Hjulmand is seen in Denmark as the future leader of the national team. The athlete’s personality has surprised fans and, above all, those who closely follow the selection. Morten has yet to debut with Kasper Hjulmand (no family connection to Morten).
Lasse Voge, a journalist and commentator for the Danish daily DT, explains that the nominations that have come since Morten Hjulmand’s early days in the national team confirm the image of a combative player with leadership skills.
“The first time they called him up, during training, he was so aggressive, so physical, that the other players had to tell him to keep calm, because he was still hurting someone. The way of training. You have to train with the same intensity with which you play”, he explains to TSF Lasse Voge.
But in the Denmark national team, Hjulmand faces competitors with experience in the major European leagues: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Mathias Jensen, Christian Nörgaard (Brentford), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Christian Eriksen (Manchester United).
“The way he got into the national team was very impressive. When you train with players like Hojbjerg, Eriksen and you have this aggressiveness, you show that it’s your way of being, of playing.” A sign of personality, but also a position taken in the group, says Lasse Voge.
There are signs of leadership in Hjulmand’s role on the pitch and in the dressing room. “He was captain from a very young age at Lecce and we need a leader on the field like him. I think he will have more and more minutes and that he will soon be in the starting lineup for Denmark,” explains the Danish journalist.
“I think he will evolve as a player in a team that has more possession. One of the aspects that made him a desired player for other clubs when he was playing at Lecce was his ability not to lose the ball. But his attacking potential could still be it can improve”. Sporting is an attacking team, which needs to win most of the games, which has a lot of possession, which needs goals. I think they will do well”, he comments.
Lasse Voge compares Hjulmand’s path to that of Rasmus Højlund, Manchester United’s new striker. Both went through the formation of the most successful Danish club, FC Copenhagen, but failed to break into the first team and sought a solution for their careers outside the country.
Both Hjulmand and Højlund went to football in Austria – the Admira Wacker midfielder and Sturm Graz striker – before taking a new step in their careers to Italy where they ended up arousing interest from other clubs.
The Danish national team plays this Thursday with the San Marino national team qualifying for the 2023 Euro Cup, but, unlike Portugal, Denmark is experiencing difficulties. The team has two wins, one draw and one defeat in qualifying group H. Denmark is behind Finland and Kazakhstan.
Source: TSF
