Stefan Johansen

For other uses, see Stefan Johansson (disambiguation).

Stefan Johansen

Johansen playing for Fulham in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Stefan Marius Johansen [1]
Date of birth	(1991-01-08) 8 January 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Vardø, Norway
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Youth career
0000–2004	Vardø
2005–2006	Bodø/Glimt
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Bodø/Glimt	30	(0)
2011–2014	Strømsgodset	67	(8)
2014–2016	Celtic	73	(12)
2016–2021	Fulham	126	(19)
2019	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	14	(2)
2021	→ Queens Park Rangers (loan)	21	(4)
2021–2023	Queens Park Rangers	64	(3)
2024	Sarpsborg 08	28	(6)
International career‡
2006–2007	Norway U16	8	(3)
2007–2008	Norway U17	10	(3)
2008–2009	Norway U18	5	(1)
2009–2010	Norway U19	8	(1)
2011–2013	Norway U21	5	(0)
2012	Norway U23	1	(0)
2013–2020	Norway	55	(6)
Medal record Representing   Norway European Under-21 Championship 2013 Israel U-21 [3]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 September 2020

Stefan Marius Johansen (born 8 January 1991) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He played for the Norway national team until his international retirement in 2021. ^[4]

Johansen joined Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. He made his first-team debut in 2007, and transferred to Strømsgodset in 2011 where he was one of the key players in the team that finished second in the league in 2012 and won the league-title in 2013. Johansen won the Kniksen Award as the midfielder of the year in 2013. He transferred to Celtic in January 2014. At Celtic in 2015 he won their player of the year voted for by fans of the club.

Johansen has represented Norway at youth international level, and was a part of the under-21 team at the 2013 European Championship. He made his full international debut in 2013.

Club career

Bodø/Glimt

Johansen was born and raised in Vardø, a small town in the far north of Norway. ^{[5] [6]} He moved to Bodø to sign for Bodø/Glimt at the age of 14. ^[7] He joined the first-team squad along with Anders Ågnes Konradsen ahead of the 2007 season and Johansen made his debut for the team in the First Round of the 2007 Norwegian Football Cup against Hammerfest. ^[5] Johansen played six matches in Adeccoligaen when Bodø/Glimt was promoted to Tippeligaen in 2007, and made his debut in Tippeligaen in the 3–2 win against Viking on 10 August 2008 ^[2] when he replaced Jan Derek Sørensen in the 85th minute.

Johansen made four appearances in the 2009 season, ^[2] going on to play regularly for Bodø/Glimt in Adeccoligaen in 2010 and was regarded as one of the biggest talents in Northern Norway. ^[7] Clubs like Tromsø, Fredrikstad and Aalesund wanted to sign Johansen whose contract expired after the season, ^[7] but he signed a three-year contract with Strømsgodset in December 2010, and joined the club on a free transfer on 1 January 2011. ^[8] Johansen played 18 matches in Adeccoligaen in his final season at Bodø/Glimt. ^[2]

Strømsgodset

Johansen made his debut for Strømsgodset against in the 2–1 against Sogndal when he came on in the 80th minute and replaced Fredrik Nordkvelle. In his first season at Strømsgodset, Johansen made 13 league appearances and scored one goal. ^[2] In the match against Sandnes Ulf on 16 May 2012, Johansen scored a goal from a free kick. In the 5–0 win against Fredrikstad on 27 May 2012, Johansen scored another goal from a free kick, identical to the one he scored 11 days earlier. ^[9] Johansen made his break-through at Strømsgodset after Mohammed Abu returned to Manchester City, when he became a regular in Strømsgodset's starting line-up ^{[5] [6] [10]} and was in August 2012 awarded the Statoil Talent Prize for his performances. ^[11] In 2013, Johansen helped Strømsgodset to win their first league title in 43 years ^[12] and was voted the Midfielder of the Year in the Norwegian league. ^[13]

Celtic

On 15 January 2014, Johansen sealed a move to Scottish Premiership club Celtic for a transfer fee of £2 million. ^[12] Johansen signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club, and became the fourth Norwegian to play for Celtic following Harald Brattbakk, Vidar Riseth and Thomas Rogne. ^[14] He was given the number 25 shirt, the same number worn in previous years by Ľubomír Moravčík and Shunsuke Nakamura. ^[14]

Johansen made his debut for Celtic in the 4–0 victory against Hibernian on 26 January 2014 when he played the last five minutes as a substitute. ^[15] He scored his first goal for Celtic on 22 March 2014 in a home league match against St Mirren, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win with a header. ^[16]

Fulham

Johansen signed a three-year deal with Fulham on 26 August 2016 for an undisclosed fee. ^[17] Johansen scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Norwich City on 18 October 2016. ^[18]

On 31 January 2019, Johansen joined West Brom on loan until the end of the season. ^[19]

Queens Park Rangers

On 26 January 2021, Johansen joined Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the season. ^[20] He scored his first goal for QPR in a 2-1 win over Bournemouth on 20 February 2021. ^[21]

On 24 July 2021, following a successful loan spell, Johansen returned to Queens Park Rangers on a permanent deal, signing a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. ^[22]

On 19 June 2023, Johansen had his contract terminated by mutual consent. ^[23]

International career

Johansen made his debut for Norway when he played for the under-15 team against Poland U15 on 8 August 2006. ^[2] He has later represented Norway at every level up to under-23, ^[24] and played both matches for the under-21 team when they eliminated France U21 and qualified for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. ^[6] Johansen was part of the Norway side which beat England in the European Under-21 Championships before losing to eventual winners Spain at the semi-final stage. ^[25]

Johansen has thirty-six full international caps for his country, scoring his first international goal on his debut against Sweden in Stockholm on 14 August 2014. ^{[26] [27]}

On 22 March 2017, Johansen was appointed as the new captain of Norway, replacing Per Ciljan Skjelbred. ^[28] On 10 March 2021, Johansen announced that he would retire from international football immediately. ^[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of 10 November 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bodø/Glimt	2007	Adeccoligaen	6	0	0	0	–		6	0
	2008	Tippeligaen	1	0	1	0	–		2	0
	2009		4	0	2	0	–		6	0
	2010	Adeccoligaen	18	0	3	2	–		21	2
	Total		29	0	6	2	–		35	2
Strømsgodset	2011	Tippeligaen	13	1	1	0	0	0	14	1
	2012		27	3	5	1	–		32	4
	2013		27	4	1	0	4	0	32	4
	Total		67	8	7	1	4	0	78	9
Celtic	2013–14	Scottish Premiership	16	2	1	0	0	0	17	2
	2014–15		34	9	8	1	14	3	56	13
	2015–16		23	1	5	1	11	2	39	4
	2016–17		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total		73	12	14	2	26	5	113	19
Fulham	2016–17	Championship	36	11	4	2	–		40	13
	2017–18		44	8	1	0	–		45	8
	2018–19	Premier League	12	0	1	0	–		13	0
	2019–20	Championship	33	0	3	0	–		36	0
	2020–21	Premier League	0	0	2	0	–		2	0
	Total		125	19	11	2	–		136	21
West Bromwich (loan)	2018–19	Championship	14	2	0	0	–		14	2
Queens Park Rangers (loan)	2020–21	Championship	21	4	0	0	–		21	4
Queens Park Rangers	2021–22		35	1	2	0	–		37	1
	2022–23		29	2	1	0	–		30	2
	Total		85	7	3	0	–		88	7
Sarpsborg 08	2024	Eliteserien	26	6	3	0	–		29	6
Career total			418	52	44	7	30	5	492	64

International

As of match played on 10 October 2020 ^[30]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Norway	2013	6	1
	2014	9	0
	2015	9	0
	2016	9	2
	2017	4	0
	2018	9	2
	2019	6	1
	2020	3	0
Total		55	6

Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Johansen goal. ^[31]

List of international goals scored by Stefan Johansen

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 August 2013	Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	2–2	2–4	Friendly
2	29 March 2016	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Finland	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3	1 June 2016	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Iceland	1–0	3–2	Friendly
4	6 September 2018	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Cyprus	1–0	2–0	2018–19 UEFA Nations League
5				2–0
6	8 September 2019	Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Strømsgodset ^[32]

• Eliteserien: 2013

Celtic ^[32]

• Scottish Premiership: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Scottish League Cup: 2014–15

Fulham

• EFL Championship play-offs: 2018, ^[33] 2020 ^[34]

Individual

• Kniksen Award, Midfielder of the Year: 2013 ^[35]
• Gullballen: 2014 ^[36]
• PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 2014–15 ^[37]
• Celtic Player of the Year: 2014–15 ^[38]

References

1. "Stefan Marius Johansen" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
2. "Stefan Johansen". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
3. "- Nyland bedre enn de Gea i EM". www.aftenposten.no. 20 June 2013.
4. "De siste sportsnyhetene fra NRK". 14 August 2019.
5. "Spillerprofiler – Stefan Marius Johansen" (in Norwegian). Strømsgodset IF. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
6. Johansen, Øyvind (23 December 2012). "Scouting report: Stefan Johansen, Strømsgodset". Scandinavian Scouting Agency. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
7. Sandmo, Ole-Marius Aune (19 July 2010). "- TIL leder kampen om Vardø-talent" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
8. Nilsen, Magne J. (7 December 2010). "Stefan Johansen klar for Godset" (in Norwegian). Drammens Tidende. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
9. Skeie, Terje (27 May 2012). "Stefan Johansen med blåkopi-scoring da Strømsgodset knuste FFK" (in Norwegian). TV2. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
10. Overvik, Jostein (17 May 2013). "Spår duell med RBK". VG Sporten (in Norwegian). p. 3.
11. Aasen, Jonn Erik (30 August 2012). "Stefan Johansen er månedens talent – august 2012" (in Norwegian). TV2. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
12. Walker, Mark (15 January 2014). "Stefan Johansen signs for Celtic". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
13. "Kniksenprisen". Norsk Toppfotball. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
14. Wikan, Magnus (15 January 2014). "Johansen klar for Celtic". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
15. "Stefan Johansen fikk Celtic-debuten". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
16. "Celtic 3-0 St Mirren". BBC Sport.
17. "Johansen Arrives – Fulham Football Club". Fulham F.C. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
18. "Fulham 2–2 Norwich". BBC Sport. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
19. "West Brom: Jefferson Montero, Jacob Murphy and Stefan Johansen join on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
20. "Stefan Johansen joins QPR on loan". QPR. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
21. "QPR 2-1 Bournemouth". BBC. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
22. "Stefan Johansen completes QPR switch". www.qpr.co.uk. 24 July 2021.
23. "Stefan Johansen leaves QPR". www.qpr.co.uk. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
24. "Stefan Marius Johansen's profil" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
25. Grahame, Ewing (13 January 2014). "Celtic close in on Stromsgodset and Norway midfielder Stefan Johansen". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
26. "Stromsgodset confirm Celtic interest in midfielder Stefan Johansen". STV Sport. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
27. "Stefan Johansen". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
28. "Stefan Johansen er Norges nye landslagskaptein". NRK. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
29. "Stefan Johansen gir seg på landslaget". TV2. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
30. "Stefan Johansen statistics". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
31. Stefan Johansen at Soccerway
32. "Norway - S. Johansen - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". gh.soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
33. Cartwright, Phil (26 May 2018). "Aston Villa 0–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
34. Stevens, Rob (4 August 2020). "Brentford 1–2 Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
35. "Stefan Johansen: Arctic Circle to Champions League". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
36. "Stefan Johansen vant gullballen" [Stefan Johansen won the Golden Ball]. toppfotball.no (in Norwegian). Norsk Toppfotball. 10 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
37. "Celtic's Stefan Johansen named Scottish PFA player of the year". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
38. "Stefan Johansen is Celtic's Player of the Year". Celtic FC. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2019.