He was the fifth and until Friday the last Dane in attack gear: after Kurt Stendal, Iver Schriver, Kjeld Seneca and Johnny Hansen, Sigurd Kristensen moved from Ikast to Mur in the summer of 1990. The designated playmaker was never quite able to live up to the high expectations, but the midfielder nevertheless played 88 competitive games for the Blackys, scoring 18 goals. After two seasons he had to leave Sturm and moved to Salzburg, to FC Puch, who was second at the time.
Mr. Kristensen, are you still sad about Denmark’s defeat in the semi-finals of the European Handball Championship against Spain, or are you overjoyed that after exactly 30 years a Dane will finally be wearing the attack jersey again?
Unfortunately Spain was clearly better and deserved to win. I’m all the happier that a Dane is playing for Sturm again. The Danish mentality is very similar to the Austrian one. From that point of view I think it fits very well and with Højlund Sturm really got a good catch.
Has Rasmus Højlund already made a name for himself in Denmark and what are his qualities?
Rasmus is from Copenhagen and that’s quite a distance from me. But of course he’s a huge talent for us. He has gone through all of Denmark’s youth national teams, is tall and has excellent shooting technique.
And fast?
Yes. He has a very strong start and is considered the fastest footballer in Denmark. I’m sure if Rasmus is given the necessary time and above all the necessary patience in Graz, both sides will benefit from this deal. I am happy for Sturm that they are able to get a player like that and I wish him good luck and success at my former place of work.
Mr. Kristensen, thank you very much for this brief assessment. What are you up to these days or are you still connected to football?
I live back in my home town of Brande and work in the real estate sector. I still play soccer. But only for Brande Traditionself. Ikast, the club I left for Sturm, has become FC Midtjylland. I’m still close to that, also because my son plays in the U14s there. I also follow Austrian football closely. Above all Sturm, but also Red Bull Salzburg, because of my nephew (Note: Rasmus Kristensen). If the pandemic allows it again, I’ll be looking forward to skiing on the Hochkönig again.
