Jon Dahl Tomasson

At 48 years old, Jon Dahl Tomasson has this physical status:

Jon Dahl Tomasson (born 29 August 1976) is a Danish football manager and former player who works with the Danish football team as an assistant manager.

In his first stint at Feyenoord, with whom he won the 2002 UEFA Cup and Milan, with whom he reached the final in 2005, he had his best run of football.

In both 2002 and 2004, he was also honoured with the Danish Player of the Year award.

Personal life

Tomasson has two sons, Luca (born in 2008) and Liam (born in 2012), as well as his Danish wife Line Dahl Kongesson. Tomasson is of Danish, Finnish, and Icelandic origins.

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Club career

Tomasson, the son of Bjarne Tomasson and Leila Dahl Petersen, began playing football as a youth in Solrd BK near Kge as a child. He moved to Kge BK, the country's biggest club, at nine years of age. He made his senior debut for the club in November 1992 at the age of 16. He helped the team get promoted twice in a row during the 1993 season; and in the 1994 season, when the club was promoted to the 1st Division for the first time.

He decided on a transfer from Kge BK to the Dutch club SC Heerenveen of the Elyrei in December 1994, aged 18. Tomasson, a first-team regular from 1995-96, was the club's top scorer for the season, scoring 14 goals in 30 league games. He boosted his number in the 1996-97 season to 18, and he was top-scorer for the team once more. On top of that, he earned the Best Dutch Football Talent of 1996, defeating Boudewijn Zenden and Patrick Kluivert to win the grand prize.

His rise attracted the attention of other clubs, and he made a high-profile move to Newcastle United in July 1997. Tomasson was the perfect match-up player to England national team striker Alan Shearer, according to Newcastle's boss, Kenny Dalglish. The partnership began to develop, with Tomasson winning at a pre-season friendly tournament in the Republic of Ireland. However, Tomasson was moved from his traditional attacking midfield position to one of striker due to his career-threatening injury and the explosive transfer of popular striker Les Ferdinand to Tottenham Hotspur. Due to his lack of physical endurance, he had trouble adapting to his new position on the track and to the English game. In 35 appearances in all competitions between 1997 and 1998, he scored only four goals in 35 appearances.

Tomasson returned to the Ecrisie in July 1998, where he joined Feyenoord once more as an attacking midfielder. The club also won the Dutch Super Cup and the Economia championship in 1998–99. Although Feyenoord did not get back to repeat as champions in the following years, they did a good job in 1999–00, second place in 2000–01, and third place again in 2001–02. Tomasson scored 15 and 17 Egyvogue goals respectively in his second two seasons, forming a team with Pierre van Hooijdonk, the 2002 league top scorer with 24 goals.

Tomasson played a key role in the Feyenoord team's first international trophy in 26 years, winning its first international trophy in 26 years when the club triumphed in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup tournament. He scored four goals in the tournament, while also having a fruitful playing partnership with striker Pierre van Hooijdonk. They defeated SC Freiburg, Rangers F.C., PSV Eindhoven, and Internazionale Milano before meeting German team Borussia Dortmund in the final. In a game that ended 3–2 to Feyenoord, Tomasson scored the goal to 3–1, and he was subsequently named Man of the match.

On May 2, 2002, when Tomasson's deal with Feyenoord was finished before their UEFA Cup victory, he agreed to move to Italy on a four-year free transfer to Milan, Italy. At San Siro, he joined compatriots Martin Laursen and Thomas Helveg.

They won the Italian Cup for the second time in 2002-03, Tomasson's first at Milan. Tomasson was most often used as a late replacement, but he did manage to score three goals in the UEFA Champions League, retaining his share of the trophy when Milan defeated the prestigious tournament in May 2003. Tomasson missed the final due to an injury he sustained in the first leg of the 2003 Coppa Italia Final. Tomasson was given more playing time in the 2003–04 season and went on to score 12 Serie A goals in a title-winning campaign. He was also a member of the Milan team that lifted the Italian Super Cup in August 2004 with a 3–0 win over Coppa Italia champions Lazio.

He had trouble finding a regular starting position in Milan's lineup for the 2004-05 season. He was once more in the role of replacement, with fewer goals scored in comparison to the previous season. He was used by Milan again as a late replacement, and when the final had to be decided in a penalty shootout, he was called to kick. On his own, Tomasson scored on his first try, but Milan lost as Serginho, Andrea Pirlo, and Andriy Shevchenko missed their shots. When Christian Vieri joined the club in July 2005, Tomasson was identified as a potential surplus, and he therefore agreed to move to Milan, which was placed on Milan's transfer list.

When asked about Danish footballers' ability to give everything in preparation, he remembers them. These were very organized and skilled players. Jon Dahl Tomasson, who had to fight for playing time against world class strikers, was the one who did the best and showed the most consistency. He never had a smooth time, but he never gave up and took every chance he could get."

In July 2005, the German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart paid a €7.5 million transfer fee to Milan in order to bind Tomasson to a four-year contract. Jesper Grnkjr, a new international teammate, joined the club, but neither of them was successful in the forthcoming 2005–06 season. Despite the fact that Tomasson was the team's top scorer with eight Bundesliga goals, the team struggled throughout the season to provide enough chances and goals, and Stuttgart ended in ninth place of the Bundesliga. Grnkjr left the club after the season, but Tomasson stayed and became the Bundesliga's new champions in 2006-07 season.

Tomasson was loaned to Villarreal in the Spanish Prime Minister's División championship to replace injured striker Nihat Kahveci's absence for the remainder of the 2006–07 season. Tomasson played in the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Primera División, making his Villarreal debut in a game against Real Madrid. This rare feat was previously only made by the four players: Florin Rescuducioiu, Gheorghe Popescu, Abel Xavier, and Pierre Womé.

His loan deal came to an end on July 1, 2007, but Villarreal also had a buying option, for which Villarreal paid Stuttgart the second half of a total transfer fee in order to bring Tomasson to a two-year contract. He scored in a 3–0 win over Valencia in the first match of the 2007–08 La Liga season, but he mostly played in the club's UEFA Cup games that season, scoring five goals in eight games. Villarreal's season ended as the best ever for the team, who were runners-up in La Liga.

In June 2008, Tomasson began to look at the market for a potential transfer. Marca, a Spanish sports newspaper, was immediately linked to Feyenoord, the Dutch national team. Tomasson's first comment was pure speculative. The rumors, on the other hand, turned out to be true. He left Villarreal on a free transfer and returned to Feyenoord on a new three-year deal in July 2008. With four goals in three games, he got off to a good start. But this was followed by an illness from the end of September to January, which meant he could only play a total of 14 games for Feyenoord in 2008–09.

He had to battle with a few injuries over the course of the 2009–10 season. However, he was still able to play another 28 games for Feyenoord, where he scored a career-best 12 goals. Feyenoord gained his fourth position in the Economia thanks to his solid play on the track and helped the team reach the final of the Dutch Cup. Feyenoord defeated Ajax 6–1 on aggregate, with Tomasson scoring the only goal for Feyenoord. He suffered another serious injury in the first half of Feyenoord's 2010–11 season. The illness was much worse than expected, according to Feyenoord's medical staff. The injury had not completely recovered when they tried to get him ready for a game on August 15th, and after a hard workout session, it regained its previous vigor. Based on further investigation into the injury, the coach now fears that Tomasson will be able to play his first game of the season in January 2011.

International career

Tomasson scored ten goals in 16 games for the national under-19 team, and was named 1994 Danish U-19 Player of the Year. He scored 27 goals in 37 games for various national youth selections in all.

Tomasson made his debut against Croatia on March 29, 1997, following two good seasons with Heerenveen. During his time in Newcastle, Tomasson was suspended by the Denmark national team, and he was not selected to play at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Tomasson was one of the Denmark national team's first calls up in August 1998 and became a key figure in the Danish team's seven matches, particularly striker Ebbe Sand. He appeared in all three matches at the main Euro 2000 tournament but didn't score as Denmark was disqualified in the group stage. He played for Denmark in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he scored four goals in as many games before heading to Milan.

Tomasson played for Denmark at Euro 2004, where he scored three goals in four games and was selected for the Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament. Denmark coach Morten Olsen revealed on May 28th that the player will be selected from the final squad of 23 players competing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He scored against Japan in a 3–1 loss on June 24th as Denmark fell out of the tournament. He was ranked by FIFA as the best Danish player of the tournament. However, several followers and journalists did not agree with the world football body's governing body.

Tomasson played in 112 games for Denmark during his career, spanning from March 1997 to June 2010, making him the top goal scorer on Denmark's national team with Poul Nielsen. He appeared at Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, and the 2010 World Cup. Tomasson, who scored his 52nd international goal in Denmark's final match at the 2010 World Cup, has decided to withdraw from the national team on August 9, 2010. "We say farewell to a brilliant player and a wonderful person," national coach Olsen said, adding that Tomasson was "the ultimate team player."

Coaching career

Tomasson retired on June 6, 2011 and became assistant coach at Dutch club Excelsior. He took over as the club's head coach at the start of the 2013–14 season. His debut was a 2–2 Eerste Divisie draw at home to Helmond Sport, and he led the Rotterdam-based team to the last 16 of the KNVB Cup before losing 2–1 at home to PEC Zwolle on December 17th.

On December 15, 2013, Ethio's head coach Ruud Brood was fired, and Roda JC Kerkrade signed Tomasson 11 days later, extending to 312-years, effective January 3 2019. He made his debut in a 2–2 draw at his former club Heerenveen, 15 days later. He was suspended on May 26 after the second half of the season, which resulted in relegation.

Tomasson was appointed as the Vitesse's new assistant manager on June 19, 2015. He was appointed as an assistant coach of the Danish national team on March 7, 2016.

Tomasson was appointed as the new boss of Malmö, Sweden's youngest team, on January 5th, 2020. In his first season with the club, he led the team to the 2020 Allsvenskan Championship, winning Malmö FF's 21st Swedish Championship.

He led Malmö FF to the group stage of Champions League in his second season, winning in four qualifying rounds, including beating Rangers in the third round and Ludogorets Razgrad in the fourth round. Tomasson and Malm's FF took their second straight Allsvenskan league title in December 2021. He left on December 30th by his own initiative.

Tomasson was named as the new head coach of Blackburn Rovers on June 14, 2022. He has signed a three-year contract with the club, saying: "I'm really proud and excited to be taking over as head coach of Blackburn Rovers, a club with a lot of tradition but also a lot of promise." The team defeated 1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers on June 30, Travis' first appearance.

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