The Danish Connection

Denmark is famous for its high quality of life, hygge and happiness, progressive social policies, architecture, design and innovation, its connection to the Vikings, Greenland, cycling culture, Christiania, the Little Mermaid, Tivoli Gardens, Lego, stegt flæsk national dish, its high quality pork and bacon, Smørrebrød, Carlsberg and Tuborg beer, Hans Christian Andersen, Lars Von Trier, Viggo Mortensen, Caroline Wozniacki and much more including its football tradition.

Denmark have participated in 6 World Cups, their best result being the quarter finals of 1988. They have taken part in 9 European Championships and stunned Europe by winning in 1992. Denmark's top players in history include Harald Nielsen, Alen Simonsen, Preben Elkjaer Larsen, Peter Schmeichel, Michael Laudrup, Morten Olsen, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Christian Eriksen.

Denmark are currently ranked 21st in the world by FIFA.

The domestic league is called the Superligaen. The most successful clubs are: FC København (16 league titles), Kjobenhavns Boldklub (15), Brondby (11), Akadmisk Boldklub (9), B 93 (9), B 1903 (7), Frem (6), Aarhus (5), Vejle (5), Esbjerg (5), FC Midtjylland (4), Aalborg (4), Odense (3), Hvidovre (3). In recent years it's been a battle between FC København (current champions), Midtjylland and Brondby.

Here are some Danes who have played or are playing in Italy and for Lazio.

1950's

• Johannes Ploger - forward (Juventus 1948-49, Novara 1949-50, Torino 1950-51, Udinese 1951-54, 138 league games and 17 league goals)

• Ivan Tage Jensen - defender (Bologna 1949-56, 181 league games and 1 goal)

• Helge Bronée - forward (Palermo 1950-52, Roma 1952-54, Juventus 1954-55, Novara 1955-56, 177 league games and 56 league goals)

• Axel Pilmark - midfielder (Bologna 1950-59, 274 league games and 4 goals)

Source Lazio Wiki

John Hansen - forward - Lazio

John Hansen arrived at Lazio after six seasons with Juventus (188 league games, 124 goals and 2 Scudetti)

At Lazio the manager was first Federico Allasio and then George Raynor. Lazio struggled and finished 12th but Hansen helped with an impressive 15 goals in 27 league games.

He only stayed one season and at 30 went back to Denmark and to his original club, Frem.

Karl Aage Praest - midfielder-Lazio

Karl Aage Praest arrived at Lazio in 1956 from Juventus, where he had played 7 seasons (233 league games, 51 goals and 2 Scudetti).

At Lazio the manager was Englishman, Jesse Carver. The Biancocelesti had an excellent season finishing 3rd. Praest however only played 7 league games. He then retired at 35.

1960's

• Harald Nielsen - forward (Bologna 1961-67, Inter 1967-68, Napoli 1968-69, Sampdoria 1969-70, 179 league games and 85 league goals with 1 Scudetto with Bologna)

• Flemmimg Nielsen - midfielder (Atalanta 1961-64, 91 league games and 8 league goals with 1 Coppa Italia)

Kurt Christensen - midfielder - Lazio

Kurt Christensen arrived at Lazio from Atalanta in 1964. He had been with the Bergamaschi for three seasons in Serie A, winning a Coppa Italia and playing 25 league games with 3 goals.

At Lazio he stayed one season, under Umberto Mannocci. The Biancocelesti finished 14th and he played 20 league games with 3 goals (Catania x2, Vicenza) plus 2 games in Coppa Italia. His nickname was Flipper. His teammates included future manager and legend Eugenio Fascetti.

After Lazio he played for Catania and then Odense back in his homeland.

In 1966 following Italy's disastrous World Cup campaign (eliminated by North Korea) the borders were closed. No more new foreign players were allowed until 1980-81.

1980's

• Klaus Berggreen - midfielder (Pisa 1982-86, Roma 1986-87, Torino 1987-88, 174 league games and 37 league goals)

Michael Laudrup - midfielder/forward - Lazio

Source Lazio Wiki

Michael Laudrup arrived at Lazio from Brøndby but was on loan from Juventus. He was only 19 and Lazio were newly promoted. He stayed two seasons. These were the years of Giorgio Chinaglia's presidency, full of financial uncertainty and difficulty.

In the first, 1983-84, under Juan Carlos Morrone and then Paolo Carosi Lazio struggled but survived. Laudrup or "Michelino", as he was called in Rome, played 30 league games and scored 8 goals (Verona x2, Inter, Catania, Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli x2) plus 5 games in Coppa Italia.

His second year went worse. Lazio started off with Carosi then, an already past it, Juan Carlos Lorenzo and finally the Giancarlo Oddi-Bob Lovati duo. The Biancocelesti were relegated and Laudrup played 30 league games and scored 1 goal (Como) plus 5 games in Coppa Italia with 3 goals (Padova, Pistoiese, Varese).

He had difficulty adapting to life in Italy and Serie A with its tactical defensiveness and tough man to man marking.

In Rome however Laudrup showed flashes of his immense talent and class. It was obvious he would go on to better things which he certainly did playing for Juventus and then both Barcelona and Real Madrid. His successes include 1 Scudetto, 5 Ligas, 1 European Cup and 1 Intercontinental Cup. A superb player.

• Preben Elkjaer Larsen (Verona 1984-88, 91 league games and 32 league goals with 1 Scudetto 1984)

• Andreas Limpar - midfielder - Cremonese 1989-90 (24 league games and 3 goals)

1990's

• Henrik Larsen - midfielder (Pisa 1990-91, 1992-93, 41 league games and 1 league goal)

• Jonas Thern - midfielder (Napoli 1992-94, Roma 1994-97, 107 league games and 4 goals)

• Brian Laudrup - midfielder (Fiorentina 1992-93, Milan 1993-94,40 league games and 6 league goals)

• Thomas Helveg - defender (Udinese 1993-98, Milan 1998-2003, Inter 2003-04, 269 league games and 6 league goals, with 1 Scudetto and 1 Coppa Italia with Milan)

• Martin Jørgensen - midfielder (Udinese 1997-2004, Fiorentina 2004-10, 335 league games and 44 league goals)

• Morten Bisgaard - midfielder (Udinese 1998-2001, 36 league games and 1 league goal)

• Peter Knudsen - midfielder (Bari 1998-99, and 3 league goals)

2000's

• Per Krøldrup - defender (Udinese 2001-05, Fiorentina 2006-12, Pescara 2013, 204 league games and 6 league goals)

• Jon Dahl Tomasson - forward (Milan 2002-05, 75 league games and 22 league goals with 1 Scudetto, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 Champions League)

Christian Keller - midfielder - Lazio

Christian Keller arrived at Lazio from Torino in 2005. The Granata had signed him in June but then went bankrupt and were excluded from Serie A and restarted in B so Keller joined Lazio.

The manager was Delio Rossi and Lazio finished 6th but were then demoted to 16th after being docked 30 points for their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal. Keller played 7 league games and 2 in Coppa Italia.

He did not convince Lazio to keep him on and his next club was Stabaek in Norway. He later played for Kasimpasa in Turkey, then Randers and Viborg in Denmark.

• Christian Poulsen - midfielder (Juventus 2008-10, 48 league games and 1 league goal)

• Simon Kjaer - defender (Palermo 2008-10, Roma 2011-12, Atalanta 2019-20, Milan 2020-present, 180 league games and 5 league goals))

2010-2024

• Nicklas Bendtner - forward (Juventus 2012-13, 9 league games)

• Matti Nielsen - midfielder (Pescara 2012-13, Verona 2013, Pescara 2013-15, Perugia 2015, 89 league games and 4 league goals)

• Joachim Andersen - defender (Sampdoria 2017-19, 39 league games)

• Andreas Cornelius - forward (Atalanta 2017-18, 2019 Parma, 78 league games and 16 league goals) 

• Jens Stryger Larsen - defender (Udinese 2017-22, 143 league games and 5 league goals)

Riza Durmisi - defender- Lazio

Riza Durmisi arrived at Lazio from Betis Seville in 2018. The manager was Simone Inzaghi and Lazio finished 8th but won the Coppa Italia. Durmisi played 10 league games, 2 in Coppa Italia and 7 in Europa League.

The following year, in January, he left on loan to play for Nice in France before making any further appearances for Lazio.

He returned to Lazio in 2020 but again before playing left on loan to Salernitana in January.

He was back in in 2021 with manager Maurizio Sarri but left again on loan in January, this time to Sparta Rotterdam.

He then had further loan periods at Leganés and Tenerife in Spain before being sold to LKS Lódź in Poland.

It is fair to say Durmisi was not a success at Lazio, playing at left back, as he was weak defensively.

• Christian Nørgaard - midfielder (Fiorentina 2018-19, 6 league games)

• Jacob Rasmussen - defender (Empoli 2018-19, Fiorentina 2019-20, 14 league games)

• Andreas Skov Olsen - midfielder (Bologna 2019-22, 70 league games and 3 league goals)

• Christian Eriksen - midfielder (Inter 2020-21, 43 league games and 4 league goals)

• Rasmus Højlund - forward (Atalanta 2022-23, 32 league games and 9 goals)

• Andreas Jungdal - goalkeeper- Milan 2021-23 (0 games), Cremonese 2023-Jan 2025 (18 league games)

• Rasmus Højlund - forward - Atalanta 2022-23 (32 league games and 9 goals). He left for Manchester United

• Magnus Kofod Andersen - midfielder- Venezia 2022-25 (66 games, 1 goal)

Gustav Isaksen - forward - Lazio

Gustav Isaksen arrived at Lazio in 2023 from Midtjylland where he had impressed in two Europa League games as an opponent.

At Lazio the manager was first Maurizio Sarri and then, from mid-March, Croat Igor Tudor. Isaksen played 28 league games with 3 goals (Frosinone, Bologna, Salernitana), 3 games in Coppa Italia and 5 games in the Champions League. In 2024-25 under manager Marco Baroni he played 49 games (37 in A) with 6 goals. He definitely improved in his second season with some important goals but still has to find consistency in his performances. He has 9 caps for Denmark with 3 goals.

• Patrick Dorgu - defender/midfielder - Lecce 2023-25 (57 games and 5 goals). He left for Manchester United

• Victor Kristensen- defender - Bologna- 2023-24 (34 games)

• Jesper Lindstrom- midfielder- Napoli 2023-24 (29 games)

• Simon Graves- defender- Palermo 2023-24 (20 games, 1 goal)

In 2024-25 there were 13 Danes in Serie A: Morten Frendrup (Genoa), Gustav Isaksen (Lazio), Jeppe Corfitzen (Lecce),), Thomas Kristensen (Udinese), Victor Nelsson (Roma), Jens Odgaard (Bologna), Philip Billing (Verona), Casper Tengstedt (Verona), Oliver Provstgaard (Lazio), Sebastian Otoa (Genoa), Martin Frese (Verona), Christian Gytkjær (Venezia), Tobias Slotsager (Verona).

In Serie B: Oliver Abligaard (Pisa) & Oliver Christensen (Salernitana).

In C: Frederik Sørensen (Feralpisalò).