Frode Johnsen (born 17 March 1974) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played for Odd and Rosenborg in the Tippeligaen and for Nagoya Grampus and Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. He played in several positions, but was preferred as a striker or midfielder. Johnsen is 188 cm tall, and was a good header of the ball.
In his final season for Odds BK in 2015, Johnsen won the Kniksen's Honour Award for his long career as a footballer. He retired in the age of 41. In 2013, he became the topscorer in Tippeligaen, which also made him the oldest topscorer in a European league ever.
Frode Johnsen has 34 caps, and has scored 10 goals for the Norwegian national team. He made his debut against Finland on 16 August 2000 coming on for Steffen Iversen 20 minutes from time.
His first international goal came against Wales in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier. He remained a regular member of the Norway squad until 2007, but lost his place after moving to Japan. The long flight distance between Europe and Japan was cited as one of the reasons why he did not play in more games after joining Nagoya Grampus.
On 1 September 2013, Johnsen was recalled to the national team squad, more than six years after his last cap, ahead of the 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against Cyprus and Switzerland. He did not play in either match, but kept his place in the squad for the matches against Slovenia and Iceland in October 2013. In the match against Slovenia on 11 October 2013, Johnsen came on as a late substitute, becoming the oldest player ever to play for the Norwegian national team. He repeated the feat in the home match against Iceland four days later, at the age of 39 years, 212 days.
UEFA Champions League Hat-Trick 2000-09-26 |
1994-2000 |
2000-2006 |
2006-2008 |
2008-2011 |
2011-2016 |