Michael Gravgaard
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| Michael Gravgaard | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Julius Gravgaard | |
| Date of birth | April 3, 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Randers, Denmark | |
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
| 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) 79 (6) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2005-present | Denmark | 18 (5) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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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.
On June 2, 2007, Gravgaard stopped the attacking fan in the 2008 UEFA qualifier fan attack in an international match against Sweden which was subsequently abandoned.
[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
- Danish 2nd Division: 1998-99, with Randers
- Danish Superliga: 2005-06 & 2006-07, with FCK
- Royal League: 2005-06, with FCK
- 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] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Tobias Linderoth |
F.C. Copenhagen captain 2007–present |
Incumbent |
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