Steve Magleby Goes Pro in Denmark
Jarom Jordan
for byusoccer.com
Steve Magleby's career is growing as fast as his hair.
Former BYU soccer player, Steve Magleby is a professional player in Denmark's second division. Boldklubben Skjold af 1915 is a Danish football club from Osterbro, Copenhagen. They currently play in the Danish 2nd Division East. If you know Danish, follow the team on their official website at www.bkskjold.dk/.
Check out this Q & A with Magleby about his new found career.
Q. How did you find your way to Denmark?
A. I was looking in to some different places to try and play in Europe and Denmark stood out above the others. I have cousins who live here and my ancestors are Danish. Magleby is a Danish last name, pronounced mawlebu here in Denmark. So this was the place to start.
Q. How was the tryout experience?
A. Finding tryouts was the toughest part. Right now a lot of clubs don’t have much money and aren’t looking to buy new players. So I had a trial with one team which went well but they decided not to keep me. Then I found a trial with Skjold and was with them for a week before their coach offered me to stay with the team. I had two other teams that I was looking at if things didn’t work out with Skjold.
Q. What’s Denmark like?
A. Denmark is a great place. The weather has been really nice. Besides the occasional rain it’s in the 70’s pretty much all the time. It’s a very green country which reminds me a lot of my hometown in Maryland. There is a lot of history here. It’s a very family oriented society, which was a big plus for me and my young family.
Q. Is your hair still rock-star length?
A. Still growing.
Q. What’s the soccer style in Denmark like?
A. The players here are very skilled. The style is pretty direct. They like to use their wings and often bypass play through the middle of the field. It is a very physical game here and you don’t see too much diving.
Q. What club are you with and when do you play?
A. The club I am with is located in Copenhagen. Their name is Skjold and they are in the 2nd Division (which is actually the third division in Denmark. It goes Superliga, 1st Division, 2nd Division). We have games once a week and sometimes twice. Our season just began and so I have to work my way in to the playing roster, but I’m confident I will be able to get some time.
Q. How long will you be there?
A. Not sure right now. It depends on how things go. Anywhere from a year – 2 or 3 even. We’ll see how far I can get.
