Jesper Grønkjær

Jesper Grønkjær (Danish pronunciation: [jesb̥ɐ ˈɡ̊ʁɶnɡ̊ɛːˀɐ̯]; born 12 August 1977 in Nuuk, Greenland) is a Danish professional football player who currently plays for amateur-side FC Græsrødderne.

A pacey winger, he was able to play on the right or left wing and as a second striker. Grønkjær played a total 400 league games for a number of European clubs, most notably winning the 1999 Dutch Cup with Ajax Amsterdam and playing more than 100 games for English club Chelsea. He ended his career with FC Copenhagen, winning four Danish Superliga titles with the club.

Grønkjær was capped 80 times for the Danish national team from 1999 to 2010, scoring five goals. He played for his country at the World Cup in 2002 and the 2010, as well as two European Championship tournaments. He was named 1995 Danish Under-19 Player of the Year.

Club career

AaB & Ajax

Raised in Thisted, Grønkjær started his career with local team Thisted FC. Earlier in his career he was told that he could have been a sprinter. He moved on to defending Danish Superliga champions Aalborg Boldspilklub (AaB) in 1995. He played almost 100 matches for the club, including games in the European 1995–96 UEFA Champions League tournament. He attracted the attention of a string of European top clubs.