Denmark 2010 World Cup Roster

Danish coach Morten Olsen has chosen his initial 30-man provisional roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  By June 1, this group of players will be trimmed to a 23-man squad that will have the honor of representing their beloved Denmark in the biggest soccer tournament the world has to offer.

Fans are both approving and criticizing Olsen's decisions.  The rather conservative coach made some predictable choices, but there were a few surprises.

Starting from the back, there are four keepers on the roster: Stephan Andersen, Kim Christensen, Jesper Christiansen, Thomas Sorensen.  If deemed healthy for the World Cup, Sorensen is the obvious starter.  He has been the Dane's stalwart in net for majority of nine years.  However, he has not played since his elbow injury sustained in late April, so there are many "ifs" to the current goalie situation.  As of right now, the remaining three keepers are considered to have an equal shot of making the team.

The back line of Denmark is pretty set in stone.  Liverpool's Daniel Agger anchors the defense and will most likely be joined by Simon Kjær, Per Krøldrup, and Lars Jacobsen as starters.  Patrick Mtiliga was somewhat a surprise selection because of his limited amount of experience with the senior team and could possibly steal some playing time from a regular.  The remaining defensemen are William Kvist Jorgensen and Simon Poulsen.

The midfield consists of several national team veterans including Dennis Rommedahl, Martin Jørgensen, Jesper Grønkjær, Daniel Jensen, and Christian Poulsen.  These five players will swallow the majority of the minutes in South Africa. 

Eighteen-year old phenom Christian Eriksen and twenty two-year old Thomas Enevoldsen bring some much needed youth to an older group of guys. The position rounds up with Mikkel Beckmann, Michael Silberbauer, Thomas Kahlenberg, Michael Krohn-Dehl, and Jakob Poulsen, who scored the decisive goal against Sweden to qualify the Danes for the World Cup. 

Up front, Olsen went with Jon Dahl Tomasson, Soren Larsen, and Nicklas Bendtner, who each bring a different variable to the team.  Tomasson is a veteran and the second all-time leading scorer in Denmark national team history.  Larsen has a remarkable 11 goals in just 17 games playing for his country.  And a sure starter in Bendtner brings size, youth, and unlimited attacking potential to a team somewhat lacking offensive fire power.

To the dismay of many fans, Mads Junker, 21-time goal scorer this season in the Dutch League, was left off the roster.

The remaining four players are on standby at this point.  They are Anders Moller Christensen, Leon Jessen, Morten Rasmussen, and Mikkel Thygese.

To gain a better understanding of Olsen's coaching philsophy and style, listen to his words:  "A football team is like a symphony orchestra. There are of course soloists but the team should be able to hold the rhythm," Olsen said.

With this said, the most-talented and popular players will not necessarily be selected for the final 23.  Olsen places value on teamwork, chemistry, and experience over raw-skill and statistics.  His team will consist of footballers that put the team before themselves.  No one knows better than him what needs to be done in order to give his country the best chance of success at this level of play.

There is a lot that will happen in the next three weeks of training to determine the final Danish roster, but with Morten Olsen, the squad and country is in good hands.