| Full name | Morten Gamst Pedersen | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 September 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Vadsø, Norway | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Winger, Attacking midfielder | ||
Morten Gamst Pedersen (born 8 September 1981 in Vadsø, Norway) is a Norwegian-Sámi footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League and internationally for Norway.
Club career
Tromsø IL
Pedersen had his breakthrough in the Norwegian Premier League club Tromsø IL, scoring 7 goals in the 2004 season, before he signed with Blackburn with only half a season played by August. The fee was £1.5 million, which could rise to anything up to £2.5 million on the basis of future appearances.[citation needed] Gamst was required to fill the gap left by Damien Duff, who had left in July 2003 to go to Chelsea.Blackburn Rovers
Pedersen was signed by former Blackburn boss Graeme Souness back in 2004, just in time ahead of the new campaign 2004–05. The Norwegian international made his Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on August 28, 2004, a match Blackburn were leading until deep into injury time. He initially struggled to make an impact in the Premier League and had lengthy period of not being selected after Graeme Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes as the Blackburn manager in September 2004. However he started the year of 2005 in style, scoring against Cardiff City on his return to side and going on to score three goals in his next three matches. In his first season in English football he featured in 27 matches and scored 8 goals in all competitions.2005–06 saw Pedersen make the left-midfield position his own and he has become well known for scoring many spectacular goals, such as a volley against Fulham in August 2005 which won BBC Match of the Day's Goal of the Month. The highlight of his Blackburn career came in September 2005 when he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
During the 2006–07 season, Pedersen seemingly struggled for form during the early half of the league season, but returned to form in the second half of the campaign. With new management under Paul Ince in 2008, Pedersen found himself in and out of the team, but when Ince was dismissed in December 2008 and Sam Allardyce was appointed Pedersen regained a regular starting position. He has been frequently used a central attacking midfielder under Allardyce, initially with great success. On 17 April 2010, Pedersen, was poked in the cheek and then the eye from Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta, who acted angrily after Pedersen had tackled him in a challenge. They both were booked for stopping play.
After a year of transfer negotiations, Blackburn announced that Pedersen had signed a new four-year deal at Ewood Park on 19 May 2010, which would see him stay contracted until the summer of 2014.[2] He went on to make more than 30 appearances for them, and scored three goals in the 2009–10 Premier League campaign, in which Blackburn finished 10th, achieving 50 points and winning 10 league games at home and three away. Blackburn chairman, John Williams, who completed the formalities of the deal, added: "Sam made this, together with finding a striker, being our summer priority. "He regards Morten as a key member of the Rovers squad and his future at Ewood Park is now secure." On 6 November 2010, he scored a 40-yard free-kick against Wigan Athletic, in a 2-1 victory at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes. And then four days later, on 10 November, he netted against Newcastle United at St. James Park, scoring in the 3rd minute with his right foot following an assist from teammate Brett Emerton and he also took a punch to the stomach by Joey Barton. This was also coincidentally his 40th goal for the club in all competitions. On 21 November, in the game against Aston Villa, he scored twice at Ewood Park, First, from a free kick on the stroke of half time and the second came from a deflection off Ryan Nelsen's shot in the 66th minute. Rovers went on to win the game 2-0. So far during the 2010-11 season, Pedersen has made 33 appearances and has scored 4 goals in all competitions.
International career
He holds 66 caps for his country, scoring 14 goals, since making his debut back in 2004. He received the coveted Golden Watch award given to him by the Football Association of Norway on the occasion of his 25th appearance for his country. He has become one of the first names on the team sheet for Norway. He regularly wears the number 11 jersey for the Norwegians.In September 2006, in a match against Hungary, Gamst Pedersen, whose favourite player as a kid was Marco van Basten, scored a goal which was very similar to van Basten's famous goal in the final of the 1988 European Football Championship. Major newspapers Aftenposten, Dagbladet and Verdens Gang all dubbed him van Gamsten as a result of the goal.[3]
On 12 August 2009, he scored 2 goals for Norway in a world cup qualifier against Scotland, scoring in stoppage time in both the first and second half. On 17 November 2010, Pedersen scored in the 34th minute to equalise, playing the full 90 minutes against Republic of Ireland, at the Aviva Stadium, scoring with a superb curling free-kick into the top corner in a 2-1 win.
Personal life
Ernst Pedersen, his father as well as a football coach, began to train him to use his left foot rather than his natural right foot in a bid to help him become a professional player, as there is less competition for left-sided roles within the sport. As a result his left foot has become his dominant foot.[5]Pedersen's popularity soared to new heights due to his own personal website. On it, he posts blogs, pre and post-match views, banter with club and international team mates as well as showing the Blackburn faithful how to make homemade Ice Cream.
Pedersen fronts Norwegian boyband The Players, alongside fellow footballers Freddy dos Santos, Raymond Kvisvik, Kristofer Hæstad and Øyvind Svenning. Released in aid of the Soccer Against Crime campaign, their first single became a hit across Scandinavia
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