Morten Bisgaard

Morten Bisgaard

Personal information
Date of birth	25 June 1974 (1974-06-25) (age 37)
Place of birth	Hadsten, Denmark
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	retired
Youth career
	Hadsten Gymnastikforening, Randers Freja
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1992	Randers Freja
1992–1998	OB	121	(35)
1992	→ Randers Freja (loan)
1993	→ Viborg FF (loan)
1998–2001	Udinese Calcio	36	(1)
2001–2004	F.C. Copenhagen	74	(10)
2004–2007	Derby County[A]	101	(10)
2007–2009	OB	24	(1)
National team
1990	Denmark U-17	9	(0)
1990–1993	Denmark U-19	12	(2)
1993–1996	Denmark U-21	8	(0)
1996–2000	Denmark	8	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 November 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Morten Bisgaard (born 25 June 1974) is a retired Danish professional football player, who played as a midfielder. He played eight games and scored one goal for the Denmark national football team, and represented his country at the 2000 European Championship. He now works as a commentator and expert on football on the Danish TV channel Canal 9 along with former players Peter Møller and Stig Tøfting.

Biography

Born in Randers, Bisgaard started playing football with local clubs. While playing for Randers Freja, he debuted for the Danish under-19 national team in October 1990, 16 years old. He made his senior debut for Randers Freja in the Danish 2nd Division West during the 1991-92 season. In July 1992, he moved to OB in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship.^[1] He stayed another half year with the Randers Freja, while finishing his education. In January 1993, Bisgaard was loaned out to Viborg FF in the Danish 1st Division, and helped the club win promotion for the Superliga in the summer 1993.

Bisgaard started his OB career in the summer 1993. He was a part of the OB team that eliminated multiple European Cup winners Real Madrid from the international 1994-95 UEFA Cup tournament. OB had lost the first match 2-3 at home in Odense. In the second game, Bisgaard came on as a substitute for wingback Steen Nedergaard. 15 seconds before the game ended, Bisgaard scored the final goal in OB's 2-0 win, and secured the club advancement in the tournament.^[2] OB was then eliminated by Italian club A.C. Parma in the quarter-finals.

Bisgaard got his national breakthrough in the 1996-96 Superliga season, when he played all 33 league games and scored 16 goals for OB. He was called up to the first Danish national team match of new national manager Bo Johansson, and Bisgaard made his international debut in the August 1996 game against Sweden. He played an additional national team game in April 1997, before he was sold to Italian club Udinese in the summer 1998. In his first year at Udinese, Bisgaard only played three games in the Italian Serie A championship, and was dropped from the national team. He played 20 games and scored one goal in his second season at Udinese, and was included in the Danish squad for the 2000 European Championship. He played two games at the tournament, both Denmark losses. Bisgaard played a further three national team games, before his national team career ended in October 2000.

He eventually moved back to Denmark, to play for defending Superliga champions F.C. Copenhagen (FCK) in the summer 2001. He helped guide FCK to the 2003 and 2004 Superliga championships, as well as the 2004 Danish Cup trophy. In the summer 2004, he moved to England to play for Derby County in the Football League Championship. In 2005, he lost his regular place in the first team squad. He managed 104 appearances and scored 10 goals in his three years at the club, from an attacking midfield position. As his Derby contract expired in the summer 2007, speculation had him joining a Superliga team. Especially Randers FC would be an obvious bid as future employer, as his previous coach Colin Todd will manage them from the summer 2007,^[3] but on 23 July 2007, his old club OB signed him on a two-year contract. He left the club in the summer of 2009, and subsequently retired from football.

References

1. ^ Torben Larsen, "B1909s bedste spiller til OB", B.T., 8 July 1992
2. ^ Leif Rasmussen, "Grønskollingernes triumf", Ekstra Bladet, 7 December 1994
3. ^ Færch Kvist, Thomas (2007). "Øst eller vest? Eller er hjemme bedst?". Tipsbladet Weekend (Week 18): pp. 14–15 

External links

• (Danish) OB profile
• (Danish) Danish national team profile
• Morten Bisgaard career stats at Soccerbase
• Morten Bisgaard at Danmarks Radio (Danish)
• National Football Teams career statistics

Persondata
Name	Bisgaard, Morten
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 June 1974
Place of birth	Randers, Denmark
Date of death
Place of death