Steffen Højer

Born in Viborg, Højer made his senior debut for hometown club Viborg FF in the Danish 1st Division in 1992. Through four years at the club, Højer and Viborg struggled to get a foothold in the top-flight Danish Superliga. When they succeeded in the 1995–96 season, Højer scored 16 goals in 32 games, and was sold to league rivals Aalborg Boldspilklub (AaB). He made his debut for the Danish national team, when he was substituted into an August 1996 match against Sweden for the last ten minutes of play. He was an immediate success at AaB, though he did not score as many goals as he did for Viborg FF. In his final year of contract at AaB, he helped the club win the 1998–99 Danish championship. He did not play much that season due to stiff competition from Norwegian player Frank Strandli and fellow Dane Søren Frederiksen, which prompted Højer to look for a new club. He signed a contract with Italian club Brescia Calcio and was loaned out from AaB to Viborg FF, while awaiting his AaB contract to expire in the summer 1999. At Viborg, he played four games before he suffered a knee injury, which meant he started his Italian career injured. His stay at Brescia was short, and he never played a game for the club. He moved back to Denmark in 2000, in order to play the season out at Danish 1st Division team FC Midtjylland. He helped the club win promotion to the Superliga, before moving back to play with childhood club Viborg FF. Not regaining his former goal scoring prowess, lacklustre…

After retiring from playing in January 2008, Højer became Head of Sport at Viborg FF before rising through various roles including caretaker manager in 2010–11, Head of Youth in 2012, and Assistant Coach. On 2 August 2017, he was appointed as first-team head coach in the Danish 1st Division. On 9 January 2023, Højer was appointed as the manager of the Danish national under-21 football team, signing a contract until the summer of 2025 and stepping up from his previous role as assistant manager, following Jesper Sørensen's departure. Højer successfully navigated his first task, qualifying for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, by topping a group which contained the Czech Republic, Wales, Iceland and Lithuania. Denmark finished with a 5-2-1 (W-D-L) record, scoring 18 goals and conceding 8 times in their 8 games. For the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, they were placed in Group D alongside the Netherlands, Finland, and Ukraine. After the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championships, Højer stepped down as manager of the Danish team. On 29 July 2025, he was named new manager of AaB.

Danish Superliga: 1998–99 Danish Superliga top scorer: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06