Dennis Rommedahl
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dennis Rommedahl | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ajax | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 August 2007 | |||
Dennis Rommedahl (born July 22, 1978 in Copenhagen) is a professional Danish footballer, who is currently playing as a winger for Ajax. He has represented the Danish national football team in more than 60 matches, scoring 15 goals, and Rommedahl was selected for the Danish squads at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004 tournaments. Rommedahl is lightning-quick as reportedly his 100 metres time is less than 10,5 seconds.
Biography
Born in the Bispebjerg borough of Copenhagen, Rommedahl went on to play youth football for a number of clubs, including B 93 and Lyngby FC. He got his senior debut in 1995 for Lyngby, playing in the Danish Superliga championship. Rommedahl was noticed as a big talent, as he was selected to play for the Danish under-19 national youth team in July 1996. In all, he went on to play a combined 19 matches and score 5 goals for the under-19 and under-21 national youth teams.
In 1997 he was brought to the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, where he made his debut on March 22 in a 1-0 home loss against SC Heerenveen. After playing another match PSV subsequently loaned him out to RKC Waalwijk for the 1997-98 season. He returned to PSV in 1998 and here Rommedahl became a big success, taunting the rival defenders with his fast wing-runs and excellent crossing ability. In total he won four Eredivisie championships with the Eindhoven team as well as four times the Johan Cruijff-schaal. He was linked with a big-money move to Italy, which never happened despite the reported interest.
When Morten Olsen, former coach of Dutch club Ajax, took over as coach of the Danish national team, Rommedahl was immediately called up for his Denmark debut in August 2000. Rommedahl went on to play the next 38 Danish national team matches in a row, the 32 first games in the starting line-up. The 38 games included Denmark's four games at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he scored a goal against defending world champions France in Denmark's 2-0 victory. His unbroken run of national team games was broken in February 2004, as he missed the friendly match against Turkey. He also played all four Danish matches at the Euro 2004.
Rommedahl made the switch from Dutch to English football in the summer 2004, with Charlton Athletic beating Tottenham Hotspur to his signature, Rommedahl signing a four-year contract. His first season was spent settling in, with a notable length of time spent on the bench and on the physio's table, but his second season saw him flourish as he took a leading role in helping Charlton up towards the top of the Premiership.
Rommedahl had been linked with several moves away from Charlton. In the summer of 2006, he was nearly sold to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. In December 2006, he was linked with a £1 million move to F.C. Copenhagen.[1] This link was resurrected as Charlton edged closer to relegation, this time with Rommedahl being discussed as a replacement for Michael Silberbauer who was expected to leave Denmark to join a foreign club. In the summer of 2007, Galatasaray SK and Getafe CF were interested in signing him.[2] Eventually he and Charlton agreed to sell him to Dutch side Ajax on July 20, 2007 for fee of £680,000. With Ajax he immediately won his fifth career Johan Cruijff-schaal in a 1-0 win over his former team PSV Eindhoven.
Statistics
| Season | Club | Competition | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995/96 | Lyngby FC |  Danish Superliga |
9 | 0 |
| 1996/97 | Lyngby FC | Danish Superliga |
17 | 4 |
| 1996/97 | PSV Eindhoven |  Eredivisie |
2 | 0 |
| 1997/98 | RKC Waalwijk | Eredivisie |
34 | 5 |
| 1998/99 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
19 | 2 |
| 1999/00 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
23 | 0 |
| 2000/01 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
31 | 5 |
| 2001/02 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
34 | 12 |
| 2002/03 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
33 | 6 |
| 2003/04 | PSV Eindhoven | Eredivisie |
19 | 4 |
| 2004/05 | Charlton Athletic |  FA Premier League |
26 | 2 |
| 2005/06 | Charlton Athletic | FA Premier League |
21 | 2 |
| 2006/07 | Charlton Athletic | FA Premier League |
28 | 0 |
| 2007/08 | Ajax | Eredivisie |
1 | 0 |
| Total | 297 | 42 | ||
International goals
- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.
Honours
- Dutch Eredivisie : 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003
- Dutch Super Cup : 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007
References
- ^ Copenhagen to make bid for Charlton's Rommedahl, tribalfootball.com, December 31 2006
- ^ Færch Kvist, Thomas (2007), "Øst eller vest? Eller er hjemme bedst?", Tipsbladet Weekend, no. Week 18, pp. 14–15
External links
- Voetbal International profile
- Dennis Rommedahl at Soccerbase
- DennisRommedahl.com
- FanSite (under construction)
- Danish national team profile
- FootballDatabase career stats
 | ||
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Danish footballers
- People from Copenhagen
- Denmark international footballers
- Football (soccer) wingers
- Eredivisie players
- Ajax Amsterdam players
- PSV Eindhoven players
- Charlton Athletic F.C. players
- Lyngby Boldklub footballers
- Premier League players
- UEFA Euro 2004 players
- FIFA World Cup 2002 players