Martin Pedersen (footballer)

Martin Pedersen

Personal information
Date of birth	October 9, 1983 (1983-10-09) (age 28)
Place of birth	Denmark
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	FC Hjørring
Number	69
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002-2008	AaB	99	(2)
2005-2006	SønderjyskE (loan)	25	(0)
2009-2011	Vejle Boldklub	18	(0)
2010	Valur (loan)	20	(2)
2011-	FC Hjørring	12	(0)
National team‡
1999	Denmark U-16	1	(0)
2002-2004	Denmark U-20	6	(0)
2002-2006	Denmark U-21	28	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of May 26, 2006

Martin Pedersen (born October 9, 1983) is a Danish professional football player who plays for Danish Second Division team FC Hjørring. He has played 28 games for the Danish under-21 national team, and was selected for the 2006 European Under-21 Championship.

Club career

Pedersen made his senior debut for Aalborg BK (AaB) in the 2002-03 Superliga season. At age 21, he had played 39 Superliga matches for AaB. Struggling to capture a first team spot in competition with Danish international defender Allan K. Jepsen, Pedersen was put on loan with Superliga relegation battlers SønderjyskE for the 2005-06 Superliga season. He played 25 games for SønderjyskE, but could not prevent them from being relegated at the end of the season.

Back at AaB, Pedersen was initially competing with Danish under-21 national team defender Michael Jakobsen for the left back. With Jakobsen eventually settling in the central defense, Pedersen played a number of games at left back, as AaB won bronze medals in the 2006-07 Superliga season. Following Aalborg BK's bronze medals they qualified for the UEFA Cup, where a dream came true for Martin Pedersen as he played against his favourite foreign team, Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Pedersen had his best AaB season the following year, when he played 28 of 33 games as the team won the 2007-08 Superliga championship. After the championship, AaB qualified for the 2008–09 Champions League group stage, where Pedersen had a lot of stable performances against Celtic F.C., Villarreal CF and Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson even mentioned Pedersen of one of the Aalborg BK profiles in an interview, a few days before AaB entered the Old Trafford to play against Manchester United.^[1]

AaB however, did not want to extend his contract, which resulted in a transfer to Superliga relegation battlers Vejle Boldklub in January 2009, six months before his contract ended.^[2] Injuries ruined his first time at the club, and he only played five games as Vejle were relegated at the end of the season. In his second season with Vejle, Pedersen fell out with the club. He was loaned out to Icelandic team Valur in March 2010.^[3]

International career

He has earned 35 caps for various Danish youth team selections, starting with the Under-16s in 1999. He made his debut for the Danish under-21 national team in August 2002, 18 years old. He played a total 28 games for the Under-21s, and was selected for the 2006 European Under-21 Championship in May 2006.

External links

• Danish national team profile
• Danish Superliga statistics
• (Danish) AaB profile
• (Danish) Vejle BK profile

References

1. ^ Egelund, Klaus (2008-12-10). "Ferguson roser AaB-back" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/fodbold/udenlandsk_fodbold/championsleague/article1096085.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
2. ^ Andersen, Brian (2008-01-23). "Martin Pedersen skifter til Vejle Boldklub" (in Danish). AaBsport.dk. http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/fodbold/udenlandsk_fodbold/championsleague/article1096085.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
3. ^ http://www.vejle-boldklub.dk/index.php?nyhedsarkivet&newsId=3144

Persondata
Name	Pedersen, Martin
Alternative names
Short description	Danish footballer
Date of birth	October 9, 1983
Place of birth	Denmark
Date of death
Place of death