By Dr Paul: John Motson, a little surprised, shouted this on a balmy Gothenburg evening in 1992: “Erika, I love you… do that thing with your hair again!” No, he didn’t. Actually he might have done, but we remember him best for this outburst: “And the pullback – and a goal, John Jensen! A Fabulous start for Denmark!”He was, of course, referring to the man who rocked the ‘tache/perm combo to the max, and his scorching biff from the edge of the area that set in motion one of THE shocks of the 1990s – little Denmark beating World Champions Germany to win Euro 92.
That Denmark won that competition was, of course, a shock (the impending defeat for Germany also sent ripples of jingoistic delight across a certain island-based nation.) But the fact that a country with a land mass of 43.098.31 square kilometres and a population of just over five-and-a-half-million people was victorious proved that when natural talent, passion and good coaching align, anything is possible. Back in those days, Denmark were a force in international football. Although never a world-beater, the country has always managed to produce good footballers: Allan Simonsen (England fans of a certain age will remember him), Jesper Olsen (Man Utd fans of a certain age will remember him), Peter Schmeichel (Man Utd fans of a certain etc etc), Thomas Helveg, Morten Olsen and, most notably, the Laudrup brothers.
In a glittering career Michael Laudrup played for the likes of Juventus, Athletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid, while his younger brother Brian blazed a trail with Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, Rangers and Chelsea. Together they spearheaded a halcyon period for Danish football. Their 1980s and mid-1990s teams were known for their flair, culminating in the European Championship win.
After a patchy 1990s (the team only qualified for France ’98, where they reached the quarter-finals), the installation of legend Morten Olsen as head coach turned the team around – he had at his disposal the speedy Dennis Rommedahl and Jesper Gronkjaer on the wings in a balanced, but potent line-up, with AC Milan’s Thomas Helveg, Martin Laursen (latterly of Aston Villa) and Thomas Gravesen anchoring things nicely. Their 2002 World Cup performance bore this out, and the team eventually lost to England in the second round stage (after beating France in the group stages).
After non-qualification in 2006, the Danes are back for South Africa, and can once again be considered tough opponents and dark horses. With all the footballing talent the country has produced over the years, it’s odd to think that this is only the fourth time they’ve qualified for the World Cup, and thanks to a qualifying group containing Scandinavian rivals Sweden and the heavily fancied Portugal, many didn’t expect them to qualify at all.
Denmark: Best XI?
As well as a new generation of players plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues, keeping hold of coach Morten Olsen meant that Denmark ousted Sweden by beating them home and away, and beat an inconsistent Portugal into second place. While many were surprised, a quick look through the team reveals talent in all areas. Stoke’s Thomas Sorensen will don the gloves (if he recovers in time from a dislocated elbow), while Liverpool’s Daniel Agger, Fiorentina’s Per Koldrup and Palermo’s highly-rated Simon Kjaer shore up the defence. In midfield, Juventus’s Christian Poulsen is the lynchpin, while up front Arsenal’s mercurial, much-maligned Nicklas Bendtner leads the line, with Duisburg’s Soren Larsen also a threat after bagging lots of goals in qualification. Waiting in the wings are veterans Rommedahl (currently at Ajax), ex-Chelsea man Jesper Gronkaer and Jon Dahl Tomasson. Throw in Peter Lovenkrands (who’s had a decent season for Newcastle) and Wolfsburg’s attacking midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg, and Denmark have another good squad.
Olsen, to some Danish fans’ chagrin, favours an organised, grinding approach, but the very fact that they have qualified for South Africa means that the pressure is off. They were drawn against Cameroon, Japan and neighbours Holland but there’s no reason why the Danes can’t qualify for the second round – it’s a tough group, not an impossible one. We’re not saying that they will reach the heights of Euro 92 or the quarter-final standard of 2002, but it’s good to see the Danes back on the world stage once again.
People forget just how good Michael Laudrup was.
In 1999 he was voted best foreign La Liga player of the last 25 years (Ahead of Romario, Ronaldo et al.) In 2006 he was voted the best Danish player of all time.
Do people know how bad Per Koldrup is? I saw his only game at Everton, in which we lost 4-0 to Villa in ca. 2006, and he was diabolical. Apparently Moyes bought him based on a recommendation, but the wrong player was recommended. Michael Laudrup was probably the intended player!