Faroe Islands coach picks new and inexperienced team for Poland friendly
May 3, 2006:
The Faroese team for the Poland friendly in Wronki, Poland on May 14, 2006 has been selected.
The players are:
Christian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ Runavík)
Atli Danielsen, Hjalgrím Elttør (KÍ Klaksvík)
Jákup Mikkelsen, Fróði Benjaminsen, Hanus Thorleifsson (B36 Tórshavn)
Janus Joensen, Rasmus Nolsøe, Kári Nielsen, Jákup á Borg (HB Tórshavn)
Óli Johannesen (TB Tvøroyri)
Jonhard Frederiksberg, Bjarni Jørgensen (Skála)
Hans Pauli Samuelsen (EB/Streymur)
Jann Ingi Petersen (B68 Toftir)
Jón Rói Jacobsen, Súni Olsen (AaB Aalborg, Denmark)
Christian R. Mouritsen (Manchester City)
Faroe Islands coach, Jógvan Martin Olsen, has picked a quite new and inexperienced team for the friendly international against Poland in Wronki, Poland, on May 14.
Many of the players have never played an official international before. Those are Hanus Thorleifson, Janus Joensen, Rasmus Nolsøe, Bjarni Jørgensen, Hans Pauli Samuelsen and Christian R. Mouritsen.
Others have played before, but have not been selected for some time, but they have been given another chance to prove their case, like Jann Ingi Petersen and Hjalgrím Elttør.
Remarkably, there is only 1 goalkeeper in the squad, Jákup Mikkelsen, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't get any injury or a red card or something.
Well, there is a kind of a back up, though, as veteran goalkeeper Jens Martin Knudsen is now goalkeeper coach, so if something happens to Jákup Mikkelsen, then Knudsen will get his glows on, even if he officially has retired.
But this arrangement seems somewhat stupid, because either a player has retired or not. And this surely doesn't send out any positive encouragement for a future successor to Jákup Mikkelsen. Instead, he could be given some experience by just being in the squad.
Poland played another friendly away to Lithuania on Tuesday, May 2nd, which Lithuania won 1-0. The goal was scored by A. Gedgaudas, midway into the first half.
Lithuania is in the Faroe Islands qualifying group for the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland 2008. The Faro Islands play at home to Lithuania on October 07, 2006 and in Lithuania on September 12, 2007.
May 4, 2006: Update:
Jens Martin "bobble hat" Knudsen's farewell match
The Faroe Islands Soccer Association has announced today that goalkeeper Jens Martin Knudsen will be in the goal for one half of the match against Poland and that this will be his farewell to the Faroe Islands national team as an active player.
Jens Martin became famous when he wore a bobble hat in the famous victory over Austria in 1990.
- By the way, his is still wearing the bobble hat!
Now 38 years old Jens Martin Knudsen played in the Faroe Islands first official FIFA match in 1989, when the Faroes lost 1-0 away to Iceland. The game against Poland will be his 65th in the Faroese goal. In his previous 64 games, he has picked the ball out of the net 168 times! – Hopefully, that figure won't grow in his last game:-)