Karl Aage Præst was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on February 26, 1922.
His first club was Østerbro in his homeland where he stayed nine seasons from 1940 to 1949.
In the summer of 1949 he joined Juventus and teamed up with fellow Dane John Hansen. He ended up staying seven seasons in Turin.
He immediately won a Scudetto in 1950, under Englishman Jesse Carver, playing 37 league games and scoring 11 goals (including Lazio)
In 1950-51 the Bianconeri finished 3rd. He was joined in Turin by another Dane, Karl Age Hansen.
In 1951-52 Juventus won another league title. Carver had fallen out with Gianni Agnelli in the summer and the duo Gianpiero Combi-Luigi Bertolini sat on the bench until December when Hungarian György Sárosi became available. Præst played 35 league games with 3 goals (including Lazio).
In 1952-53 Sárosi stayed on and Juventus finished 2nd behind Inter. Præst played 30 league games with 10 goals (including Lazio and a brace against Roma).
In 1953-54 the manager was Aldo Olivieri and Juventus finished 2nd behind Inter again. Præst played 34 league games with 5 goals (including Roma).
In 1954-55 still under Olivieri the Bianconeri only finished 7th. Præst played 34 league games with 6 goals (including Lazio).
In 1955-56 under new manager Sandro Puppo Juventus finished a disappointing 9th. It was Præst last season with the "Old Lady" and he played less without scoring.
In the summer of 1956 he joined Lazio. The manager was Jesse Carver, his original coach at Juventus. Lazio had a good season and finished 3rd but Praest only played 7 league games. He then retired at 35.
Præst won 24 caps for Denmark and scored 17 goals. He only played between 1945 and 1949 as players who left Denmark were no longer eligible for selection. In 1948 he won a bronze medal at the London Olympics.
Præst was a forward. He was strong physically at 1.83 and 79 kilos. He had a good career at Juventus playing 233 league games with 51 goals and winning two league titles.
His only year at Lazio was less of a success as he was already past his peak, in fact he retired at the end of the season.
He is considered one of the most successful Danes to have played in Italy, alongside John Hansen, Harald Nielsen and Preben Elkjær Larsen.
Præst died on November 19, 2011, in Frederiksberg.
Lazio Career
Season | Serie A Appearances |
1956-57 | 7 |
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