Karl Aage Præst

Born in Copenhagen, Karl Aage Præst attended the Royal Orphanage. The orphanage became the youth team of football club Østerbros Boldklub (ØB) in 1936, and Præst was among the first boys to join ØB. In his second year in the ØB youth team, Præst scored 57 goals in 16 games. He made his senior debut in 1940. At ØB, he played alongside later Danish international Helge Broneé. Præst was acknowledged as a world-class talent, with great balance and dribbling, and a great end-product of either precise crossing or a good shot on goal. Præst played around 250 games while at ØB. Præst became internationally known through international exhibition games for Danish representative teams Stævnet and Alliancen, and made his debut for the Denmark national football team in June 1945. In May 1947, he was selected for the Europe XI representative team, which lost 1–6 to the Great Britain national football team. Præst was a part of the Danish team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where Præst played four games and scored two goals as Denmark won a bronze medal. After the Olympics, Præst signed a professional contract with Italian club Juventus FC, and was thus banned from the amateur-only Danish national team.

With Juventus, Præst won the 1949–50 and 1951–52 Serie A championships. Though considered fast in Denmark, Præst was not as fast as most Italian defenders, but succeeded through his dribbling skills. Præst played alongside Danes John Hansen and Karl Aage Hansen at Juventus, and his…

Club

Østerbros Boldklub KBUs Pokalturnering: 1947 Juventus FC Serie A: 1949–50, 1951–52

Individual

Copa Rio Team of the Tournament: 1951 Serie A Team of The Year: 1953, 1954