Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Højbjerg with Tottenham Hotspur in 2022
Personal information
Full name Pierre-Emile Kordt Højbjerg[1]
Date of birth (1995-08-05) 5 August 1995[2]
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 5
Youth career
2003–2007 BK Skjold
2007–2009 KB
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)
2016–2020 Southampton 109 (4)
2020– Tottenham Hotspur 128 (8)
International career‡
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 73 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:48, 20:02, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:39, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Pierre-Emile Kordt Højbjerg (born 5 August 1995) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Denmark national team.

Højbjerg started his career as a youth for Danish clubs BK Skjold, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub 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. After making 134 appearances for the Saints, he joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 for a reported initial fee of £15 million.

Højbjerg was a youth international at various levels from under-16 to under-21. He made his debut for the Denmark national team in 2014, and represented the side at UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

While initially playing for BK Skjold and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub he moved to Brøndby IF as a junior player at age 14.[3] He looks upon Zinedine Zidane as his role model.[4] 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. He has since switched to a defensive midfield role.

In 2011, Højbjerg was honoured with the title "Danish under-17 player of the year".[5] In 2013, he was honoured with the title "Danish talent of the year" by Spillerforeningen.[6]

Bayern Munich

Højbjerg after winning the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final with Bayern Munich

Højbjerg joined Bayern in July 2012[7] and, at the age of 17 years and 251 days,[8] made his professional debut on 13 April 2013[8] in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Nürnberg,[9] as a substitute for Xherdan Shaqiri[9] and thus became the youngest player ever to play for the Bayern Munich first team in the Bundesliga.[8] 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.[10]

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.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] On 8 January 2015, Bayern extended Højbjerg's contract to 2018.[16] He finished the 2014–15 season with no goals from eight Bundesliga appearances, one German Cup appearance, and three Champions League appearances.[17] On 7 January 2015, Højbjerg was loaned to Bundesliga team FC Augsburg for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.[18][19] He made his debut on 1 February against 1899 Hoffenheim.[20] 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.[21] He finished his loan spell with two goals from 16 Bundesliga appearances.[17]

On 28 August 2015, Højbjerg joined fellow Bundesliga side Schalke 04 on a season-long loan.[22] 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.[23]

Southampton

Højbjerg playing for Southampton in 2017

On 11 July 2016, Højbjerg joined English club Southampton on a five-year deal for an estimated fee of £12.8 million.[24] 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".[25] 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.[26]

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.[27] In December that year, Hughes' successor Ralph Hasenhüttl made him the Saints' captain.[28] However in June 2020, Hojbjerg was stripped of the captaincy after publicly speaking about his desire to leave the club, with Ward-Prowse replacing him as captain.[29]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 11 August 2020, Højbjerg joined Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year deal, for a reported initial fee of £15 million plus add-ons.[30][31]

He made his debut on 13 September in a 1–0 home defeat by Everton.[32] Despite this early setback, Højbjerg soon became a key member of José Mourinho's squad in the central defensive midfield position, earning wide praise for his performance in many games,[33][34][35][36] as well as receiving a nomination as Premier League Player of the Month for November.[37] On 28 January 2021, Højbjerg scored his first goal for Spurs in the Premier League with a 20-yard strike at a 3–1 home loss to Liverpool.[38] He made the most appearances ever by a player in the 2020–21 season (3420 minutes).[39]

On 1 November 2022, he scored a goal in the 95th minute in a 2–1 away win over Marseille, in which Tottenham Hotspur finished top of Group D in the 2022–23 Champions League season.[40]

International career

Højbjerg was born in Denmark to a Danish father and French mother.[41] 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.[42] 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.[43]

In May 2018, he was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[44] although he did not make the final 23.[45]

Højbjerg was named in the Danish squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 in June 2021.[46] In their opening match, a 1–0 loss to Finland, he missed a penalty; the game had been stopped and resumed due to Christian Eriksen's medical emergency.[47]

Personal life

Højbjerg was born in Copenhagen and grew up in the Østerbro district of the city. He is the second of three children. Højbjerg was introduced to football when he was five years old.[48] Højbjerg's father Christian died of stomach cancer in April 2014, five days after his first start for Bayern.[49][50]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayern Munich II 2012–13[10] Regionalliga Bayern 308————308
2013–14[14] Regionalliga Bayern 144———00144
Total 4412———004412
Bayern Munich 2012–13[10] Bundesliga 2000—000020
2013–14[14] Bundesliga 7020—000090
2014–15[17] Bundesliga 8010—3[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0130
2015–16[17] Bundesliga 0010—000010
Total 17040—3010250
FC Augsburg (loan) 2014–15[17] Bundesliga 16200———162
Schalke 04 (loan) 2015–16[17] Bundesliga 23010—6[lower-alpha 5]0—300
Southampton 2016–17[51] Premier League 22020506[lower-alpha 5]0—350
2017–18[52] Premier League 2305100——281
2018–19[53] Premier League 3140020——334
2019–20[54] Premier League 3302030——380
Total 10949110060—1345
Tottenham Hotspur 2020–21[55] Premier League 38220409[lower-alpha 5]0—532
2021–22[56] Premier League 36220505[lower-alpha 6]1—483
2022–23[57] Premier League 35410107[lower-alpha 3]1—445
2023–24[58] Premier League 1900010——200
Total 128850110212—16510
Career total 337261912103621041429

International

As of match played 22 November 2023[59][60]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Denmark 201451
201580
201680
201820
2019102
202050
2021141
2022111
2023102
Total737
As of match played 17 November 2023. Denmark's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Højbjerg goal.[59][60]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 September 2014Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark3 Armenia1–12–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
2 21 March 2019Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo24 Kosovo2–22–2Friendly
3 7 June 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark26 Republic of Ireland1–01–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
4 31 March 2021Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria40 Austria3–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 6 June 2022Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria56 Austria1–02–12022–23 UEFA Nations League A
6 7 September 2023Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark68 San Marino1–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
7 10 September 2023Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland69 Finland1–01–0

Honours

Bayern Munich[61]

Southampton

Tottenham Hotspur

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2013: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 7 December 2013. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg". Premier League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Pierre Højbjerg". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. 1 2 "DBU's Talentpris" (in Danish). DBU. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg vinder prisen som Årets Talent" (in Danish). Spillerforeningen. 1 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Augsburg leiht Højbjerg aus" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Das ist Augsburgs 2015".
  9. 1 2 "FC Bayern demontiert schwachen Club" (in German). kicker. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Guangzhou Evergrande FC – FC Bayern München". FIFA. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Bayern Munich 2–0 Raja Casablanca". BBC Sport. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Robben bestraft BVB-Fehler in der Verlängerung [Robben punishes BVB's mistake in extra time]". kicker. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 "Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Aubameyang köpft BVB zum Supercup-Sieg". kicker.de (in German). 13 August 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Hojbjerg-Leihe bestätigt - Vertrag verlängert!" (in German). Abendzeitung. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Zitouni, Mounir (7 January 2015). "Höjbjerg: Ausleihe zu Augsburg perfekt" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Bernreuther, David (8 January 2015). "Höjbjerg steigt am Freitag ein" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Højbjerg glänzt, di Santo zaubert" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "Bayern Mun 0-1 FC Augsburg". BBC Sport. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "Hojbjerg joins Schalke on loan from Bayern". Goal.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  23. ↑ Bienkowski, Stefan (24 May 2016). "Bayern Munich midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg confirms club exit". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  24. ↑ "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Southampton sign Bayern Munich midfielder". BBC Sport. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  25. ↑ Johnston, Neil (13 August 2017). "Southampton 1–1 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ Sanders, Emma (18 March 2018). "Wigan Athletic 0–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  28. ↑ Rudd, Alyson (29 December 2018). "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg interview: 'Pep Guardiola is the most demanding person I've met'". The Times. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  29. ↑ Dean, Sam (17 June 2020). "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stripped of Southampton captaincy after stating desire to leave club". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  30. ↑ "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg joins Tottenham from Southampton". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "Højbjerg joins from Southampton". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  32. ↑ Johnston, Neil (13 September 2020). "Tottenham Hotspur 0–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  33. ↑ Stanley, Anton (5 November 2020). "Great Dane: Called Zidane by Tottenham teammates, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is Jose Mourinho's 'captain without an armband' and might force them into the transfer market". talkSport.
  34. ↑ Young-Myles, Oliver (22 November 2020). "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: How Jose Mourinho's midfield general has transformed Tottenham's fortunes". iNews.
  35. ↑ Burton, Chris (4 December 2020). "'Kane & Son shining but Hojbjerg has been a revelation' – Hoddle sees Spurs as title challengers". Goal.
  36. ↑ "Jose Mourinho has finally found his Tottenham midfield general thanks to Pep Guardiola". Football.London. 10 November 2020.
  37. ↑ Spencer, Jamie (4 December 2020). "Premier League Player of the Month Shortlist for November Revealed". 90min.
  38. ↑ McNulty, Phil (28 January 2021). "Tottenham 1 Liverpool 3". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  39. ↑ Namboothiri, Adithya (2 June 2021). "Premier League : Top 5 midfielders". Football Express.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  40. ↑ David Hytner (1 November 2022). "Lenglet and Højbjerg complete Spurs comeback at Marseille to win group". The Guardian.
  41. ↑ Josevski, Aleksandar (11 June 2015). "Højbjerg: Lidt mere 'amour' i Frankrig". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  42. ↑ "Morten O. storroser Højbjerg efter debut [Morten O. commend Højbjerg after his debut]". Bold.dk. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  43. ↑ Vinde, Nicklas (7 September 2014). "Denmark dig deep to down Armenia". UEFA. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  44. ↑ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced?". goal.com. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  45. ↑ "Confirmed: Denmark cut ex-Arsenal star from FIFA World Cup squad". socceroos.com. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  46. ↑ "Denmark name Schmeichel and Hojbjerg in Euro 2020 squad". The Athletic. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  47. ↑ O'Brien, Sean (12 June 2021). "Denmark lose to Finland after Christian Eriksen collapse as Euro 2020 match resumes with Kasper Schmeichel mistake and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg penalty miss after midfielder was confirmed to be OK in hospital". Talksport. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  48. ↑ "Hojbjerg: I won't let Pep down". FC Bayern Munich. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  49. ↑ Cunningham, Sam (20 April 2018). "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg: 'Grief is a difficult thing – I learned the hard way'". i. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  50. ↑ "Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Tottenham midfielder on caring for his dying father". BBC Sport. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  51. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  52. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  53. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  54. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  55. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  56. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  57. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  58. ↑ "Games played by Pierre Hojbjerg in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  59. 1 2 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg" (in Danish). Danish Football Association. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  60. 1 2 "Pierre-Emile Højbjerg". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  61. ↑ "P. Højbjerg". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  62. ↑ McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  63. ↑ McNulty, Phil (25 April 2021). "Manchester City 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  64. ↑ "Dansk Fodbold Award". DBU (in Danish). Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  65. ↑ "UEFA EURO 2020 Team of the Tournament revealed". UEFA. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  66. ↑ "Tottenham's Hojbjerg named Danish Male Footballer of the Year". cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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