Denmark would be forgiven for leaning heavily to the left. Thanks to the partnership between Simon Poulsen and Michael Krohn-Dehli on the left flank, the Danes orchestrated the first great surprise of Euro 2012, beating heavily fancied Holland 1-0.
The breakthrough came on 24 minutes in Denmark’s Euro 2012 opener, when Poulsen set the left wing on fire before providing an assist (with a little luck, due to a deflection) for Krohn-Dehli, who easily surged past Dutch defender John Heitinga and hit a perfectly placed shot through the legs of Holland goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Both Poulsen and Krohn-Dehli may be Danish, but their career development owes much to the country they helped to put to the sword – Holland. Poulsen arrived at AZ Alkmaar in the summer of 2007, making the switch from FC Midtylland, though he only made his breakthrough last season, becoming a key player for the club in both the Eredivisie and Europa League. A modern full back, quick, full of energy, attack-minded, but defensively solid, the 27-year-old has a bright future. The defender’s status as a free agent has led to talk of a move to Ajax after Euro 2012.
Unlike Poulsen, Krohn-Dehli plied his trade for eight years in Holland, but moved back home to shake off the label of “wasted talent”. After excelling as a youth team player at Ajax under Danny Blind, the speedster failed to make the breakthrough at the Dutch giants, leaving on a free transfer in 2004 without having made so much as one senior team appearance.
After two seasons with RKC Waalwijk, Ajax re-signed Krohn-Dehli, but once again his performances, including a six-month loan stint with Sparta Rotterdam, were far from impressive; he also suffered injury problems. The winger finally left Holland to join Brondby in the summer of 2008, just two days before the transfer window slammed shut.
Once in Denmark, Krohn-Dehli quickly developed into one of the country’s best players. After an exciting 2010/11 season, in which he scored 12 goals, the winger became a regular in the Denmark team; he helped Morten Olsen’s side qualify for Euro 2012 with goals against Cyprus and Portugal. And last Saturday he became the first Danish player since Allan Nielsen (1996) to score on his European Championship debut.
“Some might think that goal was some sort of revenge against Dutch football”, said Krohn-Dehli, “but it isn’t. I still have a lot of friends in Holland and even my girlfriend is Dutch. Of course, they weren’t happy, but this is football.”
For Krohn-Dehli, the match against Holland was a reunion with former team-mates Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel, Nigel de Jong, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. “I was one of the few at Ajax who did not become a star”, admitted the winger.
While all eyes were focused on starlet Christian Eriksen and on established players such as Dennis Rommedahl, Nicklas Bendtner and Daniel Agger, Denmark produced a surprise result with two relatively unknown performers in Poulsen and Krohn-Dehli making the difference. Their strong partnership on the left flank could give Olsen’s men the boost they need to defy the odds at Euro 2012.
