When
one evokes Denmark in Footballing terms, most people’s thoughts immediately
turn to the early to mid 1980s when a West German Manager molded one of the
most memorable teams in the history of the game.
Into
the 1970s, Sweden was the only Scandinavian Nation that would qualify for the
Finals of a Major Tournament on a semi-regular basis. Denmark (much like
neighboring Norway) still did not have a fully professional League.
Periodically,
a player would make enough of an impression that a Bundesliga club and/or a
Dutch/Belgian club would take a gamble on.
However,
the emergence of one player would further the cause of most Danish players
hoping to make it in the Western Professional leagues.
Allan
Simonsen would take the Bundesliga by storm and help Borussia Moenchengladabch
win titles in domestic and European level. The continent would take notice and
he would be rewarded with the Ballon d’Or in 1977. He was the rare exception of
a Dane, who was viewed to be able to hold his own (and even surpass) with the
best of the continent. He was the equivalent of a George Best or George Weah, a
superstar who had the misfortune to be representing a Nation that could not
qualify for the Finals of a Major Tournament.
While
Simonsen was shining on the field, a more significant event took place off the
field for Denmark. In the summer of 1979, former West German defender Josef
‘Sepp’ Piontek was appointed as the new Manager of the Danish National Team.
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Photo
From: Onze, Issue 102, June 1984
(Sepp Piontek) |
He
instilled discipline into the squad and demanded a more professional approach
from his players. He displayed his authority by dropping the seemingly
untouchable goalkeeper Birger Jensen of Club Brugge for missing an
International match.
In
time, he would also learn to ease up and adjust his methods to take into
consideration the Danish players’ mentality.
He
had been appointed well into the 1980 Euro qualifiers and could make no impact
in a group that was eventually won by England.
The 1982 World Cup qualifiers were the first qualifiers that Denmark embarked
on with Piontek.
His
team already included a backbone of players that would serve him for the years
to come.
In
addition to Simonsen (now at Barcelona), Søren Busk, Jens Jørn Bertelsen, Klaus
Berggreen, Morten
Olsen, Søren Lerby, Frank Arnesen, and Preben Elkjaer-Larsen were already
integral parts of the group and for the most part had experience playing in the
Western Leagues.
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Photo
From: Onze, Issue 102, June 1984
(Allan Simonsen) |
They
were drawn in a qualifying with Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece and Luxembourg.
They
started poorly and all hopes of qualification were lost as early as the Fall of
1980, when they lost their first three matches to Yugoslavia, Italy and Greece
(at home).
All
that remained was to salvage some pride and built up a team for the future in
1981.
The
first notice that they showed that they were a team in the making was when they
faced Italy at Copenhagen on June 3, 1981.
They outplayed and defeated the future World Cup Champions (3-1).
Impressive victories in the month of June at Copenhagen would be the hallmark
of this squad.
It
was during the 1984 Euro qualifiers that this generation would come of age and
really make its mark.
In
a group that contained two recent World Cup participants England and Hungary
(but also Greece and Luxembourg again), they were not favored.
The
English, now managed by Bobby Robson, headed to Copenhagen for the first
qualifier on September 22, 1982. They English led twice through Trevor Francis,
but Denmark fought back each time and snatched an equalizer in the last minute.
While, for the English, an away point seemed like a good result, the Danes had
impressed and gained confidence.
For
some time, into the Spring, English seemed set to qualify but Denmark kept pace
by picking up wins vs. Greece and Luxembourg.
On
June 1st, 1983, they defeated Hungary (3-1) at Copenhagen to set
themselves up as England’s main rival for the group.
The
rise of Danish football was further evidenced with two important transfers
during that summer of 1983. Søren Lerby joined West German powerhouse Bayern
Munich (from Ajax) to act as the midfield General as a replacement for the
retiring Paul Breitner. In addition, the talented teenager Michael Laudrup
joined Juventus (after turning down Liverpool), though he would be loaned to
Lazio for two seasons.
Michael
Laudrup underlined his rising star status by scoring twice in a friendly vs.
France on September 7th, 1983 (3-1 win).
The
stage was set for the key match in the Group between Denmark and England at
Wembley on September 21st.
The
Danes took the option on the Group by inflicting a rare defeat on England at
Wembley with an Allan Simonsen penalty kick.
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Photo
From: Sport Illuestrierte, Fussball 1984 Sonderheft
(Allan Simonsen’s penalty kick, September 21, 1983, EC Qualifier, England
0-Denmark 1)
|
Many
observers view this match as the Reference point when this Generation was born.
They
suffered a minor hiccup, the following month after losing to Hungary at
Budapest. After the win at Wembley, their destiny was always in their hands and
they qualified for the Finals after defeating Greece in Athens in November.
The
Qualification had given rise to a sense of euphoria, as well as, praise from
other Nations due to the positive and exciting brand of Football.
However,
the Danes did not possess a deep reservoir of talent. This handicap was
exemplified in their (0-6) defeat vs. Holland in a friendly in March 1984. The
Danish were missing many first team regulars and it was clear that they could
not afford to lose many key players, as they could not call upon adequate
replacements from the local Danish league.
This
friendly was a major wake-up call; nevertheless Piontek was confident in his
team’s chances with everyone being fit and available.
In
the lead up to the Euros, the Danes suffered further defeats vs. Spain and
Czechoslovakia, but Piontek still maintained confidence in his squad.
In
the Euros, they were to play vs. hosts France in the Tournament curtain raiser
in Paris. In a hard fought match that they narrowly lost (0-1), Denmark showed
it could compete and hold its own with the Competition’s favorites.
Unfortunately,
Allan Simonsen was severely injured in the match in a collision. This injury
blighted the rest of his career and he was no longer as effective as before
(not to mention ageing).
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Photo
From: Onze, Hors serie 26, 1986
(Soren Lerby, November 13, 1985, World Cup
Qualifier, Republic of Ireland 1-Denmark 4) |
Denmark
picked up the pieces and destroyed Yugoslavia (5-0) in their next match and
dazzled the Global audience with their now customary attacking style of
Football.
The
third match in the Group was vs. Belgium, whom they had to defeat to advance.
Denmark fell behind (0-2), but stormed back to win (3-2) with Preben Elkjaer
scoring the winner near the end.
The
Semifinal vs. Spain ended in disappointment as Denmark lost in penalty kick
shoot-out with Elkjaer missing his decisive kick.
Spain
would turn out to be Denmark’s bogey team for the years to come.
Despite
the loss, Denmark had been one of the revelations of the Tournament. Players
like Lerby, Arnesen, Morten Oslen, Elkjaer, Berggreen and Laudrup were now
household names. Elkajer’s displays earned him a transfer to Italy’s Serie A and he joined Verona.
They
had also left a positive impression with their fans nicknamed ‘Roligans’, who
always cheered their team on and were well behaved and never caused any
trouble.
Denmark
went into the 1986 World Cup qualifiers with confidence as one of Europe’s
finest teams, in a Group with USSR, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland and
Norway.
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Photo
From: Mondial, new series, issue 53, August 1984
(Michal
Laudrup)
|
They never seemed in danger and won the Group by scoring
17 goals in the process. The highlight of the Group was their win over the
Soviet Union (4-2) at Copenhagen on June 5, 1985, that has been described as
one of the finest matches in the History of the Game. In a game where both sides attacked from start to the end,
Laudrup and Elkjaer each scored twice.
They
entered their first ever World Cup as one of the Tournament favorites. They
once again dazzled the World audience in the first round, in the Group of Death
with West Germany, Uruguay and Scotland. After defeating the Scots (1-0), they
simply destroyed Uruguay (6-1) with an anthology goal from Laudrup.
They
defeated their German rivals in the third match (2-0), where Allan Simonsen
played his only World Cup match after coming on as a substitute.
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Photo
From: Onze, Issue 108, December 1984
(Preben
Elkjaer)
|
In
the knockout round, they faced Spain of Emilio Butragueno. The Danes went ahead
from a Jesper Olsen penalty kick, however, the same player was guilty of an
erroneous pass that allowed Butragueno to equalize. After that the Danish
squad, uncharacteristically, capitulated and Spain defeated Denmark with a
heavy score of (1-5, four goals by Butragueno).
Despite
this defeat, they had left enough of a good impression in the first round, to
be praised overall.
In
some ways, perhaps this was the moment that Piontek’s great side started to
decline (but more about that later).
With
a more or less intact squad, the Danes entered the 1988 Euro qualifiers in a
seemingly easy Group with Wales, Czechoslovakia and Finland.
Denmark
naturally won this Group and qualified to the Finals in West Germany. Yet,
there was a feeling that something was missing. Large and exciting wins were
replaced with (1-0) wins and ties. The emergence of talent such as Peter
Schmeichel, Flemming Povlsen, John Jensen, Jan Heintze and Lars Olsen was
welcoming; however, regulars such as Morten Olsen, Lerby, Arnesen and Elkjaer
were showing signs of age.
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Photo
From: Onze, Issue 129, September 1986
(Frank Arnesen and Jesper Olsen, June 4, 1986,
World Cup, Denmark 1-Scotland 0) |
Denmark
entered the 1988 Euros and lost all its three matches vs. Spain (again!), West
Germany and Italy. Their displays were unimpressive and even Piontek at the
time hinted that an era had ended.
Following
the Euros, some of the old guard stepped aside (Jesper Olsen, Morten Olsen,
Lerby, Busk, Ivan Nielsen and Elkjaer).
Piontek
persevered with the national team to guide them through the 1990 World Cup
qualifiers in a Group with Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Michael
Laudrup’s younger brother Brian was now part of the National Team setup. Others
such as Lars Olsen, Schmeichel, Jensen and Vilfort now had leading positions
guided by veterans such as Michael Laudrup and John Sivebaek.
Denmark,
still in a rebuilding phase, stuttered early on in the qualifiers and managed
(1-1) ties in its first two matches in the Fall of 1988 vs. Greece and Bulgaria
(at home).
Things
started looking brighter in the Spring of 1989, an away win at Bulgaria (2-0)
was followed by a (7-1) win vs. Greece at Copenhagen.
In
June 1989, for a Triangular Tournament in celebrations of the Anniversary of
the Danish Federation, heavy defeats were inflicted on Sweden (6-0) and an
under strength Brazil (4-0).
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Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 21, October 1990
(Morten
Olsen, June 17, 1988, European Championships, Italy 2-Denmark 0)
|
For an instant it seemed like ‘Danish Dynamite’ was back
on track. When they defeated Romania (3-0) in October, they even looked odds on
favorites to qualify for the World Cup.
However,
their limitations were exposed in the return match in November vs. Romania at
Bucharest (1-3). Romania clinched the Group and qualified for the World Cup.
Denmark had failed to qualify for the Finals of a Tournament after three
straight qualifications.
The
Press declared this as the loss that ended an era begun at Wembley in September
1983. But perhaps the goal glut of 1989 was just a mirage. They had defeated a
weakened Greece and a B-C level Brazil team on tour. With a closer look, it was
clear that ever since the loss vs. Spain in Mexico in 1986, they had been
stagnating and declining.
After
initially appearing that he might stay on, Piontek bowed out after the Press criticized
his contract and salary. He became the Manager of the Turkish National Team in
the new year (1990).
In
over a decade in charge, Sepp Piontek had molded one of the best sides in
Europe. There are teams that owe their immortality through the number of titles
won. Then there are teams that despite not winning trophies stay in our
memories for the sheer joy that they gave the Audience.
Denmark
of the 1980s is in this category along with the likes of the 1954 Hungarians,
the Dutch of the 1970s and Brazil of 1982.
Richard Möller-Nielsen, Piontek’s successor, actually did
clinch a title (the 1992 Euros). But chances are that it is the 1980s squad
that the public actually remembers to this day.
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Photo
From: (Magazine Source unknown) / Contribution From a blog viewer
(Denmark squad, Top, left to right: Ole Qvist, Soren Lerby, Michael Laudrup, Soren Busk, Frank Arnesen, Bottom, left to right: Preben Elkjaer, Jens Jorn Bertelesen,
Ivan
Nielsen, Klaus Berggreen, Morten Olsen , Jesper
Olsen , June 5, 1985, World Cup Qualifier, Denmark 4-USSR 2) |
