Morten Olsen

Date of birth: 14 August 1949
Nationality: Danish
Playing career: B 1901, Cercle Brugge KSV, RWD Molenbeek, RSC Anderlecht, 1. FC Köln
Coaching career: Brøndby IF, 1. FC Köln, AFC Ajax, Denmark

• A commanding central defender, he played most of his club football in Belgium, winning three national titles and the UEFA Cup with Anderlecht during a six-year spell from 1980–86.

• Twice crowned Danish Player of the Year, he was captain of the legendary 'Dynamite' team of the mid-1980s that reached two successive UEFA European Championships and the 1986 FIFA World Cup; became the first Danish footballer to collect 100 caps in an international career spanning 19 years.

• Went straight into coaching after hanging up his boots and proved an immediate hit, leading Brøndby to two Danish championships and to the semi-finals of the 1990/91 UEFA Cup – the furthest any Danish club had progressed in Europe. Moved on to coach old side Köln and then, following a two-year break, Ajax, where, assisted on the field by his ex-Denmark team-mate Michael Laudrup, he secured a Dutch league and cup double.

• Appointed Denmark coach in 2000 and guided the team to the finals of the 2002 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2004. He retained the position despite a failure to qualify for the next two major tournaments. Further success followed as Denmark topped both their 2010 World Cup preliminary group, celebrating qualification with a 1-0 victory over Sweden in his 100th match at the helm, and their UEFA EURO 2012 section.

• Could not steer the side beyond the initial stage of either tournament, but in spite of Demark missing out on the 2014 World Cup he was awarded a two-year contract extension encompassing the UEFA EURO 2016 campaign.