Jim Holden is a football journalist and diehard fan of Danish football. In 1982, he watched a Danish league game against Brøndby and B93 Copenhagen. During the match, Brøndby player Michael Laudrup caught Holden's eye, a future Danish legend who was only 17 years old at the time and was still a student, but was already regarded as one of the best players in the Danish league.
After that game, Holden began his 40-year focus and record on Danish football. In the 80s, he witnessed the rise of Denmark's outstanding generation. That Danish team is full of talent, Lebi, Elkjère, Arneson and Olsen are all famous and powerful players, but the best is the young Laudrup.
In 1985, in Copenhagen, Holden witnessed Denmark beat the Soviet Union 4-2 in a World Cup qualifier. Years later, looking back on that great game, Morby, Arneson and Olsen all described it as "great", and Laudrup became so excited that he immediately recreated the game through a football game. In that game, Laudrup scored two goals alone, but what impressed him most was one of his opponent's attacks: the Soviet Union played a series of clever combinations, but fortunately the final shot was saved by the Danish player on the goal line.
Laudrup told Holden: "If the Soviets had scored first, they would have won." Soviet coach Malofiev said, "It was the best game we ever played, but we still lost." Holden was also memorable after the game – journalists were invited into the dressing room to celebrate with the Danish players.
Holden has watched many matches live since then, but in his opinion, even classic battles such as Germany's 5-1 defeat to England in 2001 and Barca's 3-1 Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final could not match Denmark's victory over the Soviet Union.
However, Holden said this is not his own mourning for a bygone era. Overall, football has indeed improved immeasurably over the past 40 years. The technique, speed and tactics of modern players are more of a miracle than ever before. The same goes for the standard, comfort and safety of the course, as well as the quality and breadth of media coverage.
On the other hand, Holden admits that there are some unpleasant aspects of today's football world, such as unsportsmanlike fraud, procrastination, and his "biggest mistake" - VAR.
Holden's biggest disappointment of the past 40 years occurred in the early 90s, when Michael Laudrup withdrew from the national team due to a disagreement with then-Danish coach Nelson and missed Denmark's fairytale victory at Euro 1992. Interestingly, on the Danish team's championship journey, Michael Laudrup's younger brother Brian Laudrup became the team's brightest star.
After winning Euro 1992, Denmark continued to give a wonderful performance to the world of football - at the 2002 World Cup, Olsen led the team to defeat world champions France was another classic victory for Danish football. In 2009, Olsen, who was an Ajax scout, discovered Eriksen's talent and immediately took him to the Eredivisie giants. A year later, at the age of 18, Eriksson made his World Cup debut in South Africa.
When Eriksen switched to Tottenham in 2013, Holden praised the talented player in his article, describing him as smart, ambitious, humble and low-key. At last year's European Championships, Eriksen suddenly fainted and fell to the ground, and at that moment, Holden was almost heartbroken.
Thankfully, Eriksen is back on the pitch and has excelled this season. At the World Cup in Qatar, the Danish ace will try to lead the team further under the command of coach Ullermann. At the same time, Holden will continue to keep an eye on his beloved Danish team, regardless of its ups and downs.
(Compilation: Sit-ups/Yun Pace)