Olsen rages in defence of winner Krohn-Dehli
Reuters - Saturday 09 June 2012, 21:44
Denmark's Michael Krohn-Dehli
hasn't featured on many 'players to watch' features for Euro
2012 and a Ukrainian official initially forgot his name at the
man of the match award ceremony after his winner against the
Netherlands on Saturday.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder, who scored the game's
only goal in the 24th minute, smiled at the gaffe but his coach,
Morten Olsen, seated beside him, was furious.
"Come on, come on," he snapped while turning to the
official, "You've got to be better prepared if you are going to
do something like that."
It was a little glimpse of the demanding approach Olsen
takes to his players - and to anyone around him who fails to
live up to his standards - but it didn't seem to upset
Krohn-Dehli too much.
The Brondby player, who was twice rejected by Amsterdam club
Ajax, was surely enjoying a little schadenfreude after sinking
the Dutch in the Group B opener.
In two injury-plagued spells with Ajax, before and after a
12 game loan to Sparta Rotterdam, Krohn-Dehli managed just four
appearances for the Netherland's top club.
But perhaps aware of upsetting his Dutch girlfriend,
Krohn-Dehli, who was dangerous throughout the game, played down
talk of payback.
"Its not like payback but it's nice when I've spent a lot of
time in Holland and know a lot of people. I was unlucky with
injuries at Ajax and that is part of the game, so there is no
payback," he said.
Olsen was in more generous mood when describing the
performance of a player who did what Netherland's Premier League
top scorer Robin Van Persie couldn't - put away his chances.
"He was unlucky with injuries at Ajax but he was one of our
best men in qualification, he is at his prime now and hope will
play many years for us," he said.
The omission that really hurt Krohn-Dehli the most in his
career was not being named in the Danish squad for the World Cup
two years ago.
Olsen was blunt again when asked about that decision.
"I made a mistake."