Jesper Grønkjær facts for kids

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Jesper Grønkjær
Personal information
Grønkjær with Birmingham City in 2004
Date of birth	(1977-08-12) 12 August 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Godthåb, Greenland
Height	1.87m
Playing position	Winger Second striker
Youth career
	Thisted
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1995–1998	AaB	86	(10)
1998–2000	Ajax	55	(12)
2000–2004	Chelsea	88	(7)
2004–2005	Birmingham City	16	(0)
2005	Atlético Madrid	16	(0)
2005–2006	VfB Stuttgart	25	(0)
2006–2011	Copenhagen	114	(16)
Total		400	(45)
National team
1993	Denmark U-16	2	(2)
1992–1994	Denmark U-17	19	(13)
1994–1997	Denmark U-19	19	(7)
1996–1999	Denmark U-21	24	(4)
1999–2010	Denmark	80	(5)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jesper Grønkjær (born August 12, 1977) is a Danish former professional football player. He used to play as a winger, which means he played mostly on the sides of the field. He could also play as a second striker, helping to score goals.

Grønkjær played in 400 league games for many European clubs. He won the Dutch Cup with Ajax in 1999. He also played over 100 games for the English club Chelsea. Grønkjær finished his career with Copenhagen, where he won four Danish Superliga titles.

He played 80 games for the Denmark national team between 1999 and 2010, scoring five goals. He represented his country in the 2002 and 2010 World Cups. He also played in two European Championship tournaments. In 1995, he was named the Danish Under-19 Player of the Year.

Club Football Career: Jesper Grønkjær's Journey

Starting Out: Playing for AaB

Jesper Grønkjær grew up in Thisted, Denmark. He began his football journey with his local team, Thisted. People even said he could have been a sprinter because of how fast he was!

In 1995, he joined AaB, which was the champion of the Danish Superliga at the time. He played almost 100 matches for AaB. This included games in the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League tournament, which is a big European competition. His skills caught the eye of many top clubs in Europe.

Moving to Ajax: Dutch Success

In October 1997, AaB sold Grønkjær to the Dutch club Ajax for about £3.5 million. He moved to Amsterdam in July 1998. At Ajax, his coach was Morten Olsen, who was also Danish. He played alongside another Danish international player, Ole Tobiasen.

With Ajax, he won the 1998–99 KNVB Cup, which is the Dutch Cup. In the 1999–2000 season, fans voted him "Ajax Player of the Year." Again, many big teams wanted to sign him.

Time at Chelsea: The "Billion Pound Goal"

In October 2000, Grønkjær joined the Premier League club Chelsea for £7.8 million. This made him the most expensive Danish football player at that time. He was injured until January 2001, but then he started playing.

He played for Chelsea for four years. Sometimes he played very well, and other times his performance was not as strong. But when he was at his best, he was a real threat to opposing teams. He created and scored some very important goals for Chelsea. In his first match for Chelsea, on January 28, 2001, he scored two goals against Gillingham in the 2000-01 FA Cup.

Key Goal: Securing Champions League for Chelsea

One of his most famous moments at Chelsea was against Liverpool on the last day of the 2002–03 season. He helped Chelsea win 2–1 by assisting the first goal and scoring the second. This win meant Chelsea finished fourth in the league. This allowed them to play in the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League tournament.

This result was incredibly important. Qualifying for the Champions League was key for Roman Abramovich to buy the club, which was having money problems. Because of this, Grønkjær's goal is often called the "billion pound goal." He later said, "I remember the goal very well. It was a nice feeling, and a good reward for a great season."

Champions League and Other Goals

In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League quarter-final, Chelsea played against Arsenal. Grønkjær came on as a substitute in the second half. Chelsea was losing 1–0 at the time. Within six minutes, Chelsea scored to make it 1–1. Then, Wayne Bridge scored the winning goal, and Chelsea won 3–2 overall. They moved on to the semi-finals.

In the semi-final against Monaco, Grønkjær scored a goal from outside the penalty area. However, Chelsea was defeated by Monaco and did not reach the final. He also scored a goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 2003–04 season. His last goal for Chelsea was a header against Leeds United the following week.

Quick Moves: Three Clubs in Two Years

After Chelsea, Grønkjær joined Birmingham City in July 2004. He found it hard to play well there because the team was struggling. He only scored one goal for them.

In December 2004, he moved to Atlético Madrid in Spain. He struggled to settle in Spain and asked to leave. So, in the summer of 2005, he moved to the German club VfB Stuttgart. He joined fellow Dane Jon Dahl Tomasson there.

Despite high hopes, Stuttgart did not play well. Grønkjær and Tomasson openly criticized their coach, Giovanni Trapattoni, saying he didn't want to attack and win. Trapattoni was fired the next day. Soon after, Grønkjær was rumored to be moving back to Denmark.

Returning Home: Success with Copenhagen

On June 23, 2006, Grønkjær joined Copenhagen, the Danish Superliga champions. He was seen as a key player to help Copenhagen play in the UEFA Champions League. He helped the team qualify for the 2006–07 tournament, which was the first time in the club's history.

He got a groin injury in a Champions League match in September 2006. He returned to play in November. On December 6, 2006, he scored his second Champions League goal against Celtic. Copenhagen won that match 3–1. By the end of the season, Copenhagen won the 2006–07 Danish Superliga championship again. In November 2007, Grønkjær was named both Superliga Profile of the Year and Superliga Player of the Year.

Injuries and More Trophies

In May 2008, Grønkjær hurt his knee. The injury got infected and needed three surgeries. He didn't fully recover until January 2009. By the end of that season, he was back in the starting team. He helped Copenhagen win both the 2008–09 Danish Superliga championship and the 2008–09 Danish Cup trophy.

He played the most games of his Copenhagen career in the 2009–10 season. He helped the club win the 2009–10 Danish Superliga championship again.

Champions League and Retirement

Grønkjær scored two goals in 12 games to help Copenhagen reach the 2010–11 Champions League Round of 16. This was the first time a Danish team had gone that far. Copenhagen was eventually knocked out by his old team, Chelsea.

On May 26, 2011, Grønkjær announced he would retire from professional football after the last league match. Copenhagen had already won the 2010–11 Danish Superliga championship that season. He said, "I'd like to be able to go jogging when I have played my last football game. I want a life without aches." He played his last game against his first professional club, AaB, and scored the final goal in a 2–0 win for Copenhagen.

Brief Return to Amateur Football

On February 1, 2016, it was confirmed that Grønkjær had signed with a lower amateur team called Græsrødderne.

International Career: Playing for Denmark

Grønkjær started playing for Danish youth national teams in October 1992. He scored three goals in six matches as the Denmark national youth team won silver medals at the 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship. This showed he was one of Denmark's brightest young talents. In 1995, he was named the Danish Under-19 Player of the Year. Overall, he scored 26 goals in 64 youth international games for Denmark.

Senior Team Debut and Euro 2000

In his first year at Ajax, Grønkjær made his debut for the senior Denmark national team. This was in a qualification game for the 2000 European Championship (Euro 2000) against Italy on March 27, 1999. In the very first minute, he accidentally passed the ball to an Italian forward, who scored. Despite this tough start, Grønkjær became an important player for the national team. He played all three of Denmark's games at the Euro 2000 tournament.

World Cups and Euro 2004

While playing for Chelsea, Grønkjær became a regular player for the Denmark national team under coach Morten Olsen. He played in all four of Denmark's games at the 2002 World Cup. In the qualification games for Euro 2004, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over Norway. This helped Denmark qualify for the tournament in Portugal.

He missed the first game of Euro 2004 because his mother passed away. But he joined the Danish team in Portugal and scored the second goal in a 2–0 win against Bulgaria.

He was also part of Denmark's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. After Denmark was eliminated from the 2010 World Cup, Grønkjær announced he was retiring from international football.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe/Royal League		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
AaB	1995–96	Superliga	29	3			–		8	0	37	3
	1996–97	Superliga	28	1			–		–		28	1
	1997–98	Superliga	29	6			–		–		29	6
	Total		86	10			–		8	0	94	10
Ajax	1998–99	Eredivisie	25	8	4	2	–		4	0	33	10
	1999–2000	Eredivisie	25	3	1	0	–		4	0	30	3
	2000–01	Eredivisie	5	1	0	0	–		1	1	6	2
	Total		55	12	5	2	0	0	9	1	69	15
Chelsea	2000–01	Premier League	14	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	16	3
	2001–02	Premier League	13	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
	2002–03	Premier League	30	4	5	1	2	0	2	0	39	5
	2003–04	Premier League	31	2	4	0	3	0	10	1	48	3
	Total		88	7	14	3	5	0	12	1	119	11
Birmingham City	2004–05	Premier League	16	0	0	0	2	1	–		18	1
Atlético Madrid	2004–05	La Liga	16	0	1	0	–		–		17	0
VfB Stuttgart	2005–06	Bundesliga	25	0	2	0	1	0	7	0	35	0
Copenhagen	2006–07	Superliga	21	5	4	0	–		11	2	36	7
	2007–08	Superliga	25	3	3	1	–		7	1	35	5
	2008–09	Superliga	14	2	0	0	–		2	0	16	2
	2009–10	Superliga	29	2	1	0	–		12	4	42	6
	2010–11	Superliga	25	4	1	0	–		12	2	38	6
	Total		114	16	9	1	–		44	9	167	26
Career total			400	45	31	6	8	1	80	11	519	63

International Goals

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

List of international goals scored by Jesper Grønkjær
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	25 April 2001	Copenhagen, Denmark	Slovenia	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2	26 May 2002	Wakayama, Japan	Tunisia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
3	7 June 2003	Copenhagen, Denmark	Norway	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier
4	20 August 2003	Copenhagen, Denmark	Finland	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5	18 June 2004	Braga, Portugal	Bulgaria	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2004