Henrik Dalsgaard (born 27 July 1989) is a Danish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

club

FC Midtjylland FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Supe ...

. Dalsgaard began his professional career in his homeland with AaB, with whom he won the Danish league and cup double in the 2013–14 season. He transferred to Zulte Waregem in 2015 and won the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

in the [ second of his two seasons with the club. A move to England with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Brentford followed in 2017 and in 2021 he was part of the Brentford squad which was promoted to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. Dalsgaard is a current

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

international and was a member of the Danes' 2018 World Cup squad.

Club career

AaB

Dalsgaard began his career as a forward with Danish lower-league clubs BMK 90, FK Viborg, Hersom/Bjerregrav IF and Møldrup/Tostrup IF. After scoring prolifically for Møldrup/Tostrup IF, he signed a two-year contract with

club AaB on a free transfer in December 2008 and no compensation was paid to his previous clubs, due to the lack of a national transfer system in Denmark. He made the first professional appearances of his career late in the 2008–09 season and scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw with

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the town's two football club ...

on 31 May 2009. Dalsgaard became a regular in the team over the following two seasons and was moved from his forward position onto the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

and then to

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

by the 2011–12 season. He made 21 appearances and scored two goals during the 2013–14 season, in which AaB won the Danish Superliga and

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

. Dalsgaard remained with the club until December 2015, when he departed on a free transfer. He made 194 appearances and scored 10 goals during eight seasons at the

Nordjyske Arena Aalborg Stadium (Danish: Aalborg Stadion; currently known as Aalborg Portland Park for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium located in Aalborg, Denmark. It is the home ground of AaB. It has a capacity of 14,135 of which 8,997 is seated. Fo ...

Zulte Waregem

In December 2015, Dalsgaard moved to Belgium to join Pro League club Zulte Waregem on a -year contract, with an option for a further year. In an 18-month spell affected by a hip injury, he made 38 appearances, scored 9 goals and helped the club to win the 2016–17

. Dalsgaard left the club on 23 May 2017.

Brentford

On 23 May 2017, Dalsgaard moved to England to join

club Brentford on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee (reported to be £1 million), effective 1 July 2017. He immediately displaced previous first-choice right back Maxime Colin and made the position his own after Colin's departure at the end of the summer

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

. Dalsgaard continued as a regular in the team, despite suffering with a concussion and a heel injury during the opening months of the season. A heel injury suffered during a 2–0 victory over

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

on 1 November 2017 saw Dalsgaard miss three months of the season. He regained his place in early February 2018 and his scored his first goal for the club with the only goal for the game versus

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 10 April. Dalsgaard finished the 2017–18 season with 32 appearances and one goal. Dalsgaard was the team's regular starting right back through the first half of the 2018–19 season. In February 2019, head coach

Thomas Frank Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

reported that Dalsgaard had stepped up into a leadership role within the squad and later in the month, a lack of available centre backs at the club saw him pressed into service on the right side of a three-man central defence. He finished the season with 43 appearances and two goals. After beginning the 2019–20 season as an ever-present at right back, Dalsgaard signed a one-year contract extension on 29 November 2019. In addition, his leadership role within the squad was recognised with the vice-captaincy. Dalsgaard made a career-high 47 appearances and scored two goals during the season, with one coming as a late consolation in the 2–1 2020 Championship play-off Final defeat to Fulham. Dalsgaard was again Thomas Frank's first choice right back during the 2020–21 season and he deputised for captain

Pontus Jansson Pontus Sven Gustav Jansson (; born 13 February 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Brentford, where he serves as club captain. Jansson started his career with local club Malmö FF before moving to Ita ...

during the latter's spells out injured. Despite missing the final 9 matches of the regular season with a knee injury, Dalsgaard returned to play in each of Brentford's three 2021 playoff matches and he celebrated promotion to the

with a 2–0 victory over Swansea City in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. Owing to the 79th minute substitution of captain Pontus Jansson, Dalsgaard took the armband for the remainder of the match. He finished the 2020–21 season with 40 appearances and two goals. In the final month of his contract, Dalsgaard transferred away from the Brentford Community Stadium on 7 June 2021. He ended his four-year spell with 162 appearances, seven goals and as Brentford's most-capped international player, with 22 caps won while contracted to the club.

FC Midtjylland

On 7 June 2021, Dalsgaard returned to Denmark to sign a three-year contract with Superliga club

on a free transfer, effective 1 July 2021. He made 43 appearances and scored two goals during the 2021–22 Danish Cup-winning season.

International career

Dalsgaard represented Denmark at youth level and won 12 caps for the U20 and U21 teams. He made one appearance for the Denmark League XI in 2013. Dalsgaard's form for Zulte Waregem during the 2015–16 season saw him win four caps for the senior team during the second half of the campaign. In recognition of his contribution to Denmark's

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, Dalsgaard was named in the 2017 Denmark Team of the Year. At the World Cup, he played every minute of the four matches of Denmark's run to the last-16. Dalsgaard scored his first international goal at any level with an injury time equaliser in a 3–3 Euro 2020 qualifying draw with Switzerland on 26 March 2019.

Personal life

Dalsgaard attended Viborg Business School and worked for Skals Elektronik.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dalsgaard goal.''

Honours

AaB *

: 2013–14 *

: 2013–14 Zulte Waregem *

: 2016–17 Brentford * EFL Championship play-offs:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

FC Midtjylland * Danish Cup: 2021–22 Individual *

Team of the Year: 2017