World Cup FAQ All tables are per 1st January, 1998. 1. History of Danish soccer - in brief 2. Danish World Cup participation 2.1. Entrants 2.2. All World Cup matches - in overview 2.3. All World Cup matches - in detail 2.4. Qualification matches for the World Cup 1998 - in detail 3. Opponents - in overview 4. Results - in overview 5. Coaches - in overview 5.1. Coaches - in detail 6. Players 6.1. Trivia 6.2. Player appearances and goalscoring stats 7. Clubs - in overview 7.1. Clubs - ranked 7.2. Clubs - appearances and goalscoring stats 8. Trivia 9. Outlook for World Cup 1998 9.1. Expectation of Danish performance 9.2. Key players 9.3. The squad 9.4. Test matches 9.5. Statistics against opponents
1. History of Danish soccer - in brief Inspired by English Association Football, soccer was introduced in Denmark about 1880. The European continent's oldest soccer club is Danish, KB (Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, now FC København), was founded on 26th April, 1876 and during the 1880s, many clubs were founded and worked for organizing the rules and the playing. The pioneer above all was F.I.A. Markmann, who curiously enough never played soccer himself, but saw the future of the game. He translated English laws for Association Football and imported from England balls, shirts, shoes etc. for Danish clubs to buy. Naturally, Markmann was elected as chairman, when DBU (Dansk Boldspil-Union), the Danish FA, was founded on 18th May, 1889. Later that year, DBU invited its clubs to participate in DBU's 1st Soccer Tournament. With KB having dominated Danish soccer for many years, surprisingly AB (Akademisk Boldklub) won this inaugural tournament. During the 1890s many contacts to - especially - British clubs were established. In 1897, a DBU XI was send to Hamburg to play some friendlies against a city XI. However, these were not official internationals, which DBU did not play until 1908. At the turn of the century, regional FAs were founded, and from 1903, DBU's members were only these regional FAs, not clubs. On 22nd May, 1904, DBU along with the Belgian, Dutch, French and Swiss FAs founded FIFA. Clubs having planned their matches against British clubs for the summer of 1906, DBU had no interest in the invitation to participate in the intercallated Games of the III. Olympiad to be held in Athens. However, Carl Andersen managed to form a Denmark XI for the Games. To illustrate the strength of this team, it played a "warm up" match against a team formed by players from B 93 (Boldklubben af 1893) and Boldklubben Frem prior to its departure to Greece. The combined team won 1-0. And then, Denmark XI won Gold in Athens. But it was merely a test for Danish soccer. In 1908, however, DBU accepted the invitation to participate in the London Olympics, and here Denmark played its very first internationals. On 19th October, 1908, DBU played against France "B" and won 9-0. Three days later, a match against France "A" was played. This match has gone down in history for two reasons: Denmark won 17-1, which is the highest number of goals scored in a FIFA International (and until fall 1997 this also marked the highest win ever in a FIFA International). Further, Sophus Nielsen scored 10 goals in this match, which along with Gottfried Fuchs' same number from Germany's 16-0 over Russia in the Consolation Tournament of the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, is a remaining world record goalscoring in a FIFA International. These two wins put Denmark in the Olympic Final (again), but this time with appropriate opposition, England. Denmark lost 0-2 after an exciting match - to be repeated in Stockholm 4 years later, where England again defeated Denmark, this time by 4-2. Noteworthy is, that Denmark in the meantime, in 1910, had beaten England by 2-1 in Copenhagen, as the first country outside the British Isles. From that time and until first half of the 1970s, Danish soccer sunk into insignificance. Leaders in DBU strongly applauded amateur principles, and apart from an Olympic Bronze medal in 1948 and a silver one in 1960, absolutely nothing sensational came out of Danish amateur soccer. Both these Olympic Tournaments saw an export of skillful Danish soccer players to other European countries, especially Italy. DBU disallowed these players to play Internationals, due to their professional status. After Sweden also dropped amateurism in the 1960s, the Danish Soccer League was threatened by a huge export, why DBU and the newly formed Divisionsforeningen (Association of League Clubs), started working on a reform. Too late. In the beginning of the 1970s, new talented players were picked by the German Bundesliga. Among these Allan Simonsen, who at the Olympic Games in 1972 showed his talent. Allan Simonsen won the title, "European Footballer of the Year" in 1977. In 1971, DBU allowed professionals to play for Denmark, but the organisation and tactics of the team were not good enough. In 1978, professionalism was introduced in the Soccer League. Many clubs jumped the bandwagon, and lots of these failed soon. But some clubs managed to develop smoothly. Among these was Brøndby IF. The year after, DBU hired Josef "Sepp" Piontek as coach, and all of the sudden, his tactics and discipline - along with the young talents - created results. The defeat of England at Wembley in 1983 - in a European Championships' qualifier - was to be followed by many memorable moments. In France, at EC 1984, Denmark surprised everybody with its attacking style. A 5-0 win against Yugoslavia and 3-2 against Belgium (after 0-2 down) made some headlines. However, in the semifinals, Denmark lost out to Spain on penalties. Not the last time, Spain has hindered Danish success in soccer ..... The World Cup qualification to Mexico 1986 probably saw the best match ever played in a Danish International. On 05th June, 1985, Soviet Union visited Copenhagen and in an astonishing match, Denmark won 4-2. In 1986 - at the finals - the expression "Danish Dynamite" was created. After a fumbling 1-0 against Scotland, Uruguay was thrashed 6-1 after a magnificent 2nd half. Sepp Piontek, being German, then badly wanted to win against Franz Beckenbauer's arrogance. And Denmark did, by 2-0. Where Germany now had to meet Morocco in the round of 16, Denmark had .... Spain! In an unforgettable match, where Denmark seemed unable to do anything but attack, Emilio Butragueno (and Jesper Olsen) took the team apart, and Spain won 5-1! Around the same time, Brøndby IF introduced so-called "full-professionalism" in Danish soccer. No longer part time work, part time soccer. One of the club's first goals was to qualify for the semifinals of a European clubs' competition prior to 1990. Unheard ambitious for a Danish soccer club. But, this club is also the one, where Finn (father), Michael and Brian Laudrup have played, and since 1985 this club has won medals in the Danish Championships every year, except for 1992. And, in spring 1991, only about 6 months late, Brøndby IF played in the UEFA Cup semifinals against AS Roma ... Further, B 1903 (Boldklubben af 1903, now FC København) and OB (Odense Boldklub) have had astonishing results at European club level. Anyway, Brøndby IF seems to be most experienced and stable to compete at international level, and have yet failed to qualify for Champions League twice. Only Danish entrant here, AaB (Aalborg Boldspilklub af 1885), only did so because of Dynamo Kiev's alleged bribery of a referee. At the 1988 European Championships it was quite clear, that the "Dynamite" had gotten wet. Some of the elder and experienced players had to make way for new blood. In 1989, DBU's 100th Anniversary, Greece was defeated by 7-1, Sweden by 6-0 and Brazil by 4-0, all thanks to new players. Against Brazil, Morten Olsen was capped for his 102nd - and last - time, a record, likely to be broken by Peter Schmeichel (and by Michael Laudrup) within 1998. In November 1989, Denmark lost 1-3 to Romania and thereby missed the World Cup in Italy 1990. This massive disappointment made Sepp Piontek try new challenges in Turkey, and Richard Møller Nielsen was appointed new coach - after a very embarrassing situation, where DBU had agreed with Horst Wohlers, at that time FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen's coach. DBU presented their new coach at a press conference, just to learn later the same day that Uerdingen never had accepted to let Horst Wohlers go .... and so, Richard Møller Nielsen, Sepp Piontek's right hand for many years, became coach. First attempt to qualify for anything was the European Championships in 1992. However, a home defeat to Yugoslavia cleared their way to the finals in Sweden. And then, due to the chaotic and terrible situation that ripped Yugoslavia apart, Denmark was awarded a spot in the finals. 10 days prior to the Championships with every player on vacation. This became the gloriest moments of Danish soccer. On 26th June, 1992, Denmark defeated Germany by 2-0 in the European Championships Final. Denmark as European Champions? On their way, the team beat France (1984), the Netherlands (1988) and Germany (1980) or the last three European Champions. Especially the dramatic semifinal against the Netherlands is unforgettable. Twice Denmark leads, but each time the Dutch pull back. The equalizer to 2-2 just a couple of minutes from time. In extra time, more and more Danish player seem injured and take the pace out of the game and into penalties, where Peter Schmeichel's incredible stamina was shown, when he went for van Basten's kick. And then it was Germany's turn. The biggest upset of professional soccer! Denmark as European Champions! The European Champions failed to qualify for the World Cup. Of course the decisive match was played against .. Spain. One single goal parted Denmark from USA 1994. That was all. Was this the end of an Era? It seemed not, as Denmark early 1995 went to Saudi Arabia and claimed the King Fahd Cup (now FIFA's Intercontinental Cup) and convincingly defeated Argentina in the Final. Denmark qualified for Euro 1996 in England, but a 0-3 defeat to Croatia at Hillsborough ended yet another fairy tale even before it begun. The finals also marking the end of the Richard Møller Nielsen Era. A Swede took over, Bo Johansson. Under the new coach, Denmark has played more aggressively than seen for a very long time. The award was a spot in the World Cup in France 1998. In the qualification, Denmark once again met Croatia. After 1-1 in Croatia after a spectacular Brian Laudrup equalizer, Denmark entertained with a very, very convincing performance in Copenhagen against the Croatians. The 3-1 victory marks the best match of this decade so far with a Michael Laudrup at his best. The qualification was perfect after a 0-0 in Athens, where the disgraceful Greek spectators spoiled the Danish celebrations by firing fireworks and torches into the Danish crowd. Is there a symbolism hidden here? In 1983, Denmark qualified for the European Championships 1984 by winning in Athens. Of course, EC 1984 was held in ... France.
2. Danish World Cup participation First time Denmark ever participated in the run for a spot at the World Cup finals was prior to the World Cup 1958 in Sweden. DBU - the Danish FA - not wanting to introduce professionalism in Danish soccer, stuck to Olympic Games and the occasional "noble" defeat, when some great nation came by Copenhagen. However, partly as courtesy towards the Swedish host, Denmark accepted the invitation by FIFA to participate in the qualification for the 1958 Finals. Denmark lost all its matches and despite the Silver Medal from the Olympic Games in Rome 1960, DBU did not accept the invitation for participating in the 1962 World Cup qualification. Four year later, however, the situation had changed. The export of Danish talent had picked up, especially after Sweden had introduced a professional soccer league. To make sure, at least some players stayed put, DBU participated in every tournament, it was invited to. Therefore, from the 1966 World Cup an onwards, Denmark has participated in the qualification. And twice, in 1986 and 1998, Denmark has qualified for the Finals. 2.1. Entrants All entrants in overview: Year Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1958 Q E1 [3/3] 4 0 0 4 4- 13 152,000 1966 Q E7 [4/4] 6 1 1 4 7- 18 217,800 1970 Q E2 [3/4] 6 2 1 3 6- 10 163,609 1974 Q E8 [3/3] 4 0 1 3 2- 13 104,309 1978 Q E1 [3/4] 6 2 0 4 14- 12 244,400 1982 Q E5 [3/5] 8 4 0 4 14- 11 243,700 1986 Q E6 [1/5] 8 5 1 2 17- 6 355,000 1986 F 1/8 4 3 0 1 10- 6 124,000 1990 Q E1 [2/4] 6 3 2 1 15- 6 209,500 1994 Q E3 [3/7] 12 7 4 1 15- 2 332,487 1998 Q E1 [1/5] 8 5 2 1 14- 6 316,977 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 72 32 12 28 118-103 2,463,782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explanation of notation after each year: Q/F means either Qualification or Finals matches, Ex means Qualification matches under UEFA (Europe) and which Group No., 1/8 means how far Denmark came at the Finals in question, [x/y] means Denmark's place [x] in the Final table, consisting of [y] teams. 2.2. All World Cup matches - in overview Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 68 29 12 27 108- 97 2,339,782 Finals 4 3 0 1 10- 6 124,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 72 32 12 28 118-103 2,463,782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.3. All World Cup matches - in detail World Cup 1958 (Sweden) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1958 1 204 03.10.1956 Dublin Eire 1: 2 35,000 Bond (ENG) Gr.1 (Aage Rou Jensen) 2 207 05.12.1956 Wolverhampton England 2: 5 54,000 Guigue (FRA) (Ove Bech Nielsen 2) 3 208 15.05.1957 Copenhagen England 1: 4 35,000 Dusch (FRG) (John Jensen) 4 215 02.10.1957 Copenhagen Eire 0: 2 28,000 Schulz (GDR) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. England 4 3 1 0 15- 5 7 2. Eire 4 2 1 1 6- 7 5 3. Denmark 4 0 0 4 4- 13 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- England qualified. World Cup 1966 (England) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1966 5 276 21.10.1964 Copenhagen Wales 1: 0 22,800 Huber (SUI) Gr.7 (Ole Madsen) 6 277 29.11.1964 Athens Greece 2: 4 28,000 Szolt (HUN) (Ole Madsen, Mogens Berg) 7 282 27.06.1965 Moscow Soviet Union 0: 6 100,000 Zecevic (YUG) 8 285 17.10.1965 Copenhagen Soviet Union 1: 3 33,700 Webster (SCO) (Tommy Troelsen) 9 286 27.10.1965 Copenhagen Greece 1: 1 28,600 McCarthy (IRL) (Ole Fritsen) 10 287 01.12.1965 Wrexham Wales 2: 4 4,700 Kitabdjian (FRA) (Kaj Poulsen, Ole Fritsen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Soviet Union 6 5 0 1 19- 6 10 2. Wales 6 3 0 3 12- 9 6 3. Greece 6 2 1 3 10- 15 5 4. Denmark 6 1 1 4 7- 18 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soviet Union qualified. World Cup 1970 (Mexico) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1970 11 308 25.09.1968 Copenhagen Czechoslovakia 0: 3 31,500 Hirvesniemi (FIN) Gr.2 12 310 20.10.1968 Bratislava Czechoslovakia 0: 1 14,249 Bucheli (SUI) 13 317 27.05.1969 Copenhagen Eire 2: 0 28,300 Arkhipov (URS) (Ole Sørensen 2) 14 318 15.06.1969 Copenhagen Hungary 3: 2 30,600 Sirevaag (NOR) (Ole Sørensen, Ole Madsen, Ulrik le Fevre) 15 323 15.10.1969 Dublin Eire 1: 1 26,108 Patterson (SCO) (Bent Jensen) 16 324 22.10.1969 Budapest Hungary 0: 3 32,852 Ott (FRG) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Hungary 6 4 1 1 16- 7 9 2. Czechoslovakia 6 4 1 1 12- 6 9 3. Denmark 6 2 1 3 6- 10 5 4. Eire 6 0 1 5 3- 14 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Decisive match: Hungary vs. Czechoslovakia 1-4. Czechoslovakia qualified. World Cup 1974 (West Germany) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1974 17 361 18.10.1972 Copenhagen Scotland 1: 4 31,200 Bahramov (URS) Gr.8 (Finn Laudrup) 18 362 15.11.1972 Glasgow Scotland 0: 2 37,109 Corver (HOL) 19 364 02.05.1973 Copenhagen Czechoslovakia 1: 1 21,000 Lo Bello (ITA) (Ole Bjørnmose) 20 365 06.06.1973 Prague Czechoslovakia 0: 6 15,000 Bucheli (SUI) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Scotland 4 3 0 1 8- 3 6 2. Czechoslovakia 4 2 1 1 9- 3 5 3. Denmark 4 0 1 3 2- 13 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotland qualified. World Cup 1978 (Argentina) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1978 21 388 23.05.1976 Limassol Cyprus 5: 1 15,000 Doudine (BGR) Gr.1 (Lars Bastrup 2, Allan Simonsen, Niels Tune, Ole Rasmussen) 22 393 27.10.1976 Copenhagen Cyprus 5: 0 30,600 Colling (LUX) (Henning Jensen 2, Per Røntved, Benny Nielsen, Jørgen Kristensen) 23 394 17.11.1976 Lisbon Portugal 0: 1 35,000 Aouissi (ALG) 24 398 01.05.1977 Copenhagen Poland 1: 2 48,000 Mattson (FIN) (Allan Simonsen) 25 402 21.09.1977 Katowice Poland 1: 4 92,500 Rainea (ROM) (Kristen Nygaard) 26 404 09.10.1977 Copenhagen Portugal 2: 4 23,300 Zade (URS) (Per Røntved, Allan Hansen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Poland 6 5 1 0 17- 4 11 2. Portugal 6 4 1 1 12- 6 9 3. Denmark 6 2 0 4 14- 12 4 4. Cyprus 6 0 0 6 3- 24 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poland qualified. World Cup 1982 (Spain) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1982 27 427 27.09.1980 Ljubljana Yugoslavia 1: 2 25,000 Garrido (POR) Gr.5 (Frank Arnesen) 28 428 15.10.1980 Copenhagen Greece 0: 1 45,700 Farrell (IRL) 29 429 01.11.1980 Rome Italy 0: 2 50,000 Lacarne (ALG) 30 430 19.11.1980 Copenhagen Luxembourg 4: 0 10,500 White (ENG) (Frank Arnesen 2, Preben Elkjær, Allan Simonsen) 31 432 01.05.1981 Luxembourg Luxembourg 2: 1 2,800 Delsemme (BEL) (Preben Elkjær, Frank Arnesen) 32 434 03.06.1981 Copenhagen Italy 3: 1 36,300 Wöhrer (AUT) (Per Røntved, Frank Arnesen, Lars Bastrup) 33 437 09.09.1981 Copenhagen Yugoslavia 1: 2 48,400 Kirschen (GDR) (Preben Elkjær) 34 439 14.10.1981 Salonika Greece 3: 2 25,000 Bucek (AUT) (Frank Arnesen, Preben Elkjær, Søren Lerby) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Yugoslavia 8 6 1 1 22- 7 13 2. Italy 8 5 2 1 12- 5 12 3. Denmark 8 4 0 4 14- 11 8 4. Greece 8 3 1 4 10- 13 7 5. Luxembourg 8 0 0 8 1- 23 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yugoslavia and Italy qualified. World Cup 1986 (Mexico) Qualification: WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986 35 474 26.09.1984 Copenhagen Norway 1: 0 45,400 Bridges (WAL) Gr.6 (Preben Elkjær) 36 475 17.10.1984 Berne Switzerland 0: 1 38,000 Midgeley (ENG) 37 476 14.11.1984 Copenhagen Eire 3: 0 45,300 Würtz (FRA) (Preben Elkjær 2, Søren Lerby) 38 479 05.06.1985 Copenhagen Soviet Union 4: 2 45,700 Brummeier (AUT) (Preben Elkjær 2, Michael Laudrup 2) 39 481 25.09.1985 Moscow Soviet Union 0: 1 103,000 Vassaras (GRE) 40 482 09.10.1985 Copenhagen Switzerland 0: 0 45,600 Quiniou (FRA) 41 483 16.10.1985 Oslo Norway 5: 1 20,000 Igna (ROM) (Klaus Berggreen 2, Michael Laudrup, Søren Lerby, Preben Elkjær) 42 484 13.11.1985 Dublin Eire 4: 1 12,000 Wöhrer (AUT) (Preben Elkjær 2, Michael Laudrup, John Sivebæk) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table (Qualification): No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Denmark 8 5 1 2 17- 6 11 2. Soviet Union 8 4 2 2 13- 8 10 3. Switzerland 8 2 4 2 5- 10 8 4. Eire 8 2 2 4 5- 10 6 5. Norway 8 1 3 4 4- 10 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark and Soviet Union qualified. Finals: WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986 43 489 04.06.1986 Nezahualcoyotl Scotland 1: 0 18,000 Nemeth (HUN) Gr.E (Preben Elkjær) 44 490 08.06.1986 Nezahualcoyotl Uruguay 6: 1 23,000 Marquez (MEX) (Preben Elkjær 3, Søren Lerby, Michael Laudrup, Jesper Olsen) 45 491 13.06.1986 Queretaro West Germany 2: 0 35,000 Ponnet (BEL) (Jesper Olsen, John Eriksen) 2ndR 46 492 18.06.1986 Queretaro Spain 1: 5 48,000 Keizer (HOL) (Jesper Olsen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Cup 1990 (Italy) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990 47 521 19.10.1988 Athens Greece 1: 1 26,000 Krchnak (CZK) Gr.1 (Flemming Povlsen) 48 522 02.11.1988 Copenhagen Bulgaria 1: 1 34,600 Smith (SCO) (Lars Elstrup) 49 528 26.04.1989 Sofia Bulgaria 2: 0 37,000 Delmer (FRA) (Flemming Povlsen, Brian Laudrup) 50 529 17.05.1989 Copenhagen Greece 7: 1 38,500 Hackett (ENG) (Brian Laudrup, Jan Bartram, Kent Nielsen, Flemming Povlsen, Kim Vilfort, Henrik Andersen, Michael Laudrup) 51 535 11.10.1989 Copenhagen Romania 3: 0 45,400 Bouillet (FRA) (Kent Nielsen, Brian Laudrup, Flemming Povlsen) 52 536 15.11.1989 Bucharest Romania 1: 3 28,000 Lanese (ITA) (Flemming Povlsen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Romania 6 4 1 1 10- 5 9 2. Denmark 6 3 2 1 15- 6 8 3. Greece 6 1 2 3 3- 15 4 4. Bulgaria 6 1 1 4 6- 8 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Romania qualified. World Cup 1994 (USA) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1994 53 565 26.08.1992 Riga Latvia 0: 0 5,500 Wieser (AUT) Gr.3 54 567 23.09.1992 Vilnius Lithuania 0: 0 8,500 Spassov (BGR) 55 568 14.10.1992 Copenhagen Eire 0: 0 40,100 Wojcik (POL) 56 569 18.11.1992 Belfast Nth. Ireland 1: 0 10,000 Puhl (HUN) (Henrik Larsen) 57 572 31.03.1993 Copenhagen Spain 1: 0 40,272 Van der Ende (HOL) (Flemming Povlsen) 58 573 14.04.1993 Copenhagen Latvia 2: 0 29,088 Pedersen (NOR) (Kim Vilfort, Mark Strudal) 59 574 28.04.1993 Dublin Eire 1: 1 33,000 Harrel (FRA) (Kim Vilfort) 60 575 02.06.1993 Copenhagen Albania 4: 0 39,503 Grabher (AUT) (Frank Pingel 2, John Jensen, Peter Møller) 61 576 25.08.1993 Copenhagen Lithuania 4: 0 40,282 Bergmann (ISL) (Brian Laudrup, Frank Pingel, Lars Olsen, owngoal (Skarbalius)) 62 577 08.09.1993 Tirana Albania 1: 0 8,000 Loizou (CYP) (Frank Pingel) 63 578 13.10.1993 Copenhagen Nth. Ireland 1: 0 40,242 Zhuk (BLR) (Brian Laudrup) 64 579 17.11.1993 Seville Spain 0: 1 38,000 Mikakis (GRE) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table: No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Spain 12 8 3 1 27- 4 19 2. Eire 12 7 4 1 19- 6 18 3. Denmark 12 7 4 1 15- 2 18 4. Nth. Ireland 12 5 3 4 14- 13 13 5. Lithuania 12 2 3 7 8- 21 7 6. Latvia 12 0 5 7 4- 21 5 7. Albania 12 1 2 9 6- 26 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spain and Eire qualified. World Cup 1998 (France) WC WCNo. No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Attend. Referee (Goalscorer(s)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 65 606 01.09.1996 Ljubljana Slovenia 2: 0 6,000 Meier (SUI) Gr.1 (Allan Nielsen, Michael Schjønberg) 66 607 09.10.1996 Copenhagen Greece 2: 1 40,226 Durkin (ENG) (Brian Laudrup, owngoal (Zagorakis)) 67 609 29.03.1997 Split Croatia 1: 1 33,000 Cessarini (ITA) (Brian Laudrup) 68 610 30.04.1997 Copenhagen Slovenia 4: 0 41,278 Krug (GER) (Allan Nielsen 2, Per Pedersen, Brian Laudrup) 69 611 08.06.1997 Copenhagen Bosnia 2: 0 41,592 Ihring (SVK) (Marc Rieper, Miklos Molnar) 70 612 20.08.1997 Sarajevo Bosnia 0: 3 36,500 Pereira (POR) 71 613 10.09.1997 Copenhagen Croatia 3: 1 41,381 Puhl (HUN) (Brian Laudrup, Michael Laudrup, Miklos Molnar) 72 614 11.10.1997 Athens Greece 0: 0 77,000 Veissiere (FRA) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final table (Qualification): No. Country Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Denmark 8 5 2 1 14- 6 17 2. Croatia 8 4 3 1 17- 12 15 3. Greece 8 4 2 2 11- 4 14 4. Bosnia 8 3 0 5 9- 14 9 5. Slovenia 8 0 1 7 5- 20 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark qualified. Croatia to play-offs. Explanations: WC is the year of each World Cup, Denmark has participated in with designation for the Group Number played in (for 1986 also Group Letter and 2nd Round), WCNo. is the successively numbered World Cup Match Number, No. is the unambiguous Danish International Number, Date is the date played, Venue is the city in which each match was played, Opponent is the country, Denmark played against, Res. is the full time result, Attend. is the official gate, where applicable, and Referee is the umpire of each match. Each Referee is marked with a three-letter-abbreviation to mark his nationality. For an overview, please refer to: http://www.risc.uni-linz.ac.at/non-official/rsssf/tables/den-intres.html Please note that prior to the 1998 tournament, victories were awarded with 2 points. From 1998, victories are awarded with 3 points. 2.4. Qualification matches for the World Cup 1998 - in detail Denmark was put in Europe's Qualification Group No. 1 together with Croatia, Greece, Slovenia and Bosnia. Denmark met Croatia at Hillsborough in Sheffield during the European Championships 1996 and got smashed by 0-3. Where Denmark for the 4th time took on Greece in a World Cup qualification, Denmark had never played Internationals against Slovenia or Bosnia. Prior to the matches, speculations rose whether Denmark had the strength to overcome Croatia, and how with these new nations play? Further, a new coach took over. After 6 years with Richard Møller Nielsen, a Swede took over. Bo Johansson - not unfamiliar with Danish soccer as he had coached Silkeborg IF to their 1st Danish Championships in 1994 - surrounded the team with some new ideas and tactics with the obvious goal to qualify for the 1998 Finals. 01.09.1996 in Ljubljana. Slovenia 0-2 Denmark Att.: 6,000 Ref.: Meier (SUI) Peter Schmeichel - Thomas Helveg, Jakob Friis-Hansen, Jes Høgh, Jacob Laursen - Ole Bjur (22' Bjarne Goldbæk), Claus Thomsen, Brian Steen Nielsen (62' Michael Schjønberg), Allan Nielsen - Michael Laudrup (85' Søren Andersen), Brian Laudrup. 0-1 68' Allan Nielsen; 0-2 89' Michael Schjønberg Yellow Card: Claus Thomsen The match showed that the new system, introduced by Denmark's new coach, Bo Johansson, is not fully incorporated yet. Due to Marc Rieper's injury, Jakob Friis-Hansen got what many calls his final International chance. Even though he performed well, it is widely expected that Rieper takes over again against Greece. In the midfield, Brian Steen Nielsen never found his game and was replaced by Michael Schjønberg who decided the match in the last minutes. Allan Nielsen showed fight, finesse and good skills. However, the big question remains: How will Michael Laudrup fit into this team? Bo Johansson started off with the Laudrup brothers as forwards. After about 20 minutes, Michael Laudrup started to fall back to the midfield to pick up the ball himself, as the midfield did not produce enough substantial chances. Once again it was seen that Michael Laudrup does not fit into any tactics scheme but must have the freedom to wander about and create the decisive moves. 09.10.1996 in Copenhagen. Denmark 2-1 Greece Att.: 40,226 Ref.: Durkin (ENG) Peter Schmeichel - Thomas Helveg, Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh, Jacob Laursen - Peter Nielsen (56' Bjarne Goldbæk), Claus Thomsen, Allan Nielsen, Michael Laudrup (76' Michael Schjønberg) - Peter Møller (87' Søren Andersen), Brian Laudrup. 1-0 26' Theodoros Zagorakis (owngoal); 1-1 36' Georgios Donis; 2-1 51' Brian Laudrup Yellow Card: Marc Rieper Yet another victory for the Danish team. But the result was much better that the play. The change of tactics under the new coach could be seen: Whenever the Danes had possession, the ball was played were quickly forward. Too often too quickly, so Denmark lost possession. Peter Schmeichel showed his worth in many situations, where the Danish defence surprisingly enough did not work. The midfield around Allan Nielsen worked quite well, even though the expectations concerning Michael Laudrup were never met. And, the Greek equaliser came after a direct free kick where Peter Nielsen moved just a little bit in the Danish wall leaving a hole for Donis and the ball ended in the middle of the goal, whereas Peter Schmeichel had dived to that side, where the ball would have landed, had Peter Nielsen not reflected it ... Brian Laudrup decided the match with an outstanding goal. He got the ball in the middle of the field and dribbled all his way towards the Greek goal while four defender in line ran backward, waiting for "young" Laudrup's pass. On the run, he passed three defenders in the penalty box and pushed the ball under the goalkeeper in the far most corner of the goal. A very beautiful goal. 29.03.1997 in Split. Croatia 1-1 Denmark Att.: 33,000 Ref.: Cessarini (ITA) Peter Schmeichel - Jacob Laursen, Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh (13' Michael Schjønberg), Jan Heintze - Thomas Helveg, Per Frandsen (70' Jon Dahl Tomasson), Claus Thomsen, Allan Nielsen - Mikkel Beck (59' Per Pedersen), Brian Laudrup. 1-0 50' Davor Suker, 1-1 82' Brian Laudrup Yellow card: Per Frandsen, Thomas Helveg, Michael Schjønberg Why Croatia never played on after the lead early in 2nd half remains as the big question after this match. By far, Croatia was the best side in this match, and the loss of discipline in the Croatian side together with an outstanding Peter Schmeichel hindered more goals for the opposition. And then Brian Laudrup's goal. 8 minutes from time, he had the ball in the right side of the field. He let Jarni alone on the sideline and passed high into the penalty area. The wind catched the ball, and Drazen Ladic, the Croatian goalkeeper, was surprised by the ball that flew into the upper right corner of the goal. The Danish team was compact but had no real play as the Croatians kept the pressure on the defence. In 2nd half, the Danes had the wind in their back and moved a bit forward. After Croatia let off the control of the game, Denmark gradually took over. Jan Heintze's experience was a strength for the defence, when Jes Høgh was injured. Further, Jon Dahl Tomasson had his International debut in the 70th minute. Much is expected from this youngster. Finally, this match showed Michael Laudrup's significance for the team. Without him, Denmark did not attack at all. But would this team have been allowed to do so by the Croatians, had Michael Laudrup played? 30.04.1997 in Copenhagen. Denmark 4-0 Slovenia Att.: 41,278 Ref.: Krug (GER) Peter Schmeichel - Jacob Laursen (58' Morten Bisgaard), Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh, Jan Heintze - Thomas Helveg, Claus Thomsen (86' Per Frandsen), Allan Nielsen, Jon Dahl Tomasson - Per Pedersen (71' Mikkel Beck), Brian Laudrup. 1-0 4' Allan Nielsen; 2-0 28' Per Pedersen; 3-0 52' Brian Laudrup (pen.); 4-0 56' Allan Nielsen Yellow Card: Peter Schmeichel Well, well. Finally some very nice play from the Danish side. Of course, after Allan Nielsen's early goal, Denmark put the pressure on Slovenia that could do nothing else but watch, learn and try to keep up with the combinations. The team was never really tested. Peter Schmeichel earned a yellow card for his body language at the end of the match. Brian Laudrup had a wonderful evening. Again and again he entertained the Danish crowd with his dribblings and passings. Only negative was that Jon Dahl Tomasson seemed too nervous in his 1st International appearance in Copenhagen. In one situation, Per Pedersen passed the ball to him, he was free and alone about 1 meter from the goal, but managed - twice - to make nothing out of it. 08.06.1997 in Copenhagen. Denmark 2-0 Bosnia Att.: 41,592 Ref.: Ihring (SVK) Peter Schmeichel - Jacob Laursen, Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh, Jan Heintze (80' Michael Schjønberg) - Thomas Helveg, Claus Thomsen, Allan Nielsen, Jon Dahl Tomasson (52' Per Frandsen) - Per Pedersen (67' Miklos Molnar), Brian Laudrup. 1-0 67' Marc Rieper; 2-0 90' Miklos Molnar In a magnificent weather, temperatures around 30 degrees and not a cloud in sight, all players suffered in the heat. In a very slow game, Denmark managed to outplay a very interesting Bosnian side that matched the Danes in every respect. Peter Schmeichel had a strain during the training camp's sessions, but managed to play all 90 minutes, and the injury seemed not so hard. Marc Rieper must be mentioned for his 1st International goal in 47 matches. Last year, his colleagues teased him and gave him a book, "My International Goals". A sweet revenge, now he writes the 1st chapter. Jon Dahl Tomasson once again had a disappointing match. Not many passes ever reached a fellow player, and Bo Johansson did actually express his disappointment after the match. Into the summer break, Denmark now had played 5 matches with 4 wins and 1 draw. If Denmark could earn only 4 points in its remaining 3 matches, Denmark was qualified. And next was Bosnia. Could Denmark win this match, a draw at home against Croatia could settle the group and the last match in Athens would be without significance. 20.08.1997 in Sarajevo. Bosnia 3-0 Denmark Att.: 36,500 Ref.: Pereira (POR) Peter Schmeichel - Jacob Laursen, Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh, Jan Heintze - Thomas Helveg (79' Ole Bjur), Claus Thomsen, Allan Nielsen, Jon Dahl Tomasson (55' Michael Schjønberg), Michael Laudrup (55' Miklos Molnar) - Peter Møller. 1-0 19' Edin Mujcin; 2-0 26' Elvir Bolic (pen.), 3-0 35' Elvir Bolic (pen.) Yellow card: Marc Rieper, Allan Nielsen, Claus Thomsen A total melt-down for the Danish team. Nothing worked at all. Even Peter Schmeichel looked bad. At Bosnia's 1st goal, he was caught on the wrong foot and he caused the 3rd penalty. At the same time Marc Rieper had a bad night. At the 1st goal, the Bosnians ran right pass him, and he caused the 2nd penalty. Further he got a yellow card in that situation, so he cannot play Denmark's next match against Croatia. Michael Laudrup never found his way through, and Brian Laudrup was severely missed. Only positive report is about Miklos Molnar. He had only 35 minutes on the field but showed a lot of spirit. 10.09.1997 in Copenhagen. Denmark 3-1 Croatia Att.: 41,381 Ref.: Puhl (HUN) Peter Schmeichel - Ole Tobiasen, Michael Schjønberg, Jes Høgh - Thomas Helveg, Per Frandsen, Allan Nielsen, Jan Heintze, Michael Laudrup - Miklos Molnar (74' Peter Møller), Brian Laudrup (82' Morten Wieghorst). 1-0 17' Brian Laudrup; 2-0 33' Michael Laudrup; 3-0 39' Miklos Molnar; 3-1 41' Davor Suker Yellow card: Per Frandsen, Brian Laudrup Red card: Per Frandsen After a heroic fight in a very rough match, Denmark now has very good chances of qualifying for the World Cup. A draw in Athens will settle it. 1st half started with Danish pressure. After 10 minutes, Miklos Molnar collided with the Croatian goalkeeper, Mrmic, who had to be substituted with Gabric. This somehow invited the Croatians to forget all about soccer laws. Suker, Boban and Juric apparently meant that this was a wrestling match. The highly respected referee, Sandor Puhl of Hungary, never had the match under control. Both coaches did not want to comment Puhl directly, but Blazevic said, "No comments about Puhl. I have been in trouble for such comments earlier!", he said. Bo Johansson ironically added: "The referee was fantastic! You all know that he is seen as the world's best referee!" This match will be remembered for Michael Laudrup's fight. At one stage he went back to Denmark's defence line and tackled a Croatian for possession. Marvellous was his goal to 2-0. Denmark drove the ball around, until it came to Michael Laudrup. In traditional matter he stunned a couple of opponents, passed to Per Frandsen and ran into the penalty area, into a no-chance. However, Per Frandsen had seen the gap too and lifted the ball to Michael Laudrup's chest. He controlled the ball and hammered it into the goal. Further, the matched marked the comeback of Brian Laudrup after his illness. No doubt that his presence meant a lot, and with his goal, he added to the pressure. Finally, Ole Tobiasen had his International debut in this match. His direct opponent was Alen Boksic, who had absolutely no influence on the play. An outstanding debut. 11.10.1997 in Athens. Greece 0-0 Denmark Att.: 77,000 Ref.: Veissiere (FRA) Peter Schmeichel - Ole Tobiasen, Marc Rieper, Jes Høgh, Jan Heintze - Thomas Helveg, Morten Wieghorst (57' Søren Colding), Allan Nielsen, Michael Schjønberg - Brian Laudrup (90' Mikkel Beck), Miklos Molnar (74' Peter Møller). Yellow card: Jes Høgh, Allan Nielsen, Thomas Helveg The qualification for the 1998 World Cup finals in France was secured. Forget about the match. Peter Schmeichel had picked a very fine evening for showing off his world class. In 2nd half he had two very big saves, that frustrated the Greek. And not only the players. With about 15 minutes left, the Greek crowd went berserk and started to fire rockets and other stuff onto the field but also into the section of the stadium, where Danish spectators were standing. Luckily nobody got injured badly, but this was once again a display of Greek unfairness in a match against Denmark. The referee waited about 10 minutes until the smoke had lifted, and the remaining 15 minutes were played. At the end, very happy Danish players, officials and spectators were seen celebrating the qualification openly.
3. Opponents - in overview The table below shows the 28 different countries that Denmark has played against in World Cup matches. Country [years] Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albania [94] 2 2 0 0 5- 0 47,503 Bosnia [98] 2 1 0 1 2- 3 78,092 Bulgaria [90] 2 1 1 0 3- 1 71,600 Croatia [98] 2 1 1 0 4- 2 74,381 Czechoslova.[70,74] 4 0 1 3 1- 11 81,749 Cyprus [78] 2 2 0 0 10- 1 45,600 Eire [58,70,86,94] 8 3 3 2 12- 7 247,808 England [58] 2 0 0 2 3- 9 89,000 Germany (FRG) [86] 1 1 0 0 2- 0 35,000 Greece[66,82,90,98] 8 3 3 2 16- 11 309,026 Hungary [70] 2 1 0 1 3- 5 63,452 Italy [82] 2 1 0 1 3- 3 86,300 Latvia [94] 2 1 1 0 2- 0 34,588 Lithuania [94] 2 1 1 0 4- 0 48,782 Luxembourg [82] 2 2 0 0 6- 1 13,300 Nth. Ireland [94] 2 2 0 0 2- 0 50,242 Norway [86] 2 2 0 0 6- 1 65,400 Poland [78] 2 0 0 2 2- 6 140,500 Portugal [78] 2 0 0 2 2- 5 58,300 Romania [90] 2 1 0 1 4- 3 73,400 Scotland [74,86] 3 1 0 2 2- 6 86,309 Slovenia [98] 2 2 0 0 6- 0 47,278 Soviet Union[66,86] 4 1 0 3 5- 12 282,400 Spain [86,94] 3 1 0 2 2- 6 126,272 Switzerland [86] 2 0 1 1 0- 1 83,600 Uruguay [86] 1 1 0 0 6- 1 23,000 Wales [66] 2 1 0 1 3- 4 27,500 Yugoslavia [82] 2 0 0 2 2- 4 73,400 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 72 32 12 28 118-103 2,463,782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The years mentioned in square brackets are World Cup Final's years.
4. Results - in overview Distribution of Results: Result No. of times ----------------------- 1- 1 7 1- 0 7 2- 0 6 0- 1 6 0- 0 5 4- 0 4 1- 2 4 2- 4 3 1- 4 3 0- 3 3 0- 2 3 5- 1 2 0- 6 2 3- 2 2 3- 1 2 1- 3 2 3- 0 2 2- 1 2 7- 1 1 6- 1 1 2- 5 1 4- 2 1 1- 5 1 5- 0 1 4- 1 1 Denmark's largest victory in World Cup matches was at home, in Copenhagen, against Greece on 17th May, 1989, when 7 different players scored in the 7-1 humiliation of the Greek. Denmark's largest defeats in World Cup matches were twice by 0-6 and both times by the so-called State's Amateurs. On 27th June, 1965 Soviet Union smashed the Danes by this result in Moscow and on 6th June, 1973 it happened again, this time in Prague against Czechoslovakia.
5. Coaches - in overview Prior till 1st June, 1957, DBU had no actual coach. Instead, a Selection Committee (UK - Udtagelseskomitéen) formed each team and hired specialists to coach every International. After having accepted the invitation by FIFA to qualify for the World Cup 1958, DBU realised that it was necessary with more organised coaching. Overview of coaches: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance Years --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No coach 9 2 1 6 10- 21 287,609 [58,70] Arne Sørensen 1 0 0 1 0- 2 28,000 [58] Poul Petersen 6 1 1 4 7- 18 217,800 [66] Rudi Strittich 4 0 1 3 2- 13 104,309 [74] Kurt Nielsen 6 2 0 4 14- 12 244,400 [78] Sepp Piontek 26 15 3 8 56- 29 932,200 [82,86,90] Richard M. Nielsen 12 7 4 1 15- 2 332,487 [94] Bo Johansson 8 5 2 1 14- 6 316,977 [98] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 72 32 12 28 118-103 2,463,782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The years in squared brackets are World Cup Finals' years. 5.1. Coaches - in detail No coach - WC 1958, 1970: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 9 2 1 6 10- 21 287,609 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 9 2 1 6 10- 21 287,609 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Against Eire (Dublin on 3rd October, 1956) the team was coached by Alf Young (England) and Lajoz Szendrödi (Hungary). Against England (Wolverhampton on 5th December, 1956 and in Copenhagen on 15th May, 1957) the team was coached by Arne Sørensen. As he officially did not start as DBU coach prior to 1st June, 1957, these matches do not count in his statistics. During the qualification for World Cup 1970, DBU has no official coach. Instead UK formed each team and worked together with a coach. For all of these qualification matches, this coach was Henry From. Arne Sørensen - WC 1958: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 1 0 0 1 0- 2 28,000 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 1 0 0 1 0- 2 28,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arne Sørensen coached for DBU in the period 1st June, 1957 - 31st December, 1961. During his reign, Denmark won silver medals at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Poul Petersen - WC 1966: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 6 1 1 4 7- 18 217,800 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 6 1 1 4 7- 18 217,800 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poul Petersen coached for DBU in the period 1st January, 1962 - 31st December, 1966. During his reign, Denmark qualified for the European Championships Finals 1964 in Spain, due to incredible luck at drawing not so strong opposition (Malta, Albania and Luxembourg). In the end, Denmark lost the match for 3rd place against Hungary, notably for Danish amateurism, after extra time. Rudi Strittich - WC 1974: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 4 0 1 3 2- 13 104,309 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 4 0 1 3 2- 13 104,309 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rudi Strittich coached for DBU in the period 1st January, 1970 - 31st December, 1975 to become 1st foreign (Austrian), official DBU coach. During his reign, professional players were allowed to play Internationals (from 1971). Kurt Nielsen - WC 1978: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 6 2 0 4 14- 12 244,400 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 6 2 0 4 14- 12 244,400 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kurt Nielsen coached for DBU in the period 1st January 1976 - 30th June, 1979. During his reign, Denmark for the first time in 39 years defeated Sweden IN Sweden (3rd October, 1937 - 11th May, 1976). Further, this excentric coach spoke these immortal words after Denmark's 1st World Cup qualifier against Cyprus in May, 1976: "Now, we're leading the World Cup 1978!". Sepp Piontek - WC 1982, 1986, 1990: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 22 12 3 7 46- 23 808,200 Finals 4 3 0 1 10- 6 124,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 26 15 3 8 56- 29 932,200 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sepp Piontek coached for DBU in the period 1st July 1979 - 11th April, 1990. Introducing German discipline into Danish soccer, Sepp Piontek sat as a condition for his coaching, that he alone formed the team, without any interference from UK. Since that, the coach himself has had full responsibility for the team, and UK finally was dissolved. Under Sepp Piontek, Denmark qualified for EC 1984 and 1988 and for the World Cup in 1986. Both in France 1984 and in Mexico 1986, Denmark played some very attractive soccer, both times to be eliminated by Spain. In 1988 in Germnay, however, Denmark disappointed with unability to continue the "Danish Dynamite". Richard Møller Nielsen - WC 1994: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 12 7 4 1 15- 2 332,487 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 12 7 4 1 15- 2 332,487 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Møller Nielsen coached for DBU in the period 12th April, 1990 - 30th June, 1996 and is most successful coach ever. During his reign, Denmark upset the entire soocer world by winning the European Championships in 1992, even after having failed to qualify. Due to political circumstances, Denmark was handed Yugoslavia's spot in the Finals, and with only 10 days of preparation, nobody - outside DBU - counted on this team. An unforgettable semifinal against the Netherlands, where Denmark won on penalties was followed by a superb display of Danish "Contra Traditions": Germany had the ball and attacked throughout the final. But Denmark won 2-0. DBU's finest hour. Further, Denmark won the so-called King Fahd Cup (now FIFA's Intercontinental Cup) in early 1995 after a convincing match against Argentina. Finally, Richard Møller Nielsen led the team into the European Championships finals in England 1996. Disappointingly, Denmark did not enter second round. Bo Johansson - WC 1998: Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualification 8 5 2 1 14- 6 316,977 Finals 0 0 0 0 0- 0 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 8 5 2 1 14- 6 316,977 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bo Johansson has coached for DBU since 1st July, 1996. His first challenge was to prepare the World Cup qualification for France 1998. And so he - a born Swede - did.
6. Players In its 72 World Cup matches, Denmark has used 183 players. Year Matches Number of Of which had 1st players WC appearance 1958 4 24 24 1966 6 31 29 1970 6 27 20 1974 4 30 23 1978 6 29 17 1982 8 21 14 1986 12 22 11 1990 6 20 13 1994 12 27 15 1998 8 27 17 6.1. Trivia The 10 players who have played most World Cup matches: Name Years Matches Peter Schmeichel 1990-1998 26 Michael Laudrup 1986-1998 25 Brian Laudrup 1990-1998 23 Morten Olsen 1978-1990 21 Preben Elkjær 1982-1986 20 Jens Jørn Bertelsen 1982-1986 19 Søren Lerby 1982-1990 19 John Jensen 1990-1994 18 Lars Olsen 1990-1994 18 John Sivebæk 1986-1994 18 The 10 players who have scored most World Cup goals: Name Years Goals Preben Elkjær 1982-1986 16 Brian Laudrup 1990-1998 9 Michael Laudrup 1986-1998 7 Frank Arnesen 1982-1986 6 Flemming Povlsen 1990-1994 6 Søren Lerby 1982-1990 4 Frank Pingel 1994 4 8 players with each 3 Players who made their first WC appearance above the age of 30: Name Born 1st WC match Age (years) Knud Lundberg 14.05.1920 04.10.1956 36,39 Jørgen Christensen 16.10.1938 15.11.1972 34,08 Jørgen Olesen 21.01.1924 04.10.1956 32,70 Mogens Therkildsen 15.03.1940 18.10.1972 32,59 Aage Rou Jensen 24.09.1924 04.10.1956 32,03 Henry From 01.06.1926 02.10.1957 31,34 Bent Hansen 13.09.1933 21.10.1964 31,11 Erik Nielsen 14.10.1938 15.10.1969 31,00 Kaj Jørgensen 11.10.1925 04.10.1956 30,98 Ole Qvist 25.02.1950 27.09.1980 30,59 Steen Ziegler 30.05.1950 27.09.1980 30,33 Jens Steffensen 04.08.1950 27.09.1980 30,15 Youngest WC debutantes: Name Born 1st WC Match Age (years) Ove Andersen 30.06.1937 04.10.1956 19,26 Ulrik le Fevre 25.06.1946 01.12.1965 19,43 Leif Printzlau 16.12.1948 25.09.1968 19,78 Egon Jensen 13.11.1937 02.10.1957 19,89 John Jensen 13.05.1937 15.05.1957 20,01 Henrik Andersen 07.05.1965 05.06.1985 20,08 Brian Laudrup 22.02.1969 26.04.1989 20,18 Michael Laudrup 15.06.1964 26.09.1984 20,28 Mogens Berg 08.06.1944 29.11.1964 20,48 Peter Møller 23.03.1972 23.09.1992 20,50 The 10 players who have played World Cup matches at highest age: Name Born Last WC Match Age (years) Morten Olsen 14.08.1949 17.05.1989 39,76 Knud Lundberg 14.05.1920 04.10.1956 36,39 Ole Qvist 25.02.1950 05.06.1985 35,28 Ole Madsen 21.12.1934 15.06.1969 34,48 Jens Jørn Bertelsen 15.02.1952 18.06.1986 34,34 Jan Heintze 17.08.1963 11.10.1997 34,15 Jørgen Christensen 16.10.1938 15.11.1972 34,08 Johnny Hansen 14.11.1943 09.10.1977 33,90 Peter Schmeichel 18.11.1963 11.10.1997 33,90 Jørgen Olesen 21.01.1924 02.10.1957 33,70 The 10 players who have had the longest period with WC matches: Name Born 1st WC Match Last WC Match Period (years) Morten Olsen 14.08.1949 23.05.1976 17.05.1989 12,98 Michael Laudrup 15.06.1964 26.09.1984 10.09.1997 12,96 Johnny Hansen 14.11.1943 17.10.1965 09.10.1977 11,98 Ulrik le Fevre 25.06.1946 01.12.1965 17.11.1976 10,96 Allan Simonsen 15.12.1952 23.05.1976 13.06.1986 10,06 Søren Lerby 01.02.1958 27.09.1980 15.11.1989 9,13 Ove Andersen 30.06.1937 04.10.1956 27.10.1965 9,06 Flemming Mortensen 07.07.1944 25.09.1968 09.10.1977 9,04 Henning Munk Jensen 12.01.1947 25.09.1968 09.10.1977 9,04 Ivan Nielsen 09.10.1956 19.11.1980 15.11.1989 8,99 Penalties In 72 World Cup matches there have been 9 penalties for Denmark of which 7 have been converted: No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Referee Kicker Goal? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 09.10.1977 Copenhagen Portugal 2: 4 Zade (URS) Per Røntved Yes 2 09.10.1977 Copenhagen Portugal 2: 4 Zade (URS) Per Røntved No --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 27.09.1980 Ljubljana Yugoslavia 1: 2 Garrido (POR) Frank Arnesen Yes 4 19.11.1980 Copenhagen Luxembourg 4: 0 White (ENG) Frank Arnesen Yes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 09.10.1985 Copenhagen Switzerland 0: 0 Queniou (FRA) Frank Arnesen No 6 13.06.1986 Queretaro West Germany 2: 0 Ponnet (BEL) Jesper Olsen Yes 7 18.06.1986 Queretaro Spain 1: 5 Keizer (HOL) Jesper Olsen Yes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 17.05.1989 Copenhagen Greece 7: 1 Hackett (ENG) Michael Laudrup Yes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 30.04.1997 Copenhagen Slovenia 4: 0 Krug (GER) Brian Laudrup Yes --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red cards In 72 World Cup matches, 3 Danes have been sent off: No. Date Venue Opponent Res. Referee Player --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 15.11.1972 Glasgow Scotland 0: 2 Corver (HOL) Per Røntved 2 13.06.1986 Queretaro West Germany 2: 0 Ponnet (BEL) Frank Arnesen 3 10.09.1997 Copenhagen Croatia 3: 1 Puhl (HUN) Per Frandsen --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2. Player appearances and goalscoring stats Player appearances and goalscoring stats (Qualification and Finals): Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Ahlberg, Flemming 4-0 4-0 8 0 Amdisen, John 1-0 1 0 Andersen, Christian 1-0 1 0 Andersen, Henrik 4-0 1-1 5 1 Andersen, Jan 1-0 1 0 Andersen, John 2-0 2 0 Andersen, Ove 1-0 2-0 3 0 Andersen, Poul 1-0 1 0 Andersen, Søren 2-0 2 0 Andersen, Torsten 1-0 1 0 Andresen, Svend 1-0 1 0 Arentoft, Preben 1-0 1 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Arnesen, Frank 8-6 9-0 17 6 Bartram, Jan 6-1 6 1 Bastrup, Lars 1-2 7-1 8 3 Beck, Mikkel 3-0 3 0 Berg, Mogens 1-1 1 1 Berggreen, Klaus 11-2 11 2 Bertelsen, Jens Jørn 8-0 11-0 19 0 Bilde, Poul 3-0 3 0 Bisgaard, Morten 1-0 1 0 Bjerg, Ove Flindt 4-0 4 0 Bjerre, Kresten 3-0 3 0 Bjur, Ole 2-0 2 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Bjørnmose, Ole 2-1 3-0 5 1 Brylle, Kenneth 1-0 3-0 2-0 6 0 Busk, Søren 2-0 12-0 14 0 Christensen, Bent 4-0 4 0 Christensen, Jørgen 1-0 1 0 Christofte, Kim 2-0 2-0 4 0 Colding, Søren 1-0 1 0 Dahl, Peter 2-0 2 0 Drengsgaard, Theill 2-0 2 0 Eigenbrod, Henrik 2-0 2 0 Elkjær, Preben 8-4 12-12 20 16 Elstrup, Lars 3-1 6-0 9 1 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Enemark, Børge 1-0 2-0 3 0 Engedal, Knud 4-0 4 0 Enoksen, Henning 1-0 1 0 Eriksen, John 1-0 2-1 3 1 le Fevre, Ulrik 1-0 4-1 1-0 1-0 7 1 Frandsen, Per 4-0 4 0 Friis-Hansen, Jakob 5-0 1-0 6 0 Frimann, Per 3-0 3 0 Fritsen, Ole 4-2 1-0 5 2 From, Henry 1-0 1 0 Goldbæk, Bjarne 3-0 2-0 5 0 Hansen, Alfred 1-0 1 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Hansen, Allan 2-1 2 1 Hansen, Bent 5-0 5 0 Hansen, Egon 1-0 1 0 Hansen, Hans Ewald 1-0 1 0 Hansen, Heino 1-0 5-0 6 0 Hansen, Jack 1-0 1 0 Hansen, Jens Jørgen 4-0 4 0 Hansen, Jens Peder 2-0 2 0 Hansen, Johnny 2-0 1-0 5-0 8 0 Hansen, Jørgen 3-0 3 0 Hansen, Kaj 1-0 1 0 Hansen, Karl 5-0 5 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Hansen, Ove 3-0 3 0 Hansen, Valdemar 1-0 1 0 Hartwig, Leif 5-0 5 0 Heintze, Jan 4-0 3-0 6-0 13 0 Helt, John 3-0 3 0 Helveg, Thomas 8-0 8 0 Hildebrandt, Heinz 1-0 1 0 Holmstrøm, Niels-Chr. 1-0 1-0 2 0 Høgh, Jes 3-0 8-0 11 0 Høgh, Lars 2-0 2 0 Højland, Jan 1-0 1 0 Jensen, Bent 6-1 2-0 8 1 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Jensen, Birger 2-0 2 0 Jensen, Egon 1-0 1-0 2 0 Jensen, Erik Pondal 2-0 2 0 Jensen, Henning 1-0 2-2 3-0 6 2 Jensen, Henning Munk 6-0 2-0 6-0 14 0 Jensen, John 1-1 1 1 Jensen, John 6-0 12-1 18 1 Jensen, Viggo 2-0 2 0 Jensen, Aage Rou 3-1 3 1 Johansen, Martin 1-0 1 0 Jørgensen, Kaj 1-0 1 0 Kjeldbjerg, Jakob 8-0 8 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Kjær, Ole 2-0 2 0 Kjær, Peter 1-0 1 0 Kjærsgaard, Flemming 1-0 1 0 Kristensen, Bjørn 2-0 1-0 3 0 Kristensen, Jørgen 4-1 4 1 Kähler, Palle 1-0 1 0 Larsen, Benno 2-0 2 0 Larsen, Birger 1-0 1 0 Larsen, Erling Linde 3-0 3 0 Larsen, Henrik 7-1 7 1 Larsen, Jan 6-0 6 0 Larsen, John 3-0 3 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Larsen, Lars 1-0 1 0 Larsen, Michael 1-0 1 0 Larsen, Steen Rømer 2-0 2 0 Laudrup, Brian 4-3 12-2 7-4 23 9 Laudrup, Finn 2-1 2 1 Laudrup, Michael 12-5 5-1 4-0 4-1 25 7 Lauridsen, John 1-0 1 0 Laursen, Jacob 6-0 6 0 Lerby, Søren 8-1 10-3 1-0 19 4 Lund, Flemming 2-0 3-0 5 0 Lund, Karsten 1-0 1 0 Lundberg, Knud 1-0 1 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Madsen, Ole 3-2 2-1 5 3 Madsen, Ole 1-0 1 0 Madsen, Per 2-0 2 0 Michaelsen, Allan 3-0 1-0 4 0 Molnar, Miklos 4-2 4 2 Mortensen, Flemming 2-0 2-0 4 0 Mosegaard, Kristian 1-0 1 0 Mølby, Jan 11-0 11 0 Møller, Max 3-0 3 0 Møller, Niels 4-0 4 0 Møller, Peter 2-1 4-0 6 1 Nielsen, Allan 8-3 8 3 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Nielsen, Benny 1-1 2-0 3 1 Nielsen, Brian Steen 8-0 1-0 9 0 Nielsen, Eigil 2-0 2 0 Nielsen, Erik 2-0 2 0 Nielsen, Flemming 3-0 3 0 Nielsen, Ivan 2-0 11-0 2-0 15 0 Nielsen, Kent 6-2 6 2 Nielsen, Leif 3-0 3 0 Nielsen, Peter 1-0 1 0 Nielsen, Torben 3-0 1-0 4 0 Nielsen, Verner 4-0 4 0 Nielsen, Ove Bech 2-2 2 2 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Nygaard, Kresten 2-0 2-1 4 1 Olesen, Jørgen 4-0 4 0 Olsen, Jesper 8-3 8 3 Olsen, John Steen 3-0 3 0 Olsen, Lars 6-0 12-1 18 1 Olsen, Morten 2-0 5-0 12-0 2-0 21 0 Paulsen, Kaj 2-0 2 0 Pedersen, Per 3-1 3 1 Pedersen, Poul 1-0 1 0 Petersen, Bent 1-0 1 0 Petersen, Jens 2-0 2 0 Petersen, Knud 2-0 2 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Piechnik, Torben 3-0 3 0 Pingel, Frank 6-4 6 4 Poulsen, Kaj 2-1 2 1 Poulsen, Per 2-0 2 0 Povlsen, Flemming 6-5 6-1 12 6 Printzlau, Leif 1-0 1 0 Præst, Kurt 2-0 2 0 Qvist, Ole 6-0 4-0 10 0 Rasmussen, Ole 1-1 8-0 9 1 Rasmussen, Troels 6-0 6 0 Rastad, Arne 1-0 1 0 Rieper, Marc 10-0 6-1 16 1 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Røntved, Per 3-0 6-2 7-1 16 3 Schmeichel, Peter 6-0 12-0 8-0 26 0 Schjønberg, Michael 7-1 7 1 Simonsen, Allan 3-2 6-1 2-0 11 3 Sivebæk, John 8-1 6-0 4-0 18 1 Steffensen, Jens 4-0 4 0 Steffensen, Ole 1-0 1 0 Strudal, Mark 1-1 1 1 Søndergaard, Tom 2-0 2 0 Sørensen, Jan 2-0 2 0 Sørensen, Leif 1-0 3-0 4 0 Sørensen, Ole 1-0 2-3 3 3 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Therkildsen, Mogens 4-0 4 0 Thomsen, Claus 6-0 6 0 Thorst, Kjeld 2-0 2-0 4 0 Thorup, Børge 1-0 1 0 Tobiasen, Ole 2-0 2 0 Tomasson, Jon Dahl 4-0 4 0 Troelsen, Tommy 2-1 2 1 Tune, Niels 2-1 2 1 Tøfting, Stig 1-0 1 0 Vilfort, Kim 2-1 12-2 14 3 Vonsyld, Helge 1-0 1 0 Wiberg, Finn 2-0 2 0 Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Wieghorst, Morten 2-0 2 0 Wolmar, Bent 2-0 2 0 Yde, Niels 2-0 2 0 Ziegler, Steen 4-0 4 0 For each player is mentioned how many matches he played and how many goal he scored i each World Cup campaign. Explanation: Player 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Laudrup, Michael 12-5 5-1 4-0 4-1 25 7 Michael Laudrup played 12 matches in the 1986 World Cup campaign. During these matches, Michael Laudrup scored 5 goals. His current total is 25 matches and 7 goals.
7. Clubs - in overview After DBU allowed professionals in International matches in 1971, foreign clubs have also contributed to the list of clubs, that have had players in the International squad. Countrywise index No. of Matches Goals players Belgium 15 78 7 Denmark 136 387 36 England 19 100 10 France 4 16 0 Germany 31 109 18 Greece 1 1 0 Italy 7 65 23 Japan 2 3 0 Netherlands 17 82 11 Scotland 3 10 4 Spain 6 18 5 Switzerland 2 9 0 Turkey 3 12 2 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 183 890 116 Please note that in the sum of goals are not included two owngoals by a Lithuanian and by a Greek player, which explains the difference from the overall sum of scored goals. 7.1. Clubs - ranked As listed above, Danish players in World Cup matches have represented many different clubs from many different countries. For each country, below is ranked how many Danish World Cup caps each club has earned. Danish clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 1 Brøndby IF 13 56 8 2 2 Vejle B 10 35 6 3 4 OB 8 33 3 4 6 Esbjerg fB 10 29 0 5 7 AGF 12 28 3 6 9 KB 8 24 3 7 11 AaB 5 22 1 8 12 AB 9 21 0 9 13 B 1903 9 20 0 10 14 BK Frem 9 19 0 11 22 B 1909 5 12 1 12 23 B 1913 4 12 1 13 34 Randers Freja 2 8 1 14 39 Brønshøj Boldklub 4 7 1 15 45 Køge BK 2 6 0 16 46 Silkeborg IF 2 6 0 17 50 Hellerup IK 1 5 3 18 52 FC København 4 5 1 19 53 Lyngby FC 2 5 1 20 55 Hvidovre IF 2 5 0 21 56 B 93 2 5 0 22 58 Horsens fS 2 4 2 23 72 Holbæk B&I 2 3 1 24 74 B 1901 2 3 0 25 75 Næstved IF 1 3 0 26 76 Skovshoved IF 2 3 0 27 77 Slagelse B&I 2 3 0 28 89 Vejen SF 1 2 0 29 99 Ikast fS 1 1 0 30 100 KFUM 1 1 0 31 101 AIA 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 136 387 36 Belgian clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 3 RSC Anderlecht 6 35 1 2 21 RFC Seraing 1 12 1 3 31 KSC Lokeren 1 8 4 4 38 RWD Molenbeek 3 7 1 5 40 Club Brugge KV 4 7 0 6 63 AA Gent 1 4 0 7 87 Royal Antwerp FC 1 2 0 8 88 Lierse SK 1 2 0 9 98 KSV Cercle Brugge 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 15 78 7 Dutch clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 8 Ajax 6 25 7 2 10 PSV Eindhoven 7 23 2 3 17 SC Feyenoord 3 13 1 4 27 MVV Maastricht 1 10 0 5 62 AZ 67 Alkmaar 1 4 1 6 80 SC Heerenveen 1 3 0 7 81 FC Utrecht 1 3 0 8 107 Roda JC Kerkrade 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 17 82 11 English clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 5 Manchester United 3 30 3 2 18 Liverpool FC 2 13 0 3 24 Arsenal FC 1 12 1 4 32 Tottenham Hotspur 1 8 3 5 47 Derby County 1 6 0 6 54 West Ham United 1 5 1 7 61 Aston Villa 2 4 1 8 64 Everton FC 1 4 0 9 65 Bolton Wanderes 1 4 0 10 73 Blackburn Rovers 1 3 1 11 78 Chelsea FC 1 3 0 12 79 Middlesbrough FC 1 3 0 13 90 Ipswich Town 1 2 0 14 102 Luton Town 1 1 0 15 103 Newcastle United 1 1 0 16 104 Portsmouth FC 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 19 100 10 French clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 48 AS Saint-Etienne 1 6 0 2 57 Lille Olympique SC 1 5 0 3 66 FC de Rouen 1 4 0 4 105 Girondins Bordeaux 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 4 16 0 German clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 16 Hamburger SV 4 14 1 2 20 FC Bayern München 2 12 3 3 28 SV Werder Bremen 1 9 2 4 30 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2 9 0 5 33 1. FC Köln 3 8 3 6 42 Bor. Mönchengladbach 3 6 2 7 43 Bayer 05 Uerdingen 2 6 2 8 44 Borussia Dortmund 1 6 1 9 49 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1 6 0 10 51 Hertha BSC 2 5 2 11 68 Arminia Bielefeld 1 4 0 12 69 Karlsruher SC 1 4 0 13 70 Preussen Münster 1 4 0 14 83 Eintr. Braunschweig 2 3 0 15 84 FC Schalke 04 1 3 0 16 93 Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 2 0 17 94 FC St. Pauli 2 2 0 18 95 SV Waldhof Mannheim 1 2 0 19 97 Kickers Offenbach 1 1 2 20 110 RW Essen 1 1 0 21 111 FSV Mainz 05 1 1 0 22 112 TSV 1860 München 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 31 109 18 Greek clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 106 Olympiakos Piraeus 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 1 1 0 Italian clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 15 SC Pisa 2 14 3 2 19 AC Hellas Verona 1 12 12 3 26 Juventus FC 1 11 4 4 35 AS Fiorentina 1 8 0 5 36 Udinese Calcio 1 8 0 6 59 AC Milan 1 4 2 7 60 SS Lazio 1 4 2 8 67 Pescara Calcio 1 4 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 7 65 23 Japanese clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 91 Vissel Kobe 1 2 0 2 108 Urawa Red Diamonds 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 2 3 0 Scottish clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 37 Rangers FC 1 7 4 2 82 Celtic FC 2 3 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 3 10 4 Spanish clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 25 FC Barcelona 2 12 1 2 85 FC Sevilla 1 2 1 3 86 CF Valencia 1 2 1 4 96 Real Madrid 1 1 2 5 109 RCD Espanol 1 1 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 6 18 5 Swiss clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 41 FC Aarau 1 7 0 2 92 FC Winterthur 1 2 0 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 2 9 0 Turkish clubs Rank (Rank) Club No. of Matches Goals overall players 1 29 Fenerbahçe Spor 2 9 0 2 71 Bursaspor 1 3 2 ----------------------------------------------------- Total 3 12 2 7.2. Clubs - appearances and goalscoring stats Club appearances and goalscoring stats (Qualification and Finals): Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Belgium]: Royal Antwerp FC 2-0 2 0 RSC Anderlecht 6-0 28-0 1-1 35 1 RWD Molenbeek 3-0 2-1 2-0 7 1 Club Brugge KV 1-0 4-0 2-0 7 0 KSV Cercle Brugge 1-0 1 0 AA Gent 4-0 4 0 Lierse SK 2-0 2 0 KSC Lokeren 8-4 8 4 RFC Seraing 12-1 12 1 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Denmark]: Brøndby IF 2-0 22-4 28-4 4-0 56 8 Brønshøj Boldklub 1-0 4-0 2-1 7 1 Esbjerg fB 6-0 10-0 2-0 11-0 29 0 B 1903 5-0 10-0 1-0 4-0 20 0 Hellerup IK 3-2 2-1 5 3 Holbæk B&I 3-1 3 1 Horsens fS 1-2 3-0 4 2 Hvidovre IF 1-0 3-0 1-0 5 0 Ikast fS 1-0 1 0 B 93 3-0 2-0 5 0 FC København 3-1 2-0 5 1 KB 1-0 1-0 8-3 1-0 1-0 8-0 4-0 24 3 KFUM 1-0 1 0 Køge BK 5-0 1-0 6 0 Lyngby FC 3-0 2-1 5 1 B 1901 2-0 1-0 3 0 Næstved IF 3-0 3 0 B 1909 3-0 7-1 2-0 12 1 B 1913 11-1 1-0 12 1 OB 4-0 2-1 8-0 2-0 2-1 13-0 2-1 33 3 Randers Freja 1-0 7-1 8 1 Silkeborg IF 6-0 6 0 Skovshoved IF 3-0 3 0 Slagelse B&I 1-0 2-0 3 0 AB 10-0 11-0 21 0 BK Frem 5-0 3-0 5-0 6-0 19 0 Vejen SF 2-0 2 0 Vejle B 14-4 5-1 1-0 4-0 8-1 3-0 35 6 AaB 2-0 10-0 6-0 2-1 2-0 22 1 AGF 11-2 3-0 5-1 6-0 2-0 1-0 28 3 AIA 1-0 1 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [England]: Aston Villa 2-1 2-0 4 1 Blackburn Rovers 3-1 3 1 Derby County 6-0 6 0 Ipswich Town 2-0 2 0 Everton FC 4-0 4 0 Liverpool FC 11-0 2-0 13 0 Arsenal FC 12-1 12 1 Chelsea FC 3-0 3 0 Luton Town 1-0 1 0 Tottenham Hotspur 8-3 8 3 West Ham United 5-1 5 1 Bolton Wanderes 4-0 4 0 Manchester United 10-3 12-0 8-0 30 3 Middlesbrough FC 3-0 3 0 Newcastle United 1-0 1 0 Portsmouth FC 1-0 1 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [France]: Girondins Bordeaux 1-0 1 0 Lille Olympique SC 5-0 5 0 FC de Rouen 4-0 4 0 AS Saint-Etienne 6-0 6 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Germany]: Hertha BSC 5-2 5 2 DSC Arminia Bielefeld 4-0 4 0 TSV Eintracht Braunschweig 3-0 3 0 SV Werder Bremen 3-0 6-2 9 2 Borussia Dortmund 6-1 6 1 Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-0 2 0 RW Essen 1-0 1 0 FC Schalke 04 3-0 3 0 FC St. Pauli 2-0 2 0 Hamburger SV 2-1 3-0 2-0 6-0 1-0 14 1 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3-0 6-0 9 0 Karlsruher SC 4-0 4 0 1. FC Köln 6-3 2-0 8 3 FC Bayer 04 Leverkusen 6-0 6 0 FSV Mainz 05 1-0 1 0 SV Waldhof Mannheim 2-0 2 0 FC Bayern München 1-0 1-0 10-3 12 3 TSV 1860 München 1-0 1 0 SC Preussen Münster 4-0 4 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 4-2 1-0 6 2 Kickers Offenbach 1-2 1 2 FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen 6-2 6 2 [Greece]: Olympiakos Piraeus 1-0 1 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Italy]: AS Fiorentina 8-0 8 0 AC Milan 4-2 4 2 Pescara Calcio 4-0 4 0 SC Pisa 11-2 3-1 14 3 SS Lazio 4-2 4 2 Juventus FC 8-3 3-1 11 4 Udinese Calcio 8-0 8 0 AC Hellas Verona 12-12 12 12 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Japan]: Vissel Kobe 2-0 2 0 Urawa Red Diamonds 1-0 1 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Netherlands]: AZ 67 Alkmaar 2-0 2-1 4 1 Ajax 21-6 4-1 25 7 PSV Eindhoven 2-0 6-0 9-2 3-0 3-0 23 2 SC Heerenveen 3-0 3 0 Roda JC Kerkrade 1-0 1 0 MVV Maastricht 2-0 8-0 10 0 SC Feyenoord 1-0 2-0 10-1 13 1 FC Utrecht 3-0 3 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Scotland]: Celtic FC 3-0 3 0 Rangers FC 7-4 7 4 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Spain]: FC Barcelona 6-1 2-0 4-0 12 1 RCD Espanol 1-0 1 0 CF Real Madrid 1-2 1 2 FC Sevilla 2-1 2 1 CF Valencia 2-1 2 1 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Switzerland]: FC Winterthur 2-0 2 0 FC Aarau 7-0 7 0 Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot [Turkey]: Bursaspor 3-2 3 2 Fenerbahçe Spor 1-0 8-0 9 0 For each player is mentioned how many matches he played and how many goal he scored in each World Cup campaign. Explanation: Club 1958 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 M-tot G-tot Brøndby IF 2-0 22-4 28-4 4-0 56 8 Players representing Brøndby IF played in the 1994 World Cup campaign 28 World Cup matches in aggregate and scored 4 goals all together. Overall, players have played 56 World Cup matches representing Brøndby IF and have thereby scored 8 goals.
8. Trivia Denmark did not enter the 1994 Finals in USA. This was only 2nd time ever the reigning European Champions had failed to qualify for the firstcoming WC Finals: Year EC Champ WC How did it go? 1960 Soviet Union 1962 Sov. Union won Qual.Group. Lost to Chile by 1-2 in Quarter-F. 1964 Spain 1966 Spain beat Eire for Qualification. No further than 1st Round. 1968 Italy 1970 Italy won Qual.Group. Lost WC Final by 1-4 to Brazil. 1972 Germany (FRG) 1974 Host. World Champions after 2-1 against the Netherlands. 1976 Czechoslovakia 1978 Czechoslovakia were beaten by Scotland for the Finals. 1980 Germany (FRG) 1982 FRG won Qual.Group. Lost WC Final by 1-3 to Italy. 1984 France 1986 France won Qual.Group. Won 3rd place after 4-2 against Belgium. 1988 Netherlands 1990 Neth. won Qual.Group. Lost by 1-2 to Germany in Round of 16. 1992 Denmark 1994 Denmark finished 3rd in Qual.Group and did not enter. 1996 Germany 1998 Germany won Qual.Group. Curiously, Denmark has met with both Greece and Eire 4 times in the Qualification, but never at the same time .... At the 1986 Finals in Mexico, Denmark met with two former World Cup Champions, Uruguay (1930 and 1950) and Germany - the Federal Republic (1954, 1974 (and later in 1990)) and both times Denmark won convincingly: Against Uruguay it seemed more or less that 2nd half was played with only one team on the ground. Denmark won 6-1 and a lot of friends .. Germany was taken down 2-0, deservedly, but why did Beckenbauer smile so much after that game? Ah, Germany now had to face Morocco in the Round of 16, whereas Denmark met with Spain... no further comments, please! The only Danish hattrick (3 goals by the same player in one match) was of scored by Preben Elkjær in the unforgettable 6-1 against Uruguay in the 1986 Finals in Mexico. It was in the 1986 campaign that Preben Elkjær scored 12 goals in 12 matches. An outstanding average in modern soccer. When Denmark plays a World Cup match, make sure you have checked the weather forecast! When Denmark played at Landsdowne Road in Dublin in the qualifier on 28th April, 1993, Kim Vilfort noted that Pat Bonner was a bit too far from his goal. From about 30 metres, Vilfort scored a curious goal, when he lifted the ball high, it dived and ended in the net. And in this year's qualification, when Denmark played Croatia in split on 29th March, Brian Laudrup let behind a couple of defenders on the sideline and made what should have been a cross to a colleague forward. But, instead the wind grabbed the ball that flew into the far corner of the goal. A spectacular goal! When Per Røntved was sent off at Hampden Park on 15th November, 1972 against Scotland, it was because of an infight with Peter Lorimer, who also was shown a red card for the offence. When Denmark played England at Molineux, 05th December, 1956, both Danish goals where scored by Ove Bech Nielsen of AB. After his and Denmark's second goal, Denmark was defeated by 2-5, he was on his way back to the centre line. On his way, he passed the English forward, Billy Wright, tapped him on the shoulder passing him and shouted: "You should have brought that fellow, Billy Wright, tonight then!" Actually, Denmark has played 73 World Cup matches. On 1st December, 1968 Denmark played against Eire at Dalymount Park in Dublin. A thick fog hung over the field the entire 1st half. It was so thick that the Danish coach, Rudi Strittich had to ask left winger, Ulrik le Fevre, who had scored the goal, when Finn Wiberg scored. At half-time, the referee was about to call the match, but Irish officials persuaded him to play on for at least 5 minutes into 2nd half. Thereby, the crowd could not ask for a refund! The referee called the game in the 51st minute at 1-1. Obviously, the match had to be replayed - and was on 15th October, 1969 with yet another 1-1 - but the Irish and Danish FAs mutually agree to register the called match as an official International, but as a friendly. Another story from a match against Eire. When Denmark was defeated by 0-2 in Copenhagen on 2nd October, 1957, the Irish had played very unfair and became so unpopular by the Danish crowd that it started to throw apples against them! The goalkeeper, Ole Qvist (KB) was in the line-up for the match at Stadio Olimpico in Roma against Italy on 1st November, 1980. But, during warm-up he collided with his team mate, Ole Kjær, and was severely injured. He was replaced by ... Ole Kjær! When John Sivebæk to everybody's surprise had scored to 3-1 at Landsdowne Road in Dublin against Eire in the decisive qualifier on 13th November, 1985, the coach, Sepp Piontek, decided to substitute Søren Lerby (by Jens-Jørn Bertelsen). Half an hour later, an aeroplane took off from Dublin and about 90 minutes later, Søren Lerby landed in Düsseldorf. A car picked him up and drove him to Bochum, where he then played a German Cup's match for FC Bayern München. This match drew after extra time. After the match he was told that Denmark had won by 4-1 in Dublin, and Lerby replied: "Three points in two matches in one evening. Not bad. Not bad at all!" When Denmark played against Yugoslavia in Ljubljana on 27th September, 1980, the team was without Morten Olsen. His club, RSC Anderlecht (Belgium) had told DBU that Morten Olsen was injured. Same night as the International, Anderlecht had a league game to play. Their sweeper was ... Morten Olsen. Since then, any injury is confirmed by the player himself. When Preben Elkjær scored to 4-1 against Norway on 16th October, 1985 in Oslo, he did so in usual manner by following a dead end chance. Nobody expected the shot, at least not the Norwegian goalkeeper, Erik Thorstvedt. Further, the camera-guy on the stands had already turned away from the scene, why the goal was never showed on tv. On his return to Copenhagen, two Danish reporters gave Elkjær a photograph of this goal. Why? At the same time, it was Denmark's goal No. 1,000 since 1908! Peter Schmeichel holds the record of played World Cup matches with 26 caps. It is noteworthy that they are all played in a row. Michael Laudrup has played 25 World Cup matches. For 5 different clubs: SS Lazio, Juventus FC (both Italy), FC Barcelona (Spain), Vissel Kobe (Japan), and Ajax (Netherlands). In between, Michael Laudrup also played two seasons for Real Madrid (Spain), but in the two seasons there were no World Cup games (but qualifiers for European Championships 1996). The match on 29th March, 1997 against Croatia in Split marked the very first time, a Danish International side did not field any player from the Danish league.
9. Outlook for World Cup 1998 This section will updated until the end of World Cup 1998. 9.1. Expectation of Danish performance Will Denmark be able to upset the world again in the 1998 World Cup? Many factors have of course changed the situation both from 1986, where Denmark first played in the World Cup finals, but also from 1992, when Denmark won the European Championship. From 1986, Michael Laudrup and Peter Schmeichel are the only ones left. Peter Schmeichel never made it to Mexico, but he sat on the bench, when Denmark played away against Soviet Union on 25th September, 1985. Those were the days of "Danish Dynamite". The probably best attack ever fielded in Danish Internationals, Preben Elkjær and Michael Laudrup, were outstanding. And nobody expected anything from the Danes. Same thing in 1992. On vacation, 10 days prior to the European Championships, the players receive notice that they are to play in Sweden. Flemming Povlsen probably knew what he was talking about, when he told a reporter: "We can stand 90 minutes! ... 30 against England, 30 against Sweden and 30 against France." Little did he know, that he three weeks later could lift the trophy after yet another 2-0 victory against the Germans. Of course, nobody had counted on these Danes ... But now there are no places to hide. Denmark did actually win its Qualification Group, and has players with very high international profile. Michael and Brian Laudrup and of course Peter Schmeichel. So what is to expect from this side? In 1st round, Denmark plays France, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. France is under enormous pressure at home and have not played any qualification matches. At the Tournoi de France it stood clear that France are no favourites to win the World Cup. But, never rule out the significance of the home advantage. And so, France must be favourites to win this group. Denmark played Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd Cup in 1995 and won by 2-0. It seems that Saudi Arabia has picked up in form since that, and nobody forgets their excellent run at the 1994 Finals. But, nevertheless, I expect Denmark to win against Saudi Arabia. Last is this Group's Joker, South Africa. Denmark has never before played against this country, and it will probably be a very interesting match, as the South-African way of playing could leave lots of space for Michael Laudrup ... Recent performances by South Africa at the Intercontinental Cup have not impressed me, and I expect also a Danish victory here. All in all, Denmark should finish at least 2nd in this Group. In 2nd Round Group C's No. 1 will meet Group D's No. 2, and vice versa. Group D consists of Spain (of all nations!), Nigeria, Paraguay and Bulgaria. But, to end up as World Champions, you must be good enough to beat anybody. The question remains whether Denmark is that ...! 9.2. Key players Traditionally, Denmark will probably play a very compact game, work as a team and play in 4-4-2 style, hoping for counter-attacks. However, having been asked to point out 3 key players, in my opinion it must be the following: Defence: Peter Schmeichel (Manchester United FC), goalkeeper Midfield: Michael Laudrup (Ajax Amsterdam FC), offensive midfielder Attack: Brian Laudrup (Glasgow Rangers FC), forward Michael Laudrup: Born : 15th June, 1964. Club(s), Denmark : KB, Brøndby IF Club(s), abroad : SS Lazio, Juventus FC, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Vissel Kobe, Ajax Amsterdam FC Internationals : 99 caps, 36 goals (June 12, 1998). Debut June 15, 1982. This World Cup, France 1998, will mark the end of an outstanding career for Michael Laudrup. One of the game's finest ambassadors. His talent and skills have for many year been unique and world class, but his shy personality and outspoken modesty has always forbidden him to tell rest of the world about it. He has always "spoken" with his feet. An example: After a long dispute with Johann Cruyff at FC Barcelona, where the flamboyant Dutch penalised Michael Laudrup for not being visible, Michael did the unthinkable thing in Spanish soccer: the quit the Catalans and moved to Real Madrid. After 4 championships in a row with FC Barcelona, being awarded Best Foreign Player for some years by his colleagues, he now played for the fiercest opposition. At home the season after, Real Madrid won an incredible 5-0 with Michael Laudrup as the one who lifted the game to a divine level. He spoke with his feet allright! And this is the very essence of awarding Michael Laudrup as Denmark's No. 1 Key Player. Michael Laudrup plays at his best, if he can master his own style and play without having to fit into some narrow tactics scheme. And of course he needs players at his very own level, players that have the same ability to "think ahead" and see possibilities yet not there for playing the ball in the least expected way. Not many other players have these skills. Obviously, Brian Laudrup, Michael's younger brother has the same ability of "thinking ahead", but where Michael can make that single pass that makes it possible for another player to decide the game, Brian normally does it all himself. But, let's talk more about Brian below. Zbigniew Boniek, Hristo Stoichkov, Romario, Ivan Zamorano. Four Super World Class strikers. They all have in common that a very large part of the goals they have scored and which have earned them so much publicity, were created by Michael Laudrup. It were his passes that tore open the defence, when he typically had the ball at his feet, looked one way and then with the softest touch lift the ball in the opposite direction, leaving some stunned defenders who could do nothing but resign to this immaculate play. In this also lies the never ending discussion: Is Michael Laudrup too good to play in the International squad. In 1992 when Denmark upset the soccer world and won the European Championships, Michael did not take part. After having played against Yugoslavia in 1990, he sat down together with some key players and said, that he had lost the joy of playing under Richard Møller Nielsen's tactics. After every match, journalists took his play apart and said that he was no good for the team, not understanding that Michael cannot be put into a scheme, but has to have the time and space to do his play: being in the game, using the entire field, waiting for the right moment. If he has to take part in defence or can only play in the right side etc., his creativity is gone, and he is reduced to an average player who is good at the ball, but must use all his energy at zone defence or even infights. So, he resigned from the team. Little did he know, as the rest of us, that Denmark 7 months later had won in Sweden. But, he did not whine. And in August, 1993 he decided to come back. So, as seen in the qualification matches - especially against Croatia at home - Michael Laudrup is still one of the world's finest soccer players. In an offensive team, Michael will play as the offensive midfielder without any tactics, but will try all over to unlock the opposition's defence. Very much he will probably try to work together with his brother, and do they succeed, who knows where it will lead? If Brian is "taken care of", Michael will either try his luck with another forward or simply go for it himself. If the team is rolled over by a physical opposition, and there is almost no room for playing the ball, most likely Michael Laudrup will be substituted. Michael Laudrup earned his 1st cap on his 18th Birthday, 15th June, 1982 against Norway (Denmark lost 1-2, Michael scored that goal). He stands (June 12, 1998) at 99 caps and 36 goals. Thereby he is 3rd most capped player in Danish soccer history. Morten Olsen (his current coach at Ajax Amsterdam FC) holds the record with 102 caps, and his team-mate in the squad, Peter Schmeichel is 2nd with 100 caps. But, where Michael Laudrup takes his bow no later that 12th July, 1998, Peter Schmeichel has no plans of quitting. Brian Laudrup Born : 22nd September, 1969. Club(s), Denmark : Brøndby IF Club(s), abroad : Bayer 05 Uerdingen, FC Bayern München, AC Fiorentina, AC Milan, Glasgow Rangers FC Internationals : 77 caps, 19 goals (June 12, 1998). Debut: November 18, 1987. When Brian was a kid, everytime he played, parents were standing on the sideline and shouting to their sons to "take down young Laudrup". His elder brother, Michael's success put the pressure on Brian. Even his mother was very concerned, if Brian could ever take it all. It is fair to say in the retrospect that Brian has done quite well. He showed some very impressive talent, skills and level of technique, even when he played at Brøndby IF. His encounter with Bayer 05 Uerdingen went OK and led to the contract at FC Bayern München. At the peek of his career, Brian experienced the dark sides of professional soccer. At this most famous German club, Brian witnessed too many intrigues and back-stabbings that only when he played Danish Internationals together with his team-mates here, he found back to his roots and to the magnificent play, that is his brand. When he returned from his summer vacation in 1992, he did so as one of the players, who decided the European Championships in Danish favour. He looked forward to asking his German team-mates, what they had done in their summer vacation, but soon he found himself in the frenzy of Italian soccer. The first months at AC Fiorentina went well. The club scored many goals and Brian played exactly the way he wanted. But, change of tactics the Italian way: It is better to use all energy to hinder the opposition from scoring that trying to decide the game for one self. Of course, Brian could not play well in this environment. AC Fiorentina was relegated, and his father, Finn, had to put Brian in the trunk of his car and smuggle him out of the stadium to avoid the over-excited fans. It did not grow any better at AC Milan. Perhaps even worse, because now he was back in an environment like at FC Bayern. Brian was about to quit soccer at this level as he did not find any joy in his job, despite the money. But then he moved to Scotland. In what many saw as the worst move for Brian Laudrup, it turned out to be what he had expected: A return to playing football at a high level, but where he could play with the ball. His 4 seasons at Glasgow Rangers FC have been one long story of success, great performance and wonderful play and goals. In all this lies the Laudrup paradox. Like his brother, Brian Laudrup needs a good atmosphere to play in. But where Michael Laudrup needs it from game to game, the younger brother seems to be more concerned with the team spirit. If the spirit is there, Brian Laudrup will fight for every ball in the match, trying to decide it, if possible. Brian Laudrup is not dependant on having his brother in the team. That has been seen lots of times, but when they play together, you will expect to see soccer at a very high level. Brian's forces are his immaculate way of keeping the ball at his feet. He has learnt from his brother the "Laudrup-trick" where they put the weight of the body on one foot, the ball at the other, for a second later to have made a switch, has passed the defender and is free for a shot e.g. It is very difficult to stop Brian Laudrup without offence. Luckily he has succeeded in staying more or less out of injuries throughout his career. Only 28 years old, Brian Laudrup should still be around for the World Cup in 2002. Will he reach Peter Schmeichel's No. of caps (assuming that Peter Schmeichel breaks Morten Olsen's 9 year old record within 1998)? Brian Laudrup is currently at 77 caps and looks to become the 4th player only in Danish soccer history with more than 100 caps (Morten Olsen at 102, Peter Schmeichel at 100, Michael Laudrup at 99, both still counting ...). Peter Schmeichel Born : November 18, 1963. Club(s), Denmark : Gladsaxe Hero, Hvidovre IF, Brøndby IF Club(s), abroad : Manchester United FC Internationals : 100 caps, 0 goals (June 12, 1998). Debut May 20, 1987. If not before, Peter Schmeichel was on everybody's lips after the European Championships' Final in 1992. Not only did he show fantastic reaction on one try after the other by Jürgen Klinsmann, Karl-Heinz Riedle or Thomas Hässler. No, at one stage in 2nd half, when Germany has put the pressure on the Danes, Schmeichel runs out of his goal to catch a wide pass with only one hand, flying. In the final for the European Championships. And - not to forget - Peter Schmeichel saved Marco van Basten's penalty kick in the Semi-final. Peter Schmeichel runs a lot of risks but his experience, panache and speed has made him one of the world's best goalkeeper in many eyes. Remember, when he scored against Rotor Volgograd in the European Cup? Well, he has also scored in the Danish League for both Gladsaxe Hero and for Hvidovre IF. The stronghold of the Danish team, lots of expectations are on Peter Schmeichel's shoulders. But he is the right man for the job. His presence and acts in the goal has scared off many forwards, and Denmark relies on his magic once more ... Biggest problems with Peter Schmeichel are (1) his temper and (2) that there are really no young goalkeeper to step into his feet. Peter Schmeichel likes to use all that energy that he builds up during a match in telling the referee, how he sees the match from the goal. In Premier League, most referees have accepted this, knowing that this is merely Peter Schmeichel's way of playing. But in International matches, where the referees are not used to Peter Schmeichel, the occasional yellow card has been shown. Hopefully, Peter Schmeichel will control his temper in France. Peter Schmeichel's importance for the Danish team can not be emphasised enough. Not only his performance in the goal and on the pitch, but also his social participation is very important through the World Cup. Peter Schmeichel is usually leading the gags in the team, so his mood will affect at least young players significantly. Peter Schmeichel is 34 but has expressed absolutely no intentions to quit soccer at this level. In English soccer there has been tradition for goalkeepers at high age, and Manchester United FC seems to be no exception. The question is of course, if Peter Schmeichel will accept to step down over the next 4 years to develop a skilful young goalkeeper, that eventually could replace Peter Schmeichel. There are some candidates, but noone is so outstanding, as Schmeichel himself was back in the mid-1980s. Anyway, in only 3 matches, Peter Schmeichel will become the new record holder of Danish caps, as he will reach 103, one more that Morten Olsen. And it looks at if this number will increase further yet over the next years, if Peter Schmeichel decides to go for the World Cup in 2002. 9.3. The squad Below is the full list of the Danish World Cup squad. (Standing as of June 12, 1998): No. Name Club D.o.B. Caps Goals Goalkeepers: 1 Peter Schmeichel Manchester United FC 18.11.1963 100 0 16 Mogens Krogh Brøndby IF 31.10.1963 8 0 22 Peter Kjær Silkeborg IF 05.11.1965 - - Defenders: 2 Michael Schjønberg 1. FC Kaiserslautern 19.01.1967 28 3 3 Marc Rieper Glasgow Celtic FC 05.06.1968 53 1 4 Jes Høgh Fenerbahce SK 07.05.1966 37 1 12 Søren Colding Brøndby IF 02.09.1972 4 0 13 Jacob Laursen Derby County 06.10.1971 22 0 20 René Henriksen AB 27.08.1969 2 0 Midfielders: 5 Jan Heintze Bayer 04 Leverkusen 17.08.1963 39 1 6 Thomas Helveg Udinese Calcio 24.06.1971 30 1 7 Allan Nielsen Tottenham Hotspur 13.03.1971 18 5 8 Per Frandsen Bolton Wanderes 06.02.1970 12 0 10 Michael Laudrup Ajax Amsterdam FC 15.06.1964 99 36 14 Morten Wieghorst Glasgow Celtic FC 25.02.1971 11 2 15 Stig Tøfting MSV Duisburg 14.08.1969 4 0 17 Bjarne Goldbæk FC København 06.10.1968 11 0 Forwards: 9 Miklos Molnar Sevilla FC 10.04.1970 9 2 11 Brian Laudrup Glasgow Rangers FC 22.02.1969 77 19 18 Peter Møller PSV Eindhoven 23.03.1972 12 1 19 Ebbe Sand Brøndby IF 19.07.1972 2 0 21 Martin Jørgensen Udinese Calcio 06.10.1975 4 0 Most likely, Denmark will field this side: Schmeichel Laursen Høgh Schjønberg Rieper Helveg Nielsen Heintze M.Laudrup B. Laudrup Sand Substitutes will probably be Mogens Krogh for Peter Schmeichel, Søren Colding for either Jacob Laursen or Thomas Helveg, René Henriksen for either of Jes Høgh or Marc Rieper, Per Frandsen/Bjarne Goldbæk as central midfielders, Miklos Molnar and Peter Møller as forwards. Peter Kjær, Morten Wieghorst, and Stig Tøfting will remain on hold. Martin Jørgensen should be seen as a joker. 9.4. Test matches In the warm-up for the World Cup, Denmark played 4 test matches: March 25, 1998 at Ibrox Scotland 0-1 Denmark April 22, 1998 at Parken Denmark 0-2 Norway May 28, 1998 at Malmö Sweden 3-0 Denmark June 5, 1998 at Parken Denmark 1-2 Cameroon In other words this run was quite bad. Denmark had not lost three internationals in a row since the 1988 European Championships' Finals. Moreover, except for 2nd half in the match against Cameroon (marking Peter Schmeichel's 100th cap), Denmark did not play convincingly. What positive came out of these matches were that Martin Jørgensen should be given a chance in the offensive midfield next to (and, after the World Cup: instead of) Michael Laudrup and that Ebbe Sand probably has a great international carreer in front of him. On the negative side is - as stated above - that Michael Laudrup seems to be too good for this side, his teammates not fully understanding his sudden passes. 9.5. Statistics against opponents France Total record (stand per June 12, 1998): Played Won Drawn Lost Goals Attendance ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home 3 2 1 0 5- 2 51,245 Away 1 0 0 1 0- 3 22,534 Neutral 4 3 0 1 28- 3 79,333 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 8 5 1 2 33- 8 153,112 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Date Venue Res. Attend. Referee Remark ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 19.10.1908 White City, London 9-0 5,000 Kyle (ENG) [OG] 2 22.10.1908 White City, London 17-1 1,000 Campbell (ENG) [OG] 369 21.11.1973 Parc des Princes, Paris 0-3 22,534 Aldinger (FRG) 391 01.09.1976 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen 1-1 23,100 Björck (SWE) 456 07.09.1983 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen 3-1 17,500 Roth (FRG) 469 12.06.1984 Parc des Princes, Paris 0-1 47,570 Roth (FRG) [EC] 562 17.06.1992 Malmö Stadion 2-1 25,763 Förstinger (AUT) [EC] 608 09.11.1996 Parken, Copenhagen 1-0 10,645 Olsen (NOR) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saudi Arabia No. Date Venue Res. Attend. Referee Remark ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 588 08.01.1995 King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh 2-0 5,000 Chung (Mauritius) [KFC] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Africa Denmark has never played against South Africa, that will become nation No. 69 against which, Denmark has played Internationals. Explanations: No. is the unambiguous Danish International Number, Date is the date played, Venue is the stadium and city in which each match was played, Res. is the full time result, Attend. is the official gate, where applicable, Referee is the umpire of each match, and Remark is any remark. Each Referee is marked with a three-letter-abbreviation to mark his nationality. Remarks: [OG] means Olympic Games [EC] means European Championships [KFC] Means King Fahd Cup (Intercontinental Cup)
This document was originally in part prepared for a FAQ collected by Simon "Shaggy" Gleave prior to the World Cup Finals in 1998)
Prepared and maintained by Søren Elbech for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Søren Elbech
(sorene@iadb.org)
Last updated: 29 Jul 1999
(C) Copyright Søren Elbech and RSSSF 1998/1999
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
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