Poul Ebbesen Pedersen (31 October 1932 – 23 December 2016), simply known as Poul Pedersen, was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

amateur

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player, who won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

with the

Denmark national football team The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing bo ...

at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. He was the first player to reach 50

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Danish national team, scoring 17 national team goals in the process. On the club level, Pedersen played his entire career for

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

club

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

. Pedersen played the position of

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for AIA but was moved out as an outside winger when representing the Danish national team. He was a box-to-box midfielder, often making last-ditch saves as a defender before sprinting the length of the field to participate in attacking moves. He was a quick player with great sportsmanship. Pedersen made his debut for the senior Danish national team in a 1952-55 Nordic Football Championship game against the

Sweden national football team The Sweden national football team ( sv, svenska fotbollslandslaget) represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is F ...

on 21 June 1953. In his sixth national team game on 3 July 1955, Pedersen scored his first two international goals, as Denmark beat the

Iceland national football team The Iceland national football team (in ) represents Iceland in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland, and have been a FIFA member since 1947 and an UEFA member since 1957. The team's nickn ...

4-0 in a friendly match. By 1958 he had become national team captain, a position he governed in 16 games before Poul Jensen was made captain in 1960. At the 1960 Olympics, Pedersen played in the position of right winger on the Danish team, often linking up with right halfback Bent Hansen. Pedersen played all five games as Denmark won the silver medals. During the tournament, he scored the winning goal in the 2-1 group stage win against the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej) has represented Poland in men's international tournaments football competitions since their first match in 1921. The team is controlled by the Polish Football Associ ...

. After the Olympic tournament, Pedersen only played five additional games for Denmark. On 17 September 1961, he broke

Pauli Jørgensen Etvin Carl Pauli Jørgensen (4 December 1905 – 30 October 1993), known simply as Pauli Jørgensen, was a Danish amateur football player and manager. In his position of centre forward, Jørgensen played 297 matches and scored 288 goals for Bol ...

's record from 1939, as Pedersen became the first Dane to play 48 games for the national team, when Denmark beat the

Norway national football team The Norway national football team ( no, Norges herrelandslag i fotball, or informally ''Landslaget'') represents Norway in men's international football and is controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation, the governing body for football in ...

4-0 in a 1960-63 Nordic Football Championship game. Later that month, Denmark lost 1-5 to the

West Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

and Pedersen's international career underwent a three-year hiatus. On 6 September 1964, Poul Pedersen made a one-game international comeback, thereby becoming the first Dane to play 50 international games; a record that was broken a few months later by Bent Hansen in November 1964. Pedersen's grandson,

Viktor Fischer Viktor Gorridsen Fischer (born 9 June 1994) is a Danish professional association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder or as a Winger (association football), winger for Swedish club AIK Fotbol ...

, is one of the biggest Danish talents. Currently playing with Danish club

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Pedersen died on 23 December 2016, aged 84.

References

External links

Danish national team profileDBU Hall of Fame entryHaslund.info profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersen, Poul 1932 births 2016 deaths Danish men's footballers Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Denmark Olympic silver medalists for Denmark Denmark men's international footballers Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Men's association football forwards Footballers from Aarhus