• Name: Andreas Lissau
  • Age: 19 (23-02-1994)
  • Position: Striker
  • Club: Næstved BK
  • International caps: None
  • Value: £50.000
This week we keep an eye on Næstved's young striker Andreas Lissau. The player struggled when he joined the club, but suddenly he was one step ahead of the rest. Great Dane Football Blog presents yet another Danish talent.

Andreas Lissau joined Næstved from the minor Danish club, Præstø IF, and could barely make it on the youth team. But then, suddenly the striker caught the coach's interest.

"Suddenly things started to go my way, and I got a youth contract when I was 15, and was selected for some DBU [Danish FA] gatherings. I was promoted to the U17 squad a year earlier than normal, and again for the U19, so I have always been a year ahead,” Lissau says.

Impressing, the statistic for Lissau's season on the U17 team, says 13 goals and 19 assists in 14 matches. The talent was not to be mistaken as Lissau was promoted to the Næstved senior squad, then playing in the Danish 1. Divison, when he was only 17-year old. A year later, in 2011, he was given his debut against Randers FC.

While the striker has been a step ahead of his year throughout his youth career, the Næstved boy sees it as an important part of his development.

”It has always been a good way to put extra pressure on myself. I have always felt that I was good enough, and so did my coaches. It has helped me develop and add physical pressure on me, which I have been happy for,” Lissau says.

Despite having played well in his youth years in Næstved, the closest Lissau has been to playing national matches has been the DBU gatherings. However, playing for Denmark is not on his mind at the moment.

After showing impressing play for the U17/U19, Lissau finally had his breakthrough for Næstved in the winter 2012. Here, he was thrown into the match against FC Blokhus and scored his first goal after just 13 minutes. The breakthrough secured him a 2 year contract, and despite interest from other clubs Lissau decided to stay in Næstved. According to the player, two factors keep him in Næstved:

“It has been a mix of me feeling I still can develop in Næstved and some education, as well. There is a great setup with Næstved College, uniting football and school. At the same time, I don’t feel the right offer has come yet.”

And, manager Martin Jungsgaard is happy to keep his striker in his squad:

“He is a great in the switch of play, he has a great run with the ball, a great right leg and a player with a good pace."

But stress that Lissau is just any other player on the Næstved team:

“It might sound paradox, but he is not a MVP or anything on the team. Just like any other young player he faces opposition; he can play two good matches and then not show anything in the next two. He had a period on the bench and came back strengthen back.”

While, there has been clubs on the look for Andreas Lissau he is taking his time developing in Næstved and dreams of playing in the Danish Superliga within a couple of years. The ultimate dream would be Real Madrid, but the striker acknowledges that some dreams are more likely to happen than others.