Michael Gravgaard

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Michael Gravgaard
Personal information
Full name Michael Julius Gravgaard
Date of birth April 3, 1978 (age 28)
Place of birth    Randers, Denmark
Height 1.86 m
Nickname Copenhagen Air Force
Playing position Centre defender, striker
Club information
Current club F.C. Copenhagen
Number 14
Youth clubs
Spentrup IF
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1996–2002
2002–2005
2005–present		 Randers Freja
Viborg FF
F.C. Copenhagen		 –
94 (18)
46 0(5)   
National team2
2005–present Denmark 14 0(5)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 31 March 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 28 March 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Michael Gravgaard (born April 3, 1978) is a Danish professional footballer, who is currently playing for F.C. Copenhagen. He normally plays the centre back position, but he can also play as a striker. He has played more than 10 games and scored five goals for the Danish national team.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Born in Randers, Gravgaard started his senior career with local club Randers Freja in 1996. Initially playing in the lower-league Danish 2nd Division, Gravgaard helped the club win promotion to the 1st Division in 1999. He entered the Danish top-flight football relatively late in his career, as he foremost wished to pursue an academic career. Only after graduating as an accountant, Gravgaard signed a contract in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship, when he moved to Viborg FF in the summer 2002.

At Viborg, he established himself as one of the best central defenders in the Superliga, and he was at times used, with relative success, as a striker. In his three seasons at Viborg, he appeared in 94 league games for the club and he scored 18 goals. In the summer break 2005, Gravgaard moved on to league rivals F.C. Copenhagen (FCK), alongside Viborg's goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen. He quickly established himself among the key players of FCK, and due to his heading ability, he soon earned the nickname of "Copenhagen Air Force" among the FCK fans.

He was selected for the Danish national team in August 2005. He played the second half, coming on as a substitute for Per Nielsen, and scored the goal to 3-0, in a 4-1 friendly match win against England. Gravgaard played his first full international match on September 7, 2005, against Georgia. In the following two games against Greece and Kazakhstan, he scored a goal in each match. The start of his national team career thus featured three goals in five games, an impressive tally for a central defender.

In the January 2007 transfer window, he was linked with a move to English clubs Newcastle United and West Ham United, but the rumours quickly took off.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2005-08-17 Copenhagen, Denmark England 3-0 4-1 Friendly match
2 2005-10-08 Copenhagen, Denmark Greece 1-0 1-0 World Cup 2006 qual.
3 2005-10-12 Almaty, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 1-0 2-1 World Cup 2006 qual.
4 2006-10-11 Vaduz, Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 2-0 4-0 Euro 2008 qual.
5 2007-03-24 Madrid, Spain Spain 1-2 1-2 Euro 2008 qual.

[edit] Honours

Team
Individual
  • 2005 Danish Superliga profile (by the Superliga managers)
  • 2005 Danish profile of the year (by the player association)
  • 2005 Danish team of the year (by the player association)
  • 2006 Danish Superliga autumn profile (by Tipsbladet)
  • 2006 Danish profile of the year (by the player association)
  • 2006 Danish team of the year (by the player association)

[edit] External links


F.C. Copenhagen - Current Squad

1 Christiansen | 2 Jacobsen | 3 Jensen | 4 Nørregaard | 5 Hangeland | 6 Linderoth | 7 Aílton | 8 Silberbauer | 9 Berglund | 10 Grønkjær | 11 Allbäck | 13 Hutchinson | 14 Gravgaard | 16 Thomassen | 17 Wendt | 21 Villadsen | 22 Bertolt | 23 W. Kvist | 24 Brandrup | 26 Hansen | 29 L. Qvist | 31 Gall | 41 Coe | Coach Solbakken
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/i/c/Michael_Gravgaard_1dcd.html"
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