Martin Jørgensen

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This article is about the footballer. For the photographer who is married to a former Danish princess, see Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.
Martin Jørgensen
Personal information
Full nameLars Martin Jørgensen[1]
Date of birth (1975-10-06) 6 October 1975
Place of birthAarhus, Denmark
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionAttacking midfielder /
Right midfielder /
Right defender
Club information
Current clubAGF
Number10
Youth career
1979–1988Midtdjurs
1989–1993AGF
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1994–1997AGF93(14)
1997–2004Udinese184(30)
2004–2010Fiorentina151(14)
2010–AGF102(14)
National team‡
1991Denmark U162(0)
1991–1992Denmark U1711(1)
1992–1994Denmark U1910(3)
1994–1997Denmark U2131(9)
1998–2011[2]Denmark102(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 April 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 June 2010

Lars Martin Jørgensen (born 6 October 1975), more commonly known as Martin Jørgensen, is a Danish professional football player, who currently plays for Danish club AGF Aarhus. Jørgensen has played 102 matches and scored 12 goals for the Denmark national football team. He is the only player that has represented Denmark at three FIFA World Cups. He has also played at two European Championship tournaments. After Denmark's elimination from the 2010 World Cup, Jørgensen announced his retirement from the national team.[3] As he was close to reach his anniversary match no.100 for the national team, the coach Morten Olsen however decided to call him up for one last farewell match, in November 2010.[4] After a brief retirement, he returned to the national team as he was called up for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against Norway on 6 September 2011.[5]

He is the older brother of retired Danish football player Mads Jørgensen.

Biography

Born in Ryomgaard at Djursland he began his club career at the local club IF Midtdjurs. Jørgensen moved to AGF Aarhus as a youngster. Jørgensen's footballing talent was recognized as he was chosen to represent various Danish youth national teams from 1991 onward. He made his senior debut for AGF in 1993, and was a part of the GF team that won the 1996 Danish Cup trophy. He was named 1996 Danish under-21 Player of the Year, and eventually set a record of 31 games for the Danish under-21 national team, scoring 9 goals.

His contract with AGF had a release clause permitting Jørgensen to leave the club on a free transfer in April 1997. He moved to Italy, to play alongside fellow Dane Thomas Helveg at Udinese Calcio in the Serie A championship. He helped Udinese finish third in the 1997–98 season, and made his debut for the senior Danish national team in March 1998 against Scotland, under national team coach Bo Johansson. He was chosen to represent Denmark at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he got his international breakthrough. He took part in all five Denmark matches at the tournament and scored the opening goal in the 2–3 quarter-final defeat to eventual runners-up Brazil.

Jørgensen was called up by Johansson to compete for Denmark at the 2000 European Championship, despite being injured. The tournament was no success for Jørgensen, who played a single game as Denmark were eliminated in the preliminary group stage. He made his second World Cup appearance, under new coach Morten Olsen, at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He played in Denmark's three group stage matches, before suffering an injury which kept him from playing the 2nd round where Denmark were eliminated. At the 2004 European Championship, Jørgensen played in all Denmark's four matches before elimination.

After spending seven years at Udinese, Jørgensen moved to league rivals ACF Fiorentina in August 2004, when Fiorentina bought half of Jørgensen's transfer fee rights.

Jørgensen has proven to be a key asset to Fiorentinas attack and beloved by the fans. He is an attacking midfielder right behind the two strikers and during the 2007–2008 season also served as a right back for a majority of the season. He scored 2 goals in the UEFA Cup against Elfsborg and was a key part of the 3–2 victory over Juventus on 2 March 2008. His 2008–2009 season was plagued by an early onset of muscular injuries that left him out of the team until February 2009. He stated that once his time in Florence finished he would like to return to Aarhus before he retires. Despite a difficult season, he signed a contract extension to remain in Florence until June 2010. In the 2008–2009 season, Jørgensen scored a crucial 90th minute equalizer against Lecce which gifted Fiorentina the fourth and final Champions League slot.

On 9 December 2009 Jørgensen scored the first goal in Fiorentina's 2–1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, his first career goal in the Champions League, after receiving a nice pass from Alberto Gilardino on a counterattack. Fiorentina claimed top spot in the group with this win, having already eliminated Liverpool a fortnight prior.

On the second last day of the transfer window, 31 January 2010, Jørgensen returned to his childhood club, Danish AGF Aarhus for undisclosed fee.[6] He originally had 6 months contract left with La viola.

International goals

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 3 July 1998 Nantes, France  Brazil 1–0 2–3 1998 FIFA World Cup
2 8 September 1999 Napoli, Italy  Italy 1–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.
3 13 November 1999 Tel Aviv, Israel  Israel 4–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2000 Qual.
4 10 November 2001 Copenhagen, Denmark  Netherlands 1–1 1–1 Friendly match
5 11 October 2003 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
6 16 November 2003 Manchester, England  England 1–1 3–2 Friendly match
7 16 November 2003 Manchester, England  England 2–2 3–2 Friendly match
8 18 February 2004 Adana, Turkey  Turkey 1–0 1–0 Friendly match
9 4 September 2004 Copenhagen, Denmark  Ukraine 1–0 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
10 9 October 2004 Tirana, Albania  Albania 1–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11 8 June 2005 Copenhagen, Denmark  Albania 3–0 3–1 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
12 1 September 2006 Brøndby, Denmark  Portugal 3–2 4–2 Friendly match

Honours

  • 1996 Danish Cup
  • 1996 Danish under-21 Player of the Year

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Martin Jogensen - Century of International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 
  3. ↑ Lauridsen, Søren (24 June 2010). "Grønkjær stopper på landsholdet" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 24 June 2010. 
  4. ↑ DBU (8 November 2010). "Landsholdstrup klar til Århus".  (Danish)
  5. ↑ DBU (30 August 2011). "Comeback til Martin Jørgensen".  (Danish)
  6. ↑ Jorgensen leaves Fiorentina; Ontheminute.com, 1 February 2010

External links

AGF – current squad
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