Former Osprey soccer standout Kasper Hjulmand was announced as the new head coach of German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on Monday, Sept. 8.
Hjulmand took over after the firing of former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag a week earlier. Leverkusen currently sits 12th in the table after two matches played, following a second-place finish in the league last season.
Hjulmand was primarily a defender during his playing days, suiting up for three Danish clubs between 1987 and 1998. In 1994, he played for the Ospreys, scoring six goals over 18 appearances while playing as a midfielder and studying business. He quickly returned to Denmark to play for Boldklubben af 1893 (B.93), where a knee injury ended his playing career at age 26.
Before coaching professionally, Hjulmand got his start coaching high school soccer in the Jacksonville area while playing for the Ospreys. He landed his first professional head coaching job at Lyngby, a Danish club located in a city of the same name. He held that position for two years before accepting a role as an assistant coach at Nordsjaelland. He later became their head coach following the departure of Marten Wieghorst.
He led the Farum-based club to its first Danish league title in the 2011–12 season, narrowly placing ahead of FC Copenhagen by two points. In 2014, he left Denmark for Germany to coach Mainz 05, following the departure of Thomas Tuchel. He returned to Nordsjaelland as head coach in December 2015 and remained for four years before leaving by mutual consent on March 25, 2019.
A few months later, in June 2019, it was announced that Hjulmand would take over as head coach of Denmark’s national team. His first major test came at the 2020 European Championship, which was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Denmark’s opening match of the tournament, midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch due to cardiac arrest, prompting a global outpouring of support and a temporary suspension of the match. Despite the traumatic moment, Hjulmand led Denmark on a historic run to the semifinals before falling to England on a controversial penalty call in extra time, after the sides were level at 1-1 through regulation.
Under Hjulmand’s leadership, Denmark qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they were placed in Group D. In the group stage, Denmark failed to win a match, losing to France and Australia, as well as drawing with Tunisia.
At the 2024 European Championship, Denmark finished second in their group and faced Germany in the round of 16. Denmark lost 2-0, leading to Hjulmand’s resignation on July 19, 2024.
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