Stalwarts like Dennis Rommedahl and Jesper Grønkjær, and youngster Christian Eriksen make the squad
Football fans are both lauding and lamenting national team head coach Morten Olsen’s choices for the Danish World Cup 2010 squad that will compete in South Africa, which was typically safe but also contained a few surprises.
It was much of the ‘same old same old’ for the midfield/winger spots, with Dennis Rommedahl, Martin Jørgensen, Jesper Grønkjær and Daniel Jensen again along for the ride. The four players, whose average age is 31, have a total of 308 caps among them.
Most analysts feel Olsen’s penchant for valuing experience over talent will probably prevail, with the four veterans and Juventus stalwart Christian Poulsen likely to get much of the playing time in their relative positions. But a couple of young upstarts may also see a fair amount of pitch time – especially Bundesliga’s Thomas Enevoldsen, FC Copenhagen’s William Kvist and 19-year-old sensation Christian Eriksen.
Olsen’s defence is the team’s strong suit, so long as the four starters stay healthy – Liverpool’s Daniel Agger being the key man. Physical and strong both offensively and defensively, he’s one of the best in the world at his position. But he has battled various injuries over the past few years, the most serious of which has been with his back. Experts believe the 25-year-old star’s fitness is an absolute necessity if Olsen’s troupe is to go anywhere in the tournament.
Probable starters joining Agger on the back line are Lars Jacobsen, Simon Kjær and Per Krøldrup. But Krøldrup’s inconsistency for the national squad may give the surprising but sensible selection of Malaga’s Patrick Mtiliga considerable playing time for the defence, which also features Simon Poulsen.
Denmark’s attack is its weak point, with its most deadly striker being Søren Larsen, who was shipped early this season by French league’ club Toulouse to German second-division club MSV Duisburg. But he got much needed playing time there, scoring five goals in 10 appearances for the club.
But it’s Larsen’s national team magic that makes him invaluable to Olsen. The 6’4’’ striker has scored 11 times in just 17 games for the red and white, and his knack for being in the right place at the right time made him an obvious choice.
Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner will also be in South Africa, a sure starter at just 22 years of age. Bendtner has had trouble scoring of late, however, and is presently struggling with his recurring groin injury. Veteran Jon Dahl Tomasson was another obvious attacker pick for Olsen, although the team captain has not scored for Denmark since February of 2008 in a friendly against Slovenia.
The biggest surprise in the forward choices was the non-selection of Mads Junker, who finished third in the Dutch league in scoring with 21 goals.
One area where Olsen undoubtedly has serious concerns is in goal, where undisputed number one keeper Thomas Sørensen is presently out with an elbow injury. Should Sørensen not be healthy in time for the World Cup, there are three goalies with an equal shot at gaining the starting spot – Jesper Christiansen, Stefan Andersen and Kim Christensen.
In addition to the 26 player roster, four standby players – Anders Møller Christensen, Leon Jessen, Mikkel Thygesen and Morten Rasmussen – have been chosen for the initial squad, which will be whittled down to 23 for the final trip to South Africa.
Denmark’s first match is against the Netherlands on 14 June.
The Copenhagen Post
