Daniel Agger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Daniel Agger

Agger with Denmark at UEFA Euro 2012
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Munthe Agger
Date of birth	(1984-12-12) 12 December 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Hvidovre, Denmark
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Denmark (assistant)
Youth career
0000–1996	Rosenhøj BK
1996–2004	Brøndby
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2006	Brøndby	34	(5)
2006–2014	Liverpool	175	(9)
2014–2016	Brøndby	43	(2)
Total		252	(16)
International career
2003–2004	Denmark U20	10	(1)
2004–2006	Denmark U21	10	(3)
2005–2016	Denmark	75	(12)
Managerial career
2021–2023	HB Køge
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel Munthe Agger (born 12 December 1984) is a Danish football coach and former player. He is currently the assistant manager for the Danish national football team. As a player, he was a centre-back for Brøndby and Liverpool. He also captained the Denmark national team. People described Agger as a player who understood the game well, was good with the ball, and had a very powerful shot. He was named the Danish Football Player of the Year in 2007 and 2012.

Daniel Agger started his professional career with Brøndby in July 2004. There, he helped his team win the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup. In January 2006, he moved to Liverpool. He played 175 Premier League games for Liverpool and won the League Cup and Community Shield. Agger returned to Brøndby in August 2014 for personal reasons. He retired from playing football two years later, when he was 31 years old.

Agger played for the Danish national team from 2005. He played 75 games and scored 11 goals for his country. He played for Denmark in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. He was the captain of the team at Euro 2012.

Club Career Highlights

Playing for Brøndby IF

Agger training with Brøndby in 2005

In July 2004, Daniel Agger moved from the youth team to the main team at Brøndby. He quickly became a key player for the team. He helped them win the 2004–05 Danish Superliga championship. After the first half of that season, Agger was named the 2004 "talent of the year" by the Danish players' association.

In September 2005, he got an injury during the 2005–06 Danish Superliga season. This injury kept him from playing for the rest of 2005. Even with the injury, on 6 December 2005, Agger was given the Danish "talent of the year" award for all sports. He was only 20 years old at the time.

Playing for Liverpool

Daniel Agger was often linked with a move to a bigger club. In January 2006, he joined Premier League team Liverpool. Liverpool was the current champion of the UEFA Champions League at that time. On 12 January 2006, Agger signed a 4.5-year contract with Liverpool. The fee for his transfer made him the most expensive player ever sold by a Danish club to a foreign club. During his first half-season at Liverpool, injuries meant he only played four games. He also missed Liverpool's win in the 2006 FA Cup Final.

First Seasons at Liverpool (2006–2008)

Agger playing for Liverpool in 2007

Agger played the whole game when Liverpool won the 2006 FA Community Shield against Chelsea. He started to become a regular player in Liverpool's team. He competed with Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypiä for a spot in the central defence. Agger scored his first goal for Liverpool on 26 August 2006. It was a powerful shot from about 35 yards out in a 2–1 win against West Ham United. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez said he was not surprised, as Agger often scored such goals in training. This goal was named "Goal of the Month" by the BBC and later Liverpool's "Premiership Goal of the Season".

Agger scored his second goal for Liverpool in a Football League Cup game against Birmingham City. He scored his third goal against Arsenal with a header in a 4–1 win. In the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League semi-final, Agger scored a goal against Chelsea. This helped Liverpool win 1–0 and reach the final. He played in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, which Liverpool lost 2–1 to Milan.

Agger started the 2007 pre-season well, scoring two goals. However, he got a foot injury in September. This injury kept him out of action for a long time. He had surgery on his foot and missed the rest of the season.

Returning from Injury (2008–2010)

Agger playing for Liverpool in 2008

Agger returned to full training in July 2008. He said he felt like he was "starting his career at Liverpool all over again." He played in Liverpool's first game of the season in the Champions League qualifiers. After some time on the sidelines, Agger returned to the starting team against Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup. He scored the first goal from a free kick, and Liverpool won 2–1.

Agger returned to the Premier League team against Wigan. He helped set up a goal for Dirk Kuyt, and Liverpool won 3–2. On 11 April 2009, Agger scored a goal from 30 yards against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 win. He celebrated by pointing to the sky to remember the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. In May 2009, Agger signed a new five-year contract with Liverpool.

In August 2009, Agger had surgery for a back injury. He returned to play on 25 October 2009 in a 2–0 win against Manchester United. On 28 February 2010, Agger played his 100th game for Liverpool. He scored his seventh goal for the club with a great backheel against Benfica in the UEFA Europa League. He helped Liverpool reach the semi-finals of that competition.

Later Seasons at Liverpool (2010–2014)

Agger played against Arsenal on 15 August 2010 but got a concussion. This injury kept him out of several games. He also had other injury problems that kept him from playing until December. He was ruled out for the rest of the season in March 2011 due to a knee injury. He only played 21 games that season.

Agger (left) with Steven Gerrard after a game against Roma in July 2012

On 29 October 2011, Daniel Agger played his 100th Premier League game for Liverpool. On 28 January 2012, Agger scored the first goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup. On 26 February 2012, he helped Liverpool win their first trophy since 2006, the 2012 Football League Cup Final. He injured his ribs during the match. On 8 May 2012, Agger scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a 4–1 win against Chelsea.

Agger started the 2012–13 season with a red card in a 3–0 loss to West Bromwich Albion. On 5 October, Agger signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. On 12 November 2012, he was named Danish Player of the Year for the second time. On 1 December 2012, Agger scored a header against Southampton in a 1–0 win. On 30 December, he scored another header against QPR in a 3–0 win. Agger played his 200th game for Liverpool on 21 February 2013.

On 9 August 2013, Agger became Liverpool's vice-captain. He scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season on 1 January 2014 in a 2–0 win over Hull. He also scored the equalizer in Liverpool's last home game of the season against Newcastle.

Return to Brøndby and Retirement

Agger playing for Brøndby in 2014

On 30 August 2014, Liverpool announced that Agger had rejoined his old club, Brøndby IF. He signed a two-year deal and took a big pay cut. He chose to play in Denmark because the league was less physically demanding.

On 9 June 2016, at the age of 31, Agger announced he was retiring from football. His contract with Brøndby had ended.

International Career

Daniel Agger played his first game for Denmark on 2 June 2005. He played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 friendly win against Finland. On 7 September, he scored his first goal for Denmark in a 6–1 win against Georgia. In May 2006, he played for the Danish under-21 national team in the 2006 European Under-21 Championship.

Agger scored on 2 June 2007 in a 3–3 draw against Sweden. He played eight games in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scoring once against Malta. In the World Cup in South Africa, Agger scored an own goal in a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands. He played in all three group stage games before Denmark was eliminated.

Agger (in white) playing for Denmark against Portugal in 2008

Agger first captained Denmark on 11 August 2010 in a 2–2 friendly draw with Germany. He became the full-time captain a year later. Under his captaincy, Denmark qualified for UEFA Euro 2012. He played in all their group stage games before they were eliminated.

On 15 October 2013, Agger scored two penalty goals in a 6–0 win against Malta. This helped Denmark finish second in their World Cup qualifying group. On 28 May 2014, he scored the only goal from a penalty in a win over Sweden. Denmark did not qualify for Euro 2016. Agger then decided to end his playing career in 2016, which also meant retiring from international football.

Life After Football

After retiring from football, Daniel Agger and his wife moved to Marbella in Spain. Agger now runs a sewerage company called KloAgger with his brother, uncle, and a childhood friend. He also invested in a tattoo company called Tattoodo.

Agger played in a charity match for Liverpool on 25 March 2017 against Real Madrid. In April 2017, Agger started a golf project to raise money for the Danish charity fund "Red Barnet". He created "The Agger Foundation" and held events called "Agger for Charity". He invited former Liverpool stars like Pepe Reina and Steven Gerrard to his charity events in Copenhagen. Agger has always loved golf and has given a lot of money to charity over the years.

Managerial Career

In March 2021, it was announced that Agger would become the manager of Danish 1st Division team HB Køge starting in June 2021. Former Danish national team player Lars Jacobsen was his assistant. After two seasons in charge, Agger left the club in June 2023.

On 8 August 2024, Agger became the assistant manager of the Denmark national football team.

Personal Life and Tattoos

In May 2010, Agger married his girlfriend Sofie Nielsen in Denmark. They have two sons.

In September 2014, Agger gave money to the Denmark homeless national football team. This helped them pay for travel to the Homeless World Cup in Chile. Agger founded The Agger Foundation in 2012 to help children in need.

Agger has "YNWA" tattooed on his knuckles

Outside of football, Daniel Agger is a trained tattoo artist. He has many tattoos. These include a Viking on his upper right arm and a large drawing of Vikings and a graveyard on his whole back. This back tattoo includes his birth date and a Latin phrase that means "death is certain, its hour is uncertain." He also has a design around his left elbow that says "Success is to live as you wish" in Danish. In August 2012, when people were wondering about his future at Liverpool, Agger got the letters "YNWA" tattooed on his right hand fingers. This stands for "You'll Never Walk Alone", which is the famous song of Liverpool F.C.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances

International Appearances

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Agger goal.

List of international goals scored by Daniel Agger

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	7 September 2005	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	4	Georgia	3–1	6–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	11 October 2008	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	22	Malta	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	9 February 2011	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	39	England	1–0	1–2	Friendly
4	15 November 2011	Blue Water Arena, Esbjerg, Denmark	44	Finland	1–0	2–1	Friendly
5	2 June 2012	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	46	Australia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
6	26 March 2013	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	56	Bulgaria	1–1	1–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	10 September 2013	Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	58	Armenia	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	15 October 2013	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	60	Malta	2–0	6–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
9					4–0
10	28 May 2014	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	64	Sweden	1–0	1–0	Friendly
11	3 September 2014	TRE-FOR Park, Odense, Denmark	65	Turkey	1–0	1–2	Friendly

Awards and Achievements

Brøndby

• Danish Superliga: 2004–05
• Danish Cup: 2004–05
• Danish League Cup: 2005

Liverpool

• Football League Cup: 2011–12
• FA Community Shield: 2006
• FA Cup runner-up: 2011–12
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2006–07

Individual Awards

• Danish Football Player of the Year: 2007, 2012
• Danish U21 Young Player of the Year: 2005
• BBC Goal of the Month: August 2006

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Agger para niños