Martin Retov

Early career

Born in Rødovre, Capital Region of Denmark, Retov started his career in the youth teams of Danish club Rishøj Idrætsforening at age 8, where he played together with his friends from school. In his early playing days, Retov was a striker. Later, he moved to Køge Boldklub, where he eventually made his debut in the Danish 1st Division (second highest division) on 2 May 1999, starting in a 2–0 loss to Glostrup FK. At this point, Retov was 18 years old and a student at Solrød Gymnasium, an upper secondary school. After six months, Retov established himself in the starting-eleven of the first team, coached by Henrik Jensen. He signed a one-and-a-half-year contract extension on 20 August 2001. He made 88 appearances in the Danish 1st Division, in which he scored 12 goals. In 2002, Køge earned promotion to the Danish Superliga and would compete in the 2002–03 season. Retov only played 10 minutes for Køge in the Superliga, before suffering a toe-injury.

Brøndby

While still recovering for his toe-injury, Retov signed for defending Danish champions Brøndby IF. He had been scouted by former Brøndby-legend John "Faxe" Jensen while the latter was a player-coach at Herfølge Boldklub. In a Danish 1st Division match between Køge and Herfølge, Retov had kicked "Faxe" in the head and received a red card for the offense, which had impressed the Herfølge player-coach who would later become assistant coach at Brøndby. He therefore became one of the first signings…

Retov was called up for the Denmark under-21 national team in 2001, which he represented in three matches, coming on as a substitute in all three games. He debuted for the senior team on 28 April 2004 in a friendly against Scotland, coming on as a late substitute for then Brøndby-teammate Morten Wieghorst as Denmark won 1–0.

AGF

Retov was announced as AGF's under-17 assistant coach in August 2015, the same day as retiring as an active player.

Brøndby

In April 2016, it was confirmed that Retov would return to Brøndby IF in a coaching role. He was appointed as the assistant coach of the under-17 team. After Tamás Bódog left the role as assistant coach for the first team, Retov was promoted to interim assistant coach for the first team in March 2017. He signed a contract until the summer 2017. The day after head coach Alexander Zorniger was sacked on 18 February 2019, Retov was appointed as caretaker manager of Brøndby with Matthias Jaissle as his assistant. As caretaker, Retov led Brøndby to a fourth-place finish, eventually beating Randers FC 4–2 at home in the European play-offs in order to secure a place in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 Europa League. After Niels Frederiksen was appointed head coach for the 2019–20 season, Retov continued as his assistant together with newly appointed Jesper Sørensen. On 5 March 2020, Retov was placed in home quarantine after having met with former Brøndby-player and teammate Thomas Kahlenberg, who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. Kahlenberg had been infected at a birthday party in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Retov played a part in Brøndby IF's championship in the summer of 2021 as one of two assistants to Niels Frederiksen, along with Jesper Sørensen. Retov continued on as…

Danish Superliga: 2004–05 Danish Cup: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08