Ebbe Skovdahl
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ebbe Skovdahl Hansen | ||
| Date of birth | 5 July 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| Date of death | 23 October 2020 (aged 75) | ||
| Place of death | Karlslunde, Denmark | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 195?–1971 | Vanløse | 130 | (?) |
| 1971–1977 | Brøndby | 89 | (?) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1977–1977 | Brøndby (3rd team) | ||
| 1978–1980 | Hvalsø IF | ||
| 1980–1981 | Glostrup IC | ||
| 1982–1985 | Brønshøj | ||
| 1986–1987 | Brøndby | ||
| 1987–1988 | Benfica | ||
| 1988–1989 | Brøndby | ||
| 1990–1991 | Vejle | ||
| 1992–1999 | Brøndby | ||
| 1999–2002 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2003–2005 |
BK Frem | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ebbe Skovdahl Hansen (5 July 1945 – 23 October 2020) was a Danish
Career
Skovdahl started playing as a child for
Championship coach
Skovdahl went on to coach Brøndby towards its second Danish championship in 1987 and he also guided the club to the quarterfinals of the
In his first year at Brøndby, he coached a 5–3–2 system, and re-schooled former attacking players Jes Høgh and Ole Bjur to more defensive position, where they blossomed. Though Brøndby did not win the Danish championship in his first year, Skovdahl was named 1992–93 Danish Manager of the Year, for rebuilding the Brøndby team by re-schooling players to their best abilities.[3] He went on to install a 4–4–2 system with hardworking players, whose constant pressure on the opponent, combined with the necessary technical and tactical skills, went on to dominate the Danish championship for half a decade.[1] After a few seasons of stable play and secondary finishes in the domestic league, the big turn-around for the club came in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup when Liverpool F.C. was eliminated, and including that season, Brøndby won three Danish championships in a row. The success of the team under Skovdahl concluded in qualification for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League tournament, as the second Danish team (after AaB in 1995). In all, Skovdahl won four Danish championships and three Danish Cups and guided Brøndby to a number of individual results in the European competitions.
Aberdeen
In 1999, he moved to become a popular manager of Scottish side Aberdeen F.C. in the top-flight Scottish Premier League (SPL) division. Aberdeen overachieved in Scotland in the eighties and early nineties, but the club started to decline from 1995. By 1999, heavy in debt and not capable of matching the Old Firm in the transfer market, the Dons needed to appoint a successful coach who could work with a small budget. So the club went for the fashionable idea of appointing a successful foreign coach, Ebbe Skovdahl.
In Skovdahl's first season at Aberdeen, the club finished bottom of the
In the following season Aberdeen's fortunes improved domestically, but were knocked out of the 2000–01 UEFA Cup by Irish side Bohemians on the away goals rule.[5] This was the first time that a Scottish club had been knocked out of European competition by Irish opposition.[5] The next year Aberdeen improved dramatically as Skovdahl guided them to 4th place in the 2001–02 Scottish Premier League.[4] Young players such as Kevin McNaughton, Russell Anderson, Philip McGuire, striker Darren Mackie, and goalkeeper Ryan Esson were developed.
Yet with the
Danish return
He returned to Danish Superliga club
Personal life
Skovdahl was the uncle of Danish international footballers Michael and Brian Laudrup.[9]
Death
Skovdahl died after years of battling cancer on 23 October 2020 at the age of 75.[10][11]
Honours
References
- ^ a b c "60 år i dag: Han samler på pokaler", Politiken article, 5 July 2005
- ^ Frits Ahlstrøm: Guinness Fodboldbog (1983), side 64-65
- ^ Sten Henriksen, "Skovdahls år", Politiken, 19 June 1993
- ^ a b c d "Skovdahl to quit Dons". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 November 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ a b Babbington, Andrea (25 August 2000). "Aberdeen chairman gives Skovdahl vote of confidence despite defeat". The Independent. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ Roberts, Gereurd (30 November 2002). "Skovdahl ready to quit Aberdeen". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Paterson named new Aberdeen boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 December 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Ebbe Skovdahl forlader Frem". Tipsbladet.dk.
- ^ "Michael LAUDRUP: The peerless prince of Denmark". www.fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "En af de største har takket af". brondby.com (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Ebbe Skovdahl: Former Aberdeen manager dies of cancer aged 75". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.