Morten Gamst Pedersen

For the Danish football player, see Morten Petersen.

Morten Gamst Pedersen

Personal information
Full name	Morten Gamst Pedersen
Date of birth	8 September 1981 (1981-09-08) (age 30)
Place of birth	Vadsø, Norway
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Playing position	Winger, Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	12
Youth career
1997–1998	Norild
1998–1999	Polarstjernen
1999–2000	Norild
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2004	Tromsø	102	(41)
2004–	Blackburn Rovers	234	(32)
National team‡
1999	Norway U18	4	(3)
2000	Norway U19	2	(0)
2001–2004	Norway U21	18	(10)
2004–	Norway	71	(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 1 September 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:36, 12 November 2011 (UTC)

Morten Gamst Pedersen (born 8 September 1981 in Vadsø, Norway) is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers and the Norway national football team.

Club career

Tromsø IL

Pedersen had his breakthrough in the Norwegian Premier League club Tromsø IL, scoring 7 goals in the 2004 season, before he signed with Blackburn with only half a season played by August. The fee was £1.5 million, which could rise to anything up to £2.5 million on the basis of future appearances.^{[citation needed]} Gamst was required to fill the gap left by Damien Duff, who had left in July 2003 to go to Chelsea.

Blackburn Rovers

Pedersen was signed by former Blackburn boss Graeme Souness back in 2004, just in time ahead of the new campaign 2004–05. The Norwegian international made his Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on August 28, 2004, a match Blackburn were leading until deep into injury time. He initially struggled to make an impact in the Premier League and had lengthy period of not being selected after Graeme Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes as the Blackburn manager in September 2004. However he started the year of 2005 in style, scoring against Cardiff City on his return to side and going on to score three goals in his next three matches. In his first season in English football he featured in 27 matches and scored 8 goals in all competitions.

2005–06 saw Pedersen make the left-midfield position his own and he has become well known for scoring many spectacular goals, such as a volley against Fulham in August 2005 which won BBC Match of the Day's Goal of the Month. The highlight of his Blackburn career came in September 2005, when he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

During the 2006–07 season, Pedersen seemingly struggled for form during the early half of the league season, but returned to form in the second half of the campaign. With new management under Paul Ince in 2008, Pedersen found himself in and out of the team, but when Ince was dismissed in December 2008 and Sam Allardyce was appointed Pedersen regained a regular starting position. He has been frequently used a central attacking midfielder under Allardyce, initially with great success. On 17 April 2010, Pedersen, was poked in the cheek and then the eye from Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta, who acted angrily after Pedersen had tackled him in a challenge. They both were booked for stopping play.

After a year of transfer negotiations, Blackburn announced that Pedersen had signed a new four-year deal at Ewood Park on 19 May 2010, which would see him stay contracted until the summer of 2014.^[2] He went on to make more than 30 appearances for them, and scored three goals in the 2009–10 Premier League campaign, in which Blackburn finished 10th, achieving 50 points and winning 10 league games at home and three away. Blackburn chairman, John Williams, who completed the formalities of the deal, added: "Sam made this, together with finding a striker, being our summer priority. "He regards Morten as a key member of the Rovers squad and his future at Ewood Park is now secure." On 6 November 2010, he scored a 40-yard free-kick against Wigan Athletic, in a 2-1 victory at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes. And then four days later, on 10 November, he netted against Newcastle United at St James' Park, scoring in the 3rd minute with his right foot following an assist from teammate Brett Emerton and he also took a punch to the stomach by Joey Barton. This was also coincidentally his 40th goal for the club in all competitions. On 21 November, in the game against Aston Villa, he scored twice at Ewood Park, First, from a free kick on the stroke of half time and the second came from a deflection off Ryan Nelsen's shot in the 66th minute. Rovers went on to win the game 2-0. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he made 39 appearances and scored four league goals for Rovers in all competitions. On 13 August 2011, Pedersen started against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Ewood Park in a 2-1 defeat in their opening 2011-12 Barclays Premier League fixture. On 20 August 2011, he started against Aston Villa in a 3-1 defeat at Villa Park and scored Rovers' only goal in the 52nd minute. On 24 August 2011, Pedersen captained Blackburn in their 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup. Three days later, in the league game with Everton at Ewood Park, he suffered a thigh injury in the 1-0 loss.

International career

He holds 71 caps for his country, scoring 16 goals, since making scored two goal in his debut on 18 February 2004 against Northern Ireland.^[3] He has become one of the first names on the team sheet for Norway. He regularly wears the number 11 jersey for the Norwegians.

On 2 September 2006, in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Hungary, Gamst Pedersen, whose favourite player as a kid was Marco van Basten, scored a goal which was very similar to van Basten's famous goal in the final of the 1988 European Football Championship. Major newspapers Aftenposten, Dagbladet and Verdens Gang all dubbed him van Gamsten as a result of the goal.^[4] After the match against Hungary, he received the coveted Golden Watch award given to him by the Football Association of Norway on the occasion of his 25th appearance for his country.^[5]

On 12 August 2009, he scored 2 goals for Norway in a world cup qualifier against Scotland, scoring in stoppage time in both the first and second half. On 17 November 2010, Pedersen scored in the 34th minute to equalise, playing the full 90 minutes against Republic of Ireland, at the Aviva Stadium, scoring with a superb curling free-kick into the top corner in a 2-1 win. On 4 June 2011, Pedersen started the Euro 2012 qualifier against Portugal in Lisbon, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat. On 7 June 2011, he completed the full 90 minutes and was Norway's matchwinner when he scored in the 83rd minute from a rebound after he missed a penalty against Lithuania in a friendly game held in Oslo.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 February 2004	Windsor Park, Belfast	Northern Ireland	4–1	Win	Friendly
2
3	13 October 2004	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Slovenia	3–0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
4	16 November 2004	Craven Cottage, London	Australia	2–2	Draw	Friendly
5	3 September 2005	Arena Petrol, Celje	Slovenia	3–2	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	16 August 2006	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Brazil	1–1	Draw	Friendly
7	2 September 2006	Szusza Ferenc Stadium, Budapest	Hungary	4–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
8	21 October 2007	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali	Malta	4–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
9	28 March 2009	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	South Africa	1–2	Loss	Friendly
10	1 April 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Finland	3–2	Win	Friendly
11	12 August 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Scotland	4–0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
12
13	29 May 2010	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Montenegro	2–1	Win	Friendly
14	17 November 2010	Aviva Stadium, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	2–1	Win	Friendly
15	7 June 2011	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Lithuania	1–0	Win	Friendly
16	11 October 2011	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Cyprus	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Source: ^[3]

Club career statistics

Blackburn

correct as of 27 August 2011 (2011 -08-27)^[update]

Club	Season	League			Cup[6]			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Blackburn Rovers	2004–05	19	4	3	8	4	0	0	0	0	27	8	3
	2005–06	34	9	6	8	1	3	0	0	0	42	10	9
	2006–07	36	6	11	6	2	1	7	0	0	49	8	12
	2007–08	37	4	4	3	1	0	5	1	4	45	6	8
	2008–09	33	1	8	4	0	1	0	0	0	37	1	9
	2009–10	33	3	7	6	2	2	0	0	0	39	5	9
	2010–11	35	4	6	4	0	2	0	0	0	39	4	8
	2011–12	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0
Career totals		230	32	45	40	10	9	12	1	4	282	43	58

Personal life

Ernst Pedersen, his father as well as a football coach, began to train him to use his left foot rather than his natural right foot in a bid to help him become a professional player, as there is less competition for left-sided roles within the sport. As a result his left foot has become his dominant foot.^[7]

Pedersen's popularity soared to new heights due to his own personal website. On it, he posts blogs, pre and post-match views, banter with club and international team mates as well as showing the Blackburn faithful how to make homemade Ice Cream.

Pedersen fronts Norwegian boyband The Players, alongside fellow footballers Freddy dos Santos, Raymond Kvisvik, Kristofer Hæstad and Øyvind Svenning. Released in aid of the Soccer Against Crime campaign, their first single became a hit across Scandinavia.^[8]

References

1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~31075,00.html. Retrieved 21 March 2011. 
2. ^ Morten signs new contract
3. ^ ^{a b} Søfting, Thomas. "Morten Gamst Pedersen" (in Norwegian). http://www.home.no/greenriver/players/gamst.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
4. ^ (Norwegian) (Dagbladet) (VG), Aftenposten, 3 September 2006, pg. 34
5. ^ "Scoret praktmål" (in Norwegian). nordlys.no. Nordlys. 2 September 2006. http://www.nordlys.no/sporten/til-magasinet/article2270721.ece. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
6. ^ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield
7. ^ Morten Gamst Pederson 12 <gamstpederson12>
8. ^ Dart, James (8 August 2007). "Which footballers have released a record?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/aug/08/theknowledge.sport. Retrieved 13 May 2010. 

External links

• Morten Pedersen Gamst career stats at Soccerbase
• Uefa.com Magazine interview
• Gamst pushes United back into the pack – The Guardian
• Only a Norwegian footballer – but he is more famous than his king – The Guardian
• Morten Pedersen Gamst at footballdatabase.com
• Pedersen desires Celtic move
• Premier League profile

Persondata
Name	Pedersen, Morten Gamst
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	8 September 1981
Place of birth	Vadsø, Norway
Date of death
Place of death