Throughout history, Danish footballers have had their time in the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam. Players as Jan Mølby, Frank Arnesen, Jesper Grønkjær and both Laudrup brothers have been in the club. This season the squad contains six Danes, three of them are the hopes of the future for Denmark.

Christian Poulsen

Age: 32 (28.2.1980)

Position: Central midfield

Former clubs: FC Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Sevilla, Juventus, Liverpool, Evian.

Value: £2.000.000

Most Danish football fans rubbed their eyes a little in disbelief when Poulsen was announced in Ajax. The former Danish national captain is seen as an "over-the-hill" player. However, Poulsen has had an impressive career and is one of the only players in the world to have played in all of the five biggest European leagues. There is no doubt, that Poulsen in brought to Ajax this season, to give some routine to a young team. 

Lasse Schöne

Age: 26 (27.5.1986)

Position: Central midfield

Former clubs: Lyngby BK, SC Heerenveen, De Graafschap, NEC Nijmegen

Value: £3.500.000 

Lasse Schöne joined Ducth football in an early age and was unkown to many Danish football fans. However, the Dane has a great reputation in Holland, where he has been a profile in both De Graafschap and NEC Nijmegen. Last season was probably his best, which opened the door for a transfer to Ajax. The midfielder with the nickname Lassie has so far played thirteen matches and scored 2 goals for the Danish national team.

Christian Eriksen

Age: 20 (14.2.1992)

Position: Central/Attacking midfield

Former clubs: Odensen Boldklub

Value: 14.000.000£

Christian Eriksen in not only a hot name in Ajax, but also in the rest of Europe. Throughout the summer, he has been linked with both Manchester clubs and Arsenal. However, the Danish wonderkid is still in Ajax, where he has been urged to stay by former Danish national stars. Eriksen is a profile on the attacking midfield for his team and has shown some first class football the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, the Danish national team has not seen the same magic yet.

Nicolai Boilesen

Age: 20 (16.2.1992)

Position: Left back

Former clubs: Brøndby IF

Value: 1.100.000£

Boilesen had his breakthrough in Ajax in 2011, where he played several important matches. He could have had his breakthrough for the Danish national team, if it wasn't for his injuries. However, the young back has several years in front of him and will play an important role both in Ajax and for Denmark. In his first match for Ajax, Boilesen made an assist and was nominated as "Man of the Match".

Viktor Fischer

Age: 18 (9.6.1994)

Position: Attacking wing/Striker

Former clubs: FC Midtjylland

Value: 450.000£

Fischer is on every Danes lips at the moment. The young striker is to have his breakthrough in Ajax, after his amazing season last year. Here, he was one of the best players in the youth Champions League, Nextgen Series. In this seasons NextGen Serie, Fischer scored a hattrick last week. The young striker has been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea, but will probably stay in Ajax, where he got his debut this season in the Super Cup against PSV Eindhoven. 

Lucas Andersen

Age: 18 (13.10.1994)

Position: Attacking midfield

Former clubs: Aalborg BK

Value: £650.000

Lucas Andersen is the newest Danish name in Ajax. The former Aalborg BK player joined the Dutch club on the last day of the transfer window and has already gotten his debut on the Ajax youth team. Here, he scored two goals last night. Lucas Andersen is one of the most talented players Aalborg has ever had, and he has already been a part of the Danish national league team, as well as a part of the Danish U21 national team. 

 

 

Denmark was sent out of the EURO 2012 after a 2-1 defeat against Germany. Five players from the Danish squad might have played their last match. Great Dane Football Blog takes a look on the five.

1. Christan Poulsen, 32 years

   92 matches, 6 goals

The former captain for Denmark has always been a safe card in Morten Olsen’s starting XI. However, Poulsen has only played twelve minutes in the EURO 2012, and it seems that the coach has lost his trust in the midfielder. Daniel Agger is the new captain for Denmark, and with William Kvist and Niki Zimling on the midfield, Poulsen seems to have played his last match. The Evian-midfielder has been criticized for his last couple of performances for the Danish national team and is by many seen as a player that is ‘over the hill’. Poulsen has announced that he is considering his future on the national team, after a dissapointing EURO.

 

2. Dennis Rommedahl, 33 years

   118 matches, 21 goals 

Just like Christian Poulsen, Rommedahl has been a regular part of Morten Olsen’s national team. The winger is often criticized for his performances, but he has also scored some of the most important goals for Denmark. Rommedahl has always had an impressing ability to peak at the right moment. This EURO has not been the best for the Brøndby-player and with Tobias Mikkelsen pushing for the starting line, Rommedahl’s era might be over. However, ‘Romme’ is keen on extending his national career, as he feels that he ‘has some years left’.

3. Thomas Sørensen, 35 years

   101 matches, 0 goals

To be fair, Thomas Sørensen was not a part of the EURO squad. Morten Olsen decided not to give him a spot in the squad, as he was unsure on the goalie’s form. On top of that, Stephan Andersen played a great EURO for Denmark, and this has made Sørensen consider whether or not he will be a part of the Danish national team in the future. The last couple of years has not been the best for the goal keeper, and many fans do not see him as a part of the national team any longer.

4. Lars Jacobsen, 32 years

   53 matches, 1 goal

Lars Jacobsen played well at this year’s EURO, and both the player and the coach is confident he has some years left. However, this is the time for Morten Olsen to rebuild the national team, and with Jacobsens thirty two years; he is not a man for the future. Daniel Wass is pushing for the position as full back, and this might be time for him to take over. Lars Jacobsen has played well in his matches for Denmark and will be missed, but it is time to try something new.

 

5. Michael Silberbauer, 30 years 

   24 matches, 1 goal

Michael Silberbauer might still have some years left, given he is only thirty years old. However, at the World Cup in 2010 he was not to be found in the squad and at the EURO he did not play a single minute. The all-a-round player has had a couple of matches on the fullback instead of Simon Poulsen, but with Nicolai Boilesen as the new hope, both players might not be the first choice any longer. The question is if the player will retire by himself or if Morten Olsen simply will not use him anymore.

Next week's football list will feature the five players that might be the next generation to play for the Danish national team.  

The Danish FA (DBU) was all over the Danish Media yesterday, after they banned the players from using Social Medias during the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

The reason for banning Twitter and Facebook during the Euro 2012 is to keep the communication with the media within the planned press conferences and to keep the players focus on the tournament.

Lars Berendt, Chief of Communication in DBU, said to sporten.tv2.dk that:

However, it does not sound like there is an agreement between the FA and the players, as Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen, last night said to the same website, that he did not agree with DBU. The decision was also met with wonder from the press and the Danish Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk, who demanded an explanation from DBU.

To make things even worse for the Danish FA, Lars Berendt yesterday told that the Twitter-ban had existed for a while, and “the players have never used their private Twitter-accounts or Facebook, when they have been gathered with the national team”. However, this was proved wrong by a Danish newspaper today, when they found old tweets from Thomas Sørensen and Evian midfielder Christian Poulsen, posted before and after a match against Norway.

The ban, now known as “Twitter-gate” in Denmark, has been met by skepticism from Danish fans on the Social Media.  Danish Sports commentator Andreas Kraul, from Danish Radio tweeted:

The answer was partly answered this morning, when Berendt on national television told that the players would be able to live chat through an DBU app and that the players would earn money on this. It sounds like the Danish FA has made some commercial deals and is afraid of losing them, if the players use their private twitter.