GOALKEEPER Mikkel Andersen was one of five loan signings in Albion’s line-up for newly-appointed manager Russell Slade’s first match.
Alas the young Dane was unable to help the Seagulls to a much-needed win as they succumbed 2-1 at Leyton Orient on 7 March 2009.
The Danish giant, who came from Reading with a glowing endorsement from ex-Albion boss Steve Coppell, played five matches during Michel Kuipers’ absence through injury – and conceded 10 goals in four defeats.
The one victory he was part of was a convincing one: he was between the sticks when Albion trounced Slade’s previous employer Yeovil Town 5-0 at Withdean (two each for Dean Cox and Nicky Forster, the other a Glenn Murray penalty).
Andersen was still only 20 when he joined the Seagulls and at 6’5” he towered over most of his teammates.
The youngster had spent two years at Reading by then but had already been out on loan three times: to Torquay United and Rushden & Diamonds, where he played three times for each. Ironically, his debut for Rushden came against the club he’d just left, Torquay.
At Brentford, his one appearance for the then League Two Bees was to cover for the suspended Ben Hamer, who was also on loan from Reading.
It might have been brief but Andersen’s performance in Brentford’s 2-1 home win over Bradford City in December 2008 earned him the Man of the Match honour.
In a late flurry of goals, Marcus Bean put Brentford 1-0 up in the 88th minute only for Michael Boulding to equalise in the 89th minute. Bees won the match courtesy of a 90th minute winner from former Albion striker Nathan Elder.
At Brighton, Andersen was reunited with Tony Godden, who had only just succeeded Paul Crichton as Albion’s goalkeeper coach. Godden had previously worked with the Dane at Rushden & Diamonds.
Andersen told the matchday programme: “I was on an emergency loan and he was the coach. I really enjoyed it there and it was Tony who told Brighton about me.
“I’ve been at Reading for two years now and I’ve just signed another new deal for them so hopefully I’ll be there for another two years.
“But you need to play some league games to build up your experience and that is why I am here. I want to develop both as a player and a person – that is why I came to England in the first place, something I always wanted to do when I was growing up in Denmark.”
The month before he joined Brighton, Andersen had made his debut for Denmark’s under 21 international side having already been capped at under 19 and under 20 levels. The Danes beat Malta 1-0.
Albion made their move on Godden’s recommendation shortly before Slade took over from the departed Micky Adams. Caretaker boss Dean White, who completed the deal with chairman Dick Knight, told the Argus: “Mikkel is an up and coming young goalkeeper. He is a big presence and comes highly recommended by Steve Coppell.
“With the current situation as it is we need cover in this position. It’s an important position, Mikkel has played against us in the reserves this season and we know what he’s about.”
Born in the Copenhagen suburb of Herlev on 17 December 1988, Andersen started out with AB Copenhagen and became Denmark’s youngest ever goalkeeper to play senior football when he turned out for them at the age of 17.
It was while on a pre-season tour with AB Copenhagen, playing against a Reading XI at Palmer Park, a municipal multi-sports venue in Reading, he earned his break in the English game.
“AB is ten minutes from home,” he said. “I wanted to come to England to develop as a player and a person.
“I was on a training camp with AB and we played against Reading and after that they gave me a couple of trials. They signed me when I turned 18.”
Although Andersen had been on a pre-season tour with the Royals and been selected as goalkeeper back-up on the bench, there were several other loan spells away from Berkshire before he finally made his first team debut.
For much of his time at the club, he was behind Marcus Hahnemann and Adam Federici in the goalkeeping pecking order.
He spent almost the whole of the 2009-10 season at Bristol Rovers (playing 39 matches) and returned the following season when he featured a further 19 times, before returning to Reading. He was awarded the League One side’s Young Player of the Year trophy and was named in the BBC Team of The Year.
In August 2012, he began a three-month loan spell at League One Portsmouth and he returned to Denmark for the whole of the 2013-14 season, playing for Danish Superliga team Randers Freja.
When he finally rejoined parent club Reading, by now under Nigel Adkins, for the 2014-15 season, his long-awaited first team debut came in September away to Sheffield Wednesday. Andersen made another four appearances for the Royals before the season’s close, after Steve Clarke succeeded Adkins.
Although he played in a memorable 1-0 FA Cup third round win at Huddersfield Town in January 2015, he was on the bench (Federici was no.1) as the Royals went right through to the semi-finals where they lost to Arsenal.
In June 2015, Andersen signed a two-year contract with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.
He played 11 UEFA games with the Danish side, when he was up against the likes of Rubin Kazan, Napoli, Club Brugge and Manchester United.
Following 42 appearances in two years with FC Midtjylland, Andersen made the switch to Lyngby, of Copenhagen.
After a season there, he rejoined Midtjylland and in the 2020-21 campaign he was limited to just four games, although two were in the Champions League against Liverpool and Ajax.
In 2021 he stayed in Jutland and joined newly-promoted Viborg FC where he made only six appearances in two years. He then switched to Copenhagen-based Danish Second Division side Fremad Amager where he made 52 appearances over two seasons as goalkeeper and coach.
LANKY Slovakian stopper Peter Brezovan, who saved penalties on his Albion and Swindon Town debuts, once came close to a dream move to Everton.
The Merseyside outfit had him on a five-day trial with a view to signing him on a permanent basis from Swindon.
“It was very rewarding just to train alongside Tim Howard and face all these international players,” he said. “It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Former Man Utd ‘keeper Howard was Everton’s no.1 in 2007 and, having released Richard Wright that summer, manager David Moyes had only new signing Stefan Wessels and the little-used Iain Turner as back-up ‘keepers. Everton’s goalkeeper coach was the former England international Chris Woods.
While Everton didn’t follow up their interest in Brezovan with an offer (three years later they did sign a Slovakian goalkeeper, Jan Mucha), it sounded like Swindon rather over-egged their expectations of a big payday.
Robins stopper
The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald reckoned a £300,000 eve of deadline day offer from Wolverhampton Wanderers had been rejected, saying: “Town will be asking for a substantial amount more.”
The newspaper added: “If the price is right, Town are ready to cash in on their number two keeper.” And manager at the time, Paul Sturrock reportedly told the Mirror: “If I was offered something like £2m, Brez would be an Everton player.”
The Toffees had originally taken an interest in Brezovan and invited him for a trial when he made an eye-catching start in English football in 2006. Not only did he save two penalties in his first game for Swindon, he conceded only five goals as Town won six of their opening seven matches and won the PFA Player of the Month award for September. Unluckily, a badly broken arm put him out of the game for nine months but Everton revived their invitation when Brezovan was fit again.
It probably didn’t help the ‘keeper’s progress at Swindon that successive managers came and went during his time at the club. It was Dennis Wise who signed him on a year’s loan from Czech side 1.FC Brno shortly after he’d taken over as Swindon manager, assisted by his former Chelsea teammate Gus Poyet, but by October the pair (along with goalkeeper coach Andy Beasley, who later spent a year at Brighton) left Wiltshire to take over at Leeds United.
County Ground caretaker managers David Tuttle and Ady Williams were followed by Sturrock for a year; David Byrne twice held the fort temporarily and Maurice Malpas was in charge for 11 months in 2008. When he left in November that year, Danny Wilson arrived the following month.
Born on 9 December 1979 in Bratislava, Brezovan’s first football memories were playing at right-back. In a matchday programme article, he explained: “In the first game of the season our ‘keeper got injured, so the biggest kid had to go in goal – and I’ve been there ever since. I’ve always been tall so looked upon to go in goal but, unlike a lot of kids, I enjoyed it.”
Brezovan spent his youth career at the city’s MŠK Iskra Petržalka and also played for Devin in the city before spending two years in the Czech Republic with FC Slovan Břeclav and HFK Olomouc. He then spent four years at FC Brno in South Moravia, although it was while he was on loan back in Bratislava, playing for FK Inter Bratislava, that he was spotted by Swindon and subsequently made the move to England.
In spite of his spectacular start for the Robins, when he couldn’t speak a word of English, it would be fair to say Swindon have mixed memories of his time at the County Ground, chronicled in detail on swindon-town-fc.co.uk. After former Albion captain Wilson released him at the end of the 2008-09 season, he was without a club for six months.
He had an unsuccessful trial at Crewe Alexandra in October 2009 but Poyet, not long after succeeding Russell Slade as Albion boss, signed him for a month at the beginning of December to cover a mini goalkeeper crisis he inherited.
Regular no.1 Michel Kuipers was injured and Slade’s misfit summer signing Graeme Smith had conceded 11 goals in three defeats and one win.
Handed his debut on a drizzly, grey December afternoon at Exeter (I know, because I was there, getting wet on the uncovered terrace behind the goal!), Brezovan went from zero to hero, according to writer Richie Morris, after upending former Albion loanee Stuart Fleetwood in the penalty area and then impressively saving Marcus Stewart’s spot kick.
“The former Slovakian under 21 international pulled off a string of comfortable, but reassuring saves,” wrote Morris. “True, he did nearly gift the home side a goal with a wayward clearance, but, considering how long he has been out of first team football, he can be happy with a solid performance.”
A somewhat modest Brezovan attributed his penalty save to goalkeeper coach Tony Godden’s homework. “He told me where Marcus Stewart puts his penalties and I dived the right way but it was a great feeling to help the team to victory,” he said.
Penalty-saver!
On another occasion, Brezovan expanded on his technique with penalties, telling the matchday programme: “It’s mainly instinct on the day. You get the stats guys who help you with your preparation – they will tell you where certain players tend to put the ball but sometimes you just have to go with how you feel in that moment and go for it.
“I don’t get the lads to take penalties at me after training either – I hate doing that. It’s all about how you are on the day.”
Brezovan’s arrival signalled the departure of the hapless Smith who ended his six-month nightmare in English football by returning to Scotland, moving on a free transfer to Hibernian. And the Slovakian’s short-term arrangement ultimately extended into a four-and-a-half-year spell as a Brighton player.
There were occasions when he was tempted to move on for more regular game time, but he confessed to loving the area and stayed put even though first team opportunities were few and far between.
In that first season, fans’ favourite Kuipers, not for the first time, found his place under threat because of the 6’6” Brezovan’s form. But a blunder by the new man in a game at home to Wycombe prompted Poyet to bring back the former Dutch marine (chef) at the start of the new year.
Kuipers had an eight-game run in the starting line-up but then broke a finger. Brezovan, having had his contract extended, seized his chance and kept his place through to the end of the season.
Brezovan told the matchday programme: “We are good friends, we train well together, and so I really feel for him. We don’t feel like rivals at all in that respect but I know that while I am in the team I will be giving my all to make sure I maintain my place.”
It paid off because Poyet offered him a two-year contract at the end of the season, saying: “Peter has earned his new contract. Initially he came to play and help us out but I expected he would prove he was worth a longer deal and he has done that.
“He has been a very important part of our turnaround since Christmas and now his challenge is to make the position his own for next season and beyond.”
And the ‘keeper told the Argus: “Together with my girlfriend, I’ve really settled here. I think that Brighton is the nicest city in England and we’re really happy here.
“I owe a lot to the manager because he brought me to the club and I’m glad he wants me to stay. That’s why it was so easy to sign the deal. The manager will no doubt bring in more good players in the summer so it’s going to be an exciting season.”
He was right about the excitement because Albion went on to win the League One championship title; what he might not have anticipated was that because he was nursing a wrist injury on the eve of the season opener against his old club Swindon, Poyet moved quickly to sign another ‘keeper who he’d worked with at a previous club: Casper Ankergren.
The Dane, released by Leeds, instantly became first choice ‘keeper and Brezovan spent most of the season watching from the bench, making just seven starts in the FA Cup (the first and second round matches both went to replays). Close to the end of the season he went on as a sub for the injured Ankergren in the 18th minute of the 25 April league game at Colchester United, making important saves from Ian Henderson and David Mooney as the Albion salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw.
Brezovan was also in goal for the penultimate game of the season, and the last ever played at the Withdean, when Huddersfield won 3-2. A defensive gaffe by Inigo Calderon, who left Brezovan stranded by chesting the ball down inside the area, let in Benik Afobe to put Town 2-1 ahead; sub Matt Sparrow equalised for the Seagulls and, although Brezovan twice made excellent saves to deny defender Jamie McCombe, sub Danny Ward scored a last-minute winner.
Brezovan resumed his place on the bench as 2011-12 got under way with Ankergren once again Poyet’s first choice no.1, although, after he’d shipped 13 goals in eight games in the autumn, the manager brought experienced Newcastle custodian Steve Harper on loan for five games.
Brezovan preferred to see the positive side of it, though, telling the matchday programme: “That was a good experience for all the goalkeepers. He is a vastly experienced ‘keeper and we have learned from his time here.”
After Albion went through a four-game losing streak in December, Brezovan got the call to take over from Ankergren in the new year match at home to Southampton when an injury-hit Albion sprung a surprise, winning 3-0 with a memorable brace from midfielder Sparrow.
It was only after the game that Poyet revealed how his plan to change ‘keepers nearly didn’t come to fruition. “For the last week Peter has been waiting for his wife to have a baby, every day,” Poyet told the Argus. “I needed to wait until 1.30 to tell him he was playing. The baby was due three or four days ago, so we were all thinking ‘come on girl, go on’!”
Later the same month, Brezovan was hailed a hero when he saved a crucial spot-kick in a penalty shoot-out in a third round FA Cup replay at Wrexham and he told Brian Owen of the Argus: “I enjoyed it. The pressure is all on the strikers at penalties because they can just mess it up. You have nothing to lose, you are practically without pressure.
“I knew one player and where he goes and I saved his penalty so we could have a laugh in the end.”
Nevertheless, Poyet was obviously still unsure about the goalkeeping situation. He let third choice Michael Poke go on loan to Bristol Rovers but brought in Columbian David Gonzalez, who’d been with Man City for two years, to put pressure on Brezovan and Ankergren.
“The gaffer wanted to bring in another keeper. You have to face it, with Casper, and keep working to keep our positions,” said Brezovan.“I’ve got another year. If you want to stay at a club for a long time, you have to play. You can’t be just like a useless second or third choice. This is my opportunity and I am going to do everything to stay in goal.”
He did indeed stay in goal but on two occasions let in six! The first drubbing was handed out by Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Anfield (with Albion famously conceding three own goals in a 6-1 defeat).
After Brezovan shipped another six against West Ham at the Boleyn Ground, Poyet had seen enough. The patient Gonzalez replaced Brezovan in goal for the following game, one of six changes to the side that capitulated to the Hammers.
Come the new season, Brezovan and Ankergren had even more of a challenge on their hands when experienced Polish international and former Manchester United ‘keeper Tomasz Kuszczak arrived at the Amex.
It pushed Brezovan down the pecking order to third choice ‘keeper and he played only once all season, in a 2-1 win at Huddersfield when Kuszczak had a finger infection that ruled him out and Ankergren picked up an injury in training two days before the game.
Brezovan stayed at the club as no.3 ‘keeper for the 2013-14 season and once again injuries to the first and second choices in Oscar Garcia’s side presented him with a rare opportunity. He ended up playing eight games, four in the league and four in the FA Cup.
He made his first appearance for 13 months in the 7 December 3-1 win at home to Leicester after Kuszczak pulled out in the warm-up with a stomach muscle strain, with Ankergren already sidelined with a wrist injury. In an interview with the Argus, on his 34th birthday, Brezovan spoke openly about possibly moving on to get more games.
“It’s hard because Brighton is a beautiful place and I love the people around here. It’s not easy to go.
“If there was an offer from the same level, I would probably try it. Going to a lower division, getting injured and then to be there on the bench is risky.”
And of his sudden chance back in the Albion goal, he reflected: “That’s football. Things can happen quickly and it’s beautiful. It shows how everyone is important. When you don’t play for a long time, even in training, you start to think it’s hard to motivate yourself.
“That’s why you need good lads around you. I love the guys here. They always help you to be motivated. When you play and your contract is running out you need to find that motivation.”
His appearance in the fifth round FA Cup replay defeat (1-2) at Hull City on 24 February turned out to be his last first team game and he was released at the end of his contract that summer having featured 62 times for the Seagulls.
He trained with Oxford United during pre-season and at the start of the next season joined Portsmouth for a month as cover for Paul Jones. On transfer deadline day, he signed a one-year contract with Tranmere Rovers.
Although he played seven games for Rovers, he lost his place to regular ‘keeper Owain Fon Williams. He had a loan stint at Southport in early 2015 but at the end of the season, following Rovers’ relegation from League Two, he was released.
Interviewed by the Argus in December 2015, Brezovan had returned to Brno in the Czech Republic, quit football and turned to publishing music online.
“I lost a little bit of motivation,” he said. “The football wasn’t going anywhere and I’d had enough. I’m focusing on this now.”
In parallel lines 