Christian Nørgaard

Christian Thers Nørgaard (born 10 March 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Brentford and the Denmark national team.

Christian Nørgaard
Nørgaard playing for Brentford in May 2022
Personal information
Full name Christian Thers Nørgaard[1]
Date of birth (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Brentford
Number 6
Youth career
BK Heimdal
0000–2008 Espergærde IF
2008–2012 Lyngby
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Lyngby 1 (0)
2012–2013 Hamburger SV II 22 (2)
2012–2013 Hamburger SV 0 (0)
2013–2018 Brøndby 116 (8)
2018–2019 Fiorentina 6 (0)
2019– Brentford 124 (5)
International career‡
2009–2010 Denmark U16 3 (0)
2010–2011 Denmark U17 22 (3)
2011–2013 Denmark U19 19 (1)
2013 Denmark U20 2 (1)
2013–2017 Denmark U21 27 (0)
2020– Denmark 23 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:47, 14 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:54, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Between abortive spells with Hamburger SV and Fiorentina, Nørgaard came to prominence in his homeland with Brøndby. He transferred to English club Brentford in 2019 and in 2021 was part of the squad which won promotion to the top-flight of English football for the second time in the club's history. Nørgaard was named club captain in 2023. He was part of the Denmark squads at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

Club career

Early years
Nørgaard playing for Hamburger SV II in 2012.

A defensive midfielder, Nørgaard began his career in his native Denmark with BK Heimdal and Espergærde IF, before entering the youth system at Lyngby in 2008.[3] He progressed to win three calls into the first team squad during the 2011–12 season and made his only senior appearance for the club as a substitute in a 2–2 Superliga draw with HB Køge on 20 November 2011.[4] Two months later, Nørgaard spurned interest from A.C. Milan and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to transfer to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV for a €400,000 fee.[5][6] He signed a 3+1⁄2-year contract,[5] but was unable to settle at the club and failed to make any first team appearances before his departure in August 2013.[3] He gained his first regular experience of senior football with 22 appearances for the reserve team.[4]

Brøndby IF

On 21 August 2013, it was announced that Nørgaard had joined Danish Superliga club Brøndby on a four-year contract.[7] Following a difficult first three seasons with the club,[8][9] he thereafter was a regular fixture in the team under incoming manager Alexander Zorniger and signed a new 2+1⁄2-year contract in January 2017.[4][10] Nørgaard was named as Brøndby's Player of the Year for the 2017 calendar year and won the first silverware of his career with the 2017–18 Danish Cup.[11][1] Nørgaard became a cult hero at the club and by the time of his departure in July 2018,[12] he had made 145 appearances and scored 11 goals.[4]

Fiorentina

On 19 July 2018, Nørgaard moved to Italy to sign for Serie A club Fiorentina for a fee of approximately €3.5 million.[13] He signed a four-year contract,[14] but was informed towards the end of the 2018–19 season that he was free to leave the club.[15] Nørgaard made just six appearances before departing the Stadio Artemio Franchi in May 2019.[16][17]

2019–20

On 28 May 2019, Nørgaard moved to England to join Brentford on a four-year contract, with the option of an additional year, for an undisclosed fee,[17] reported to be £2.8 million.[18] Wanting to "fall in love with football again", the move reunited Nørgaard with his former Denmark youth and Brøndby head coach Thomas Frank,[19] who had initially made contact with him during the previous season.[15] Used as a screening midfielder in front of the defence,[20] Nørgaard made 45 appearances during the 2019–20 season,[21] which ended with defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final.[22] In September 2020, he signed a new four-year contract, with the option of a further year.[23]

2020–21

Nørgaard began the 2020–21 season as a virtual ever-present in midfield and winning senior international recognition with Denmark,[24][25] but an ankle injury suffered during a match versus Preston North End on 4 October 2020 prevented him from making only one appearance during the following four months.[24][26][27][28] Nørgaard returned to the team in late February 2021 and late in the season he was deployed as the sweeper in a 3-5-2 formation.[24][29][30] An injury restricted Nørgaard to only one appearance during Brentford's 2021 playoff campaign,[24][31] which culminated in promotion to the Premier League after a 2–0 victory over Swansea City in the Final.[32] He finished the season with 22 appearances and one goal, scored in a 2–0 EFL Cup second round win over Southampton early in the campaign.[24]

2021–22

Nørgaard scored his second Brentford career goal on the opening day of the 2021–22 season, in a 2–0 win over Arsenal.[33] He continued as a virtual ever-present in Premier League matches and in late December 2021, he signed a new 3+1⁄2-year contract, with a one-year option.[34] Nørgaard's performances were recognised with the club's Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year awards.[35] He ended the 2021–22 season with 38 appearances, three goals and having attempted the most tackles of any Premier League player.[33][36]

2022–23

Due to a knee problem suffered prior to Brentford's final match of the 2021–22 season,[37] Nørgaard missed much of Brentford's 2022–23 pre-season,[38] though he participated in the club's training camp.[39] He returned to match play for the final friendly of pre-season on 30 July 2022.[38] Nørgaard was affected by a persistent achillles problem during the regular season,[40] which did not require surgery and after playing through pain mid-season,[41] the issue seemed to resolve itself.[42] He missed three months of the season and finished with 23 appearances and one goal.[43][44][45] As vice-captain,[46] many of his appearances came as captain, deputising for the injured Pontus Jansson,[42] who missed much of the season.[47]

2023–24

Following the departure of captain Pontus Jansson at the end of the 2022–23 season, Nørgaard took over the armband.[48] During the 2023–24 pre-season, Nørgaard was left out of the club's 2023 Premier League Summer Series squad,[49] but he made a goalscoring return to match play in a behind closed doors friendly versus Lille on 5 August 2023.[50]

International career

Nørgaard won 73 caps and scored five goals for Denmark between U16 and U21 level.[51] He was a part of the Danes' 2011 U17 World Cup and 2015 and 2017 European U21 Championship squads.[17]

Nørgaard an unused substitute for the senior team during four 2018–19 Nations League group stage and Euro 2020 qualifying matches in 2018 and 2019.[4] On 8 September 2020, Nørgaard made his debut for the senior team with a start in a 0–0 Nations League draw with England and his performance was recognised with the DBU's man of the match award.[25] After winning three further caps during the 2020–21 season,[51] Nørgaard was named in the Denmark squad for Euro 2020 and appeared as a substitute in five of the six matches of the Danes' run to the semi-final.[52] Nørgaard was named in Denmark's 2022 World Cup squad and made one substitute appearance prior to the team's group stage exit.[52][51]

Style of play

Nørgaard has been described as "technically good and looks to pass the ball forward. Importantly, he is also good at intercepting passes and has a strong defensive mindset".[17] He "can play in a variety of different positions in the midfield, but has given his best performances as a deep midfield player".[17]

Personal life

Nørgaard was born in Copenhagen and grew up in Espergærde from the age of five.[18] He is married with a son.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyngby BK 2011–12[4] Danish Superliga 1000———10
Hamburger SV II 2011–12[4] Regionalliga Nord 61————61
2012–13[4] Regionalliga Nord 161————161
Total 222————222
Hamburger SV 2012–13[4] Bundesliga 0000———00
Brøndby 2013–14[53] Danish Superliga 13000———130
2014–15[4] Danish Superliga 21331—1[lower-alpha 3]0—264
2015–16[4] Danish Superliga 16040—4[lower-alpha 3]0—250
2016–17[4] Danish Superliga 31441—8[lower-alpha 3]0—275
2017–18[4] Danish Superliga 34141—3[lower-alpha 3]0—412
2018–19[16] Danish Superliga 10——00—10
Total 1168153—160—14711
Fiorentina 2018–19[16] Serie A 6000———60
Brentford 2019–20[21] Championship 4200000—3[lower-alpha 4]0450
2020–21[4] Championship 1700041—1[lower-alpha 4]0221
2021–22[33] Premier League 3531020——383
2022–23[45] Premier League 2210010——231
2023–24[54] Premier League 810010——91
Total 12451081—401376
Career total 24216163811604031420
  1. Includes Danish Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearance(s) in Championship play-offs

International
As of match played 17 October 2023[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Denmark 202010
2021141
202230
202350
Total231
Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nørgaard goal.
List of international goals scored by Christian Nørgaard
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 9 October 2021 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova  Moldova 3–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [51]

Honours

Brøndby

Brentford

Individual

References
  1. "Get to Know: Christian Nørgaard". Brentford F.C. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Denmark" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  3. Andersen, Mads; Nielsen, Jonathan Roth; Mousluh, Mohammed. "Christian Nørgaard, stortalentet fra Espergærde". Helsingør Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. Christian Nørgaard at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  5. Hanghøj Kristensen, Søren (25 January 2012). "Lyngby-talent solgt to HSV" (in Danish). www.tipsbladet.dk. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  6. "Football is about highs and lows, you can never complete it" | My Journey | Christian Nørgaard (Interview). 16 March 2022. Event occurs at 6:45.
  7. "Brøndby IF henter Christian Nørgaard i HSV" (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  8. "Football is about highs and lows, you can never complete it" | My Journey | Christian Nørgaard (Interview). 16 March 2022. Event occurs at 11:46.
  9. "Football is about highs and lows, you can never complete it" | My Journey | Christian Nørgaard (Interview). 16 March 2022. Event occurs at 13:24.
  10. "Brøndby IF og Christian Nørgaard forlænger kontrakten" (in Danish). Brøndby IF. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. Hansen, Kenneth (2 December 2017). "Christian Nørgaard årets spiller i Brøndby". bold.dk. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  12. "Bech: Kæmpe skulderklap til Nørgaard". bold.dk (in Danish). 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  13. "Brøndby sælger Christian Nørgaard til Fiorentina". DR (in Danish). 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  14. "Medie: Christian Nørgaard er på vej væk fra Fiorentina". Tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  15. Harris, Jay. "Access All Areas: Brentford – inside the club's envied recruitment set-up". The Athletic. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  16. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  17. "Christian Nørgaard signs from Fiorentina". Brentford F.C. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  18. Carey, Mark; Harris, Jay; AlBaharna, Maram. "Christian Norgaard: The Disruptor". The Athletic. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  19. Fisher, Ben (2 October 2021). "Christian Nørgaard: 'The Danish fans have found their national team again'". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  20. Fisher, Ben (3 August 2020). "Silk and steel: how Thomas Frank gave Brentford reason to dream big". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  21. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  22. "Brentford 1 Fulham 2". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  23. "Christian Norgaard signs new long-term contract". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  24. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  25. "Christian Norgaard impresses on Danish international debut". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  26. Bennett, Dan (8 December 2020). "Norgaard getting 'closer and closer' to return, says Frank". West London Sport. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  27. "Norgaard being assessed after 'minor setback'". West London Sport. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  28. McCullough, Ian (26 January 2021). "Frank expects Norgaard to return for Bees soon". West London Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  29. "Preston North End 0 Brentford 5". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  30. "Brentford star 'plays like a Franz Beckenbauer'". West London Sport. 25 April 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  31. "Brentford to make late a check on Christian Norgaard ahead of play-off final". The Independent. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  32. Vincent, Gareth (29 May 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  33. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  34. "Christian Nørgaard signs new contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  35. "Christian Nørgaard wins Player of the Year prizes". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  36. Harris, Jay. "Brentford's player of the season: David Raya, Frank's ideal goalkeeper". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  37. McCullough, Ian (22 May 2022). "Brentford v Leeds United line-ups: Both sides make one change". West London Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  38. Bennett, Dan (30 July 2022). "Norgaard will start opening game but Pinnock faces lengthy spell out". West London Sport. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  39. "Peter Gilham's Blog: Brentford in Germany, Day Four". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  40. "Jansson set to return". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  41. "Lewis-Potter available again". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  42. Marshall, Sam. "Christian Norgaard: Pushing Through the Pain". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  43. "Ajer available for Liverpool test". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  44. "Frank issues squad update". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  45. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  46. "Norgaard unavailable for Chelsea clash". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  47. "Jansson likely to miss remainder of the season". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  48. Harris, Jay. "Bryan Mbeumo can be a 'key player' for Brentford in Ivan Toney's absence". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  49. "Squads for Premier League Summer Series announced". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  50. "Highlights, report and reaction: Brentford 0 Lille 0". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  51. Christian Nørgaard national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
  52. "Norgaard added to Denmark squad". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  53. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  54. "Games played by Christian Nørgaard in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
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