchester United.[27]

Højbjerg scored his first goal for the Saints in his 54th match on 18 March 2018, opening a 2–0 win at League One club Wigan Athletic in the sixth round of the FA Cup, the first match under new manager Mark Hughes.[28]

International career

Højbjerg was born in Denmark to a Danish father and French mother.[29] He was called up to the Denmark senior side for the first time in May 2014 for friendlies against Hungary and Sweden and made his debut against Sweden on 28 May, playing the full 90 minutes.[30] On his third cap on 7 September 2014 he scored his first international goal, equalising as Denmark began their UEFA Euro 2016 qualification campaign with a 2–1 win over Armenia in Copenhagen.[31]

In May 2018, he was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[32] although he did not make the final 23.[33]

Personal life

Højbjerg was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and grew up in the Østerbro district of the city. He is the second of three children. Højbjerg was first introduced to football when he was five-years old. In April 2014, Højbjerg's father died of stomach cancer.[34]

He lives in Winchester and receives frequent visits from his girlfriend Josephine who studies and lives in Denmark.[35]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 17 September 2018
ClubSeasonLeagueCup1League Cup2Continental3Other4Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayern Munich II2012–13[9]Regionalliga Bayern308————308
2013–14[13]Regionalliga Bayern144———00144
Total4412———004412
Bayern Munich2012–13[9]Bundesliga2000—000020
2013–14[13]Bundesliga7020—000090
2014–15[16]Bundesliga8010—3010130
2015–16[16]Bundesliga0010—000010
Total17040—3010250
Augsburg (loan)2014–15[16]Bundesliga16200———162
Schalke (loan)2015–16[16]Bundesliga23010—60—300
Southampton 2016–17[36]Premier League220205060—350
2017–18[37]Premier League2305100——281
2018–19[38]Premier League320000——32
Total 482715060—663
Career totals14715121501501018117

International statistics

Statistics accurate as of 29 March 2016.[39]

Denmark national team
YearAppsGoals
201451
201580
201620
Total151

International goals

Score and result list Denmark's goal tally first.

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionSource
1.7 September 2014Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark Armenia1–12–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying[40]

Honours

Bayern Munich[41]

Southampton

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 7 December 2013. p. 5. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Pierre Højbjerg". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bayerns Supertalent: Zidane ist sein Vorbild" [Bayern's super talent: Zidane is his role model] (in German). fussball-vorort.de. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 "DBU's Talentpris" (in Danish). DBU. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg vinder prisen som Årets Talent" (in Danish). Spillerforeningen. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "Augsburg leiht Højbjerg aus" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Das ist Augsburgs Neuzugang". Augsburger Allgemeine. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 "FC Bayern demontiert schwachen Club" (in German). kicker. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Guangzhou Evergrande FC – FC Bayern München". FIFA. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Bayern Munich 2–0 Raja Casablanca". BBC Sport. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Robben bestraft BVB-Fehler in der Verlängerung [Robben punishes BVB's mistake in extra time]". kicker. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  14. ↑ kicker (13 August 2014). "Aubameyang köpft BVB zum Supercup-Sieg" (in German). Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Hojbjerg-Leihe bestätigt - Vertrag verlängert!" (in German). Abendzeitung. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Zitouni, Mounir (7 January 2015). "Höjbjerg: Ausleihe zu Augsburg perfekt" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Bernreuther, David (8 January 2015). "Höjbjerg steigt am Freitag ein" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Højbjerg glänzt, di Santo zaubert" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Bayern Mun 0-1 FC Augsburg". BBC Sport. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Hojbjerg joins Schalke on loan from Bayern". Goal.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  22. ↑ Bienkowski, Stefan (24 May 2016). "Bayern Munich midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg confirms club exit". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  23. ↑ "Saints complete Højbjerg signing". Southampton FC. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg wechselt nach Southampton". FC Bayern Munich (in German). 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Southampton sign Bayern Munich midfielder". BBC Sport. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  26. ↑ Johnston, Neil (13 August 2017). "Southampton 1–1 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  27. ↑ Burt, Jason (27 February 2017). "Manchester United 3 Southampton 2, EFL Cup final: Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspires Jose Mourinho's side to cup glory". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  28. ↑ Sanders, Emma (18 March 2018). "Wigan Athletic 0–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  29. ↑ Josevski, Aleksandar (11 June 2015). "Højbjerg: Lidt mere 'amour' i Frankrig". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  30. ↑ "Morten O. storroser Højbjerg efter debut [Morten O. commend Højbjerg after his dubut]". Bold.dk. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  31. ↑ Vinde, Nicklas (7 September 2014). "Denmark dig deep to down Armenia". UEFA. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced?". goal.com. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  33. ↑ "Confirmed: Denmark cut ex-Arsenal star from FIFA World Cup squad". socceroos.com. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "Hojbjerg: I won't let Pep down". FC Bayern Munich. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  35. ↑ Simpson, Gordon (25 December 2016). "Højbjerg: Why Saints was right for me". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  37. ↑ "Games played by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  38. ↑ "Games played by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  39. ↑ "Debut to Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg" (in Danish). dbu.dk. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  40. ↑ "Denmark vs. Armenia". ESPN FC. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  41. ↑ "P. Højbjerg". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  42. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3 Southampton 2". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  43. ↑ "Dansk Fodbold Award". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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