Dennis Rommedahl (; born 22 July 1978) is a Danish former 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 played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. The second-most capped national player for

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 ...

, he appeared in 126 matches and scored 21 goals for his country, and was a member of the Danish squads at the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

, the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

and

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. He was nominated for Danish Footballer of the Year in 2007, but did not win the award until 2010.

Club career

Rommedahl was born in the

Bispebjerg Bispebjerg, more commonly referred to as Nordvest (English: North-West), is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the northern border of the municipality, it covers an area of 5.39 km² and a population of 40,033 ...

borough of Copenhagen. He played youth football for a number of clubs, including B. 93 and

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...

. He made his senior debut in 1995 for Lyngby, playing in the

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 ...

PSV Eindhoven and RKC Waalwijk

In 1997, he was acquired by

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...

, where he made his debut on 22 March in a 1–0 home loss against

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

. After his second match, PSV loaned him to

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...

for the 1997–98 season. He returned to PSV in 1998 where he became a success by outrunning defenders and providing dangerous crosses from the wing. He was a member of the PSV squad that won four

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

championships and four

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

Charlton Athletic

Rommedahl moved from Dutch to English football in the summer 2004 when he signed a four-year contract for

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 ...

side

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

. His first season was spent settling in at The Valley, with a notable length of time spent on the substitute's bench and on the physiotherapist's table. During his second season, he took a leading role in helping Charlton climb the ladder in the

. Rommedahl was linked with several moves away from Charlton. In the summer of 2006, he was nearly sold to

Zenit St. Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

. In December 2006, he was linked with a £1 million move to F.C. Copenhagen. This link was resurrected as Charlton edged closer to relegation, with Rommedahl being discussed as a replacement for

Michael Silberbauer Michael Silberbauer (born 7 July 1981) is a Danish football manager and former professional player. He is currently the manager of FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie. Silberbauer played more than a 100 games for each Danish club Aalborg BK an ...

, who was expected to leave Denmark to join a foreign club. In the summer of 2007,

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

and

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

expressed interest in signing him. However, he finally left Charlton on 20 July 2007, moving to

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

for fee of £680,000.

Ajax and NEC

With Ajax, Rommedahl immediately won his fifth career Johan Cruijff Shield in a 1–0 win over his former team, PSV Eindhoven. He was also one of five players nominated for the

Danish Football Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 20 ...

in 2007. For the second half of the 2008–09 season, he went out on loan to

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

. He finished his Ajax-career at the end of the season 2009–10.

Olympiacos

In July 2010, Rommedahl signed a two-year contract with Super League Greece club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. On 30 August 2011, Olympiacos released Rommedahl to find another club.

Brøndby

Rommedahl joined Brøndby on 30 August 2011 on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract and was given the number 11 shirt.

RKC Waalwijk

Rommedahl signed with

in the summer of 2013. Because of injuries he had never played an official match before he dissolved his contract with the club in January 2015.

International career

Rommedahl was selected to play for the Danish under-19 national youth team in July 1996. He went on to play a combined 19 matches and score five goals for the under-19 and under-21 national youth teams. After the appointment of

Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...

, Rommedahl was immediately called up for his Denmark senior national team debut in August 2000. He played the next 38 Danish national team matches in a row, the first 32 games in the starting line-up. The 38 games included Denmark's four games at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

, where he scored against defending world champions

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in Denmark's 2–0 victory. He also played all four Danish matches at the Euro 2004. His unbroken run of national team games ended in February 2004 when he missed the friendly against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. On 28 May 2010, Olsen announced that Rommedhal would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the

. He assisted Nicklas Bendtner's goal, and scored the winner himself, in a group stage game against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

on 19 June 2010. Rommedahl was also inducted in the final squad for

, where he once again participated in all of the Danish group matches. On 9 October 2014, after a long-term injury, Rommedahl announced that he would officially retire from the national team. He was given a farewell ceremony before Denmark's match against Portugal on 14 October 2014.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

PSV *

: 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03 *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2001, 2003 Ajax * KNVB Cup: 2009–10 * Johan Cruijff Shield: 2007 Olympiacos * Super League Greece:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Individual * Danish Football Association's award (2): 2007, 2010 * UEFA awards 100 caps: 2011

References

External links

*
Dennis Rommedahl
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...

'' * *
Complete League statistics
at danskfodbold.com
FootballDatabase.com career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rommedahl, Dennis 1978 births Living people Footballers from Copenhagen Danish footballers Association football wingers Denmark international footballers Denmark youth international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Lyngby Boldklub players PSV Eindhoven players RKC Waalwijk players Charlton Athletic F.C. players AFC Ajax players NEC Nijmegen players Olympiacos F.C. players Danish Superliga players Eredivisie players Premier League players Super League Greece players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players Danish expatriate footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Danish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Greece 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players FIFA Century Club