Morten Olsen
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| Morten Olsen | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Morten Per Olsen | |
| Date of birth | August 14, 1949 | |
| Place of birth | Vordingborg, Denmark | |
| Position | Manager | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Denmark | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1957-1969 | Vordingborg | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1970-1972 1972-1976 1976-1980 1980-1986 1986-1989 |
B 1901 Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Racing White R.S.C. Anderlecht 1. FC Köln |
? ? ? ? 80 (2) |
| National team | ||
| 1970-1989 | Denmark | 102 (4) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1989-1992 1992-1994 1996-1998 2000- |
Brøndby IF 1. FC Köln Ajax Amsterdam Denmark |
|
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* Professional club appearances and goals |
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Morten Per Olsen (born August 14, 1949 in Vordingborg, Denmark) is a Danish former professional football (soccer) player and current football manager. He has been the head coach of the Danish national team since 2000, where he is under contract through 2010. As a player, he was the first Dane to reach 100 national team matches, as he played 102 matches and scored four goals for the national team from 1970 to 1989. Usually playing as a central defender, he often captained the Danish national team during the 1980s. He speaks six languages: Danish, Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, and Swedish.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
On the club level, he played for the following teams:
- 70 - 72 B 1901 (Denmark)
- 72 - 76 Cercle Brugge K.S.V. (Belgium)
- 76 - 80 Racing White (Belgium)
- 80 - 86 R.S.C. Anderlecht (Belgium)
- 86 - 89 1. FC Köln (Germany)
[edit] Coaching career
His career as a coach is noteworthy in that he has been fired in all of his clubs. Mostly because of disputes with players, other coaches or the club. He started in 1989 at then Danish champions Brøndby IF, whom he put through tough fitness training which, even though it disgruntled some players, elevated the team into European top class, as Brøndby reached the semi final of the 1991 UEFA Cup with Olsen at the helm. With the notable exception of Uche Okechukwu, his dabblings in the transfer market were not equally successful, which caused anger among the amateur department of the club, whose youth scheme they felt Olsen overlooked. As results began to lack in 1992, he was fired from the club.
He moved on to his former team 1. FC Köln which he saved from relegation, when coming to its aid in the last stages of the 1992 season. In his time in Germany he would become a certified coach, earning his "Fussball Lehrer Licenz" diploma in 1993. For two seasons he had the club positioned somewhat safely from relegation, despite not having any especially good players. But midway through the 1994 season, it wasn´t good enough for the Director Board and he was fired. He would have to wait for two years until Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands hired him in 1996. Before he was sacked in 1998, he succeeded in attracting Danish national team captain Michael Laudrup to the club, and together they won the Double of league championship and national cup trophy.
In 2000, he took over the position of head coach of the Denmark national football team after resigning Swedish coach Bo Johansson. As his assistant coach he chose Michael Laudrup, and the duo would go on to secure qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament, a campaign which did not end until the first knock-out stage. After the World Cup, Olsen signed a new four-year contract despite offers worth a much higher salary than the Danish Football Association (DBU) could muster. As a new assistant coach he chose Keld Bordinggaard, when Laudrup went on to coach Brøndby IF. With his new assistant, Olsen guided Denmark to the Euro 2004 tournament, which once again ended at the first knock-out stage. With his contract expiring in November 2005, Olsen failed to qualify Denmark for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he once again prolonged his arrangement with DBU, despite better offers from European clubs. A part of his new deal, which runs until 2010, is the added responsibility of defining a "red thread", or common denominator, in the talent work of the Danish national youth teams, thus having a large influence on the future football being played by Denmark.
[edit] Honours
Player
- Danish Player of the Year : 1983 and 1986
- Belgian First Division (3 titles): 1980-81, 1984-85, 1985-86
- UEFA Cup: 1982-83
Manager
- Danish Championship: 1990, 1991
- Dutch Eredivisie: 1998
- Dutch Cup: 1998
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Louis van Gaal |
Ajax Amsterdam managers 1997-1998 |
Succeeded by: Jan Wouters |
| Preceded by: Bo Johansson |
Danish national football team manager 2000– |
Succeeded by: current |
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Denmark squad - 1986 World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Rasmussen | 2 Sivebæk | 3 Busk | 4 M. Olsen | 5 I. Nielsen | 6 Lerby | 7 Mølby | 8 J. Olsen | 9 Berggreen | 10 Elkjær Larsen | 11 Laudrup | 12 Bertelsen | 13 Frimann | 14 Simonsen | 15 Arnesen | 16 Qvist | 17 K. Nielsen | 18 Christensen | 19 Eriksen | 20 Bartram | 21 Andersen | 22 Høgh | Coach: Piontek |
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Denmark squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup | |
|---|---|---|
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1 Sørensen | 2 Tøfting | 3 Henriksen | 4 Laursen | 5 Heintze | 6 Helveg | 7 Gravesen | 8 Grønkjær | 9 Tomasson | 10 Jørgensen | 11 Sand | 12 N. Jensen | 13 Lustü | 14 C. Jensen | 15 Michaelsen | 16 Kjær | 17 Poulsen | 18 Løvenkrands | 19 Rommedahl | 20 Bøgelund | 21 Madsen | 22 Christiansen | 23 Nielsen | Coach: Olsen |
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