Michael Gravgaard

Michael Gravgaard (born April 3, 1978) is a Denmark professional Football (soccer), who is currently playing for FC Nantes. He normally plays the Defender (football) position, but he can also play as a striker. He has played more than 10 games and scored five goals for the Denmark national football team.

Biography

Born in Randers, Gravgaard started his senior career with local club Randers Freja in 1996. Initially playing in the lower-league Danish 2nd Division, Gravgaard helped the club win promotion and relegation to the Danish 1st Division in 1999. He entered the Danish top-flight football relatively late in his career, as he foremost wished to pursue an academic career. Only after graduating as an accountant, Gravgaard signed a contract in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship, when he moved to Viborg FF in the summer 2002.

At Viborg, he established himself as one of the best central defenders in the Superliga, and he was at times used, with relative success, as a striker. In his three seasons at Viborg, he appeared in 94 league games for the club and he scored 18 goals. In the summer break 2005, Gravgaard moved on to league rivals F.C. Copenhagen (FCK), alongside Viborg's goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen. He quickly established himself among the key players of FCK, and due to his heading ability, he soon earned the nickname of "Copenhagen Air Force" among the FCK fans.

He was selected for the Denmark national football team in August 2005. He played the second half, coming on as a substitute for Per Nielsen, and scored the goal to 3-0, in a 4-1 friendly match win against England national football team. Gravgaard played his first full international match on September 7 2005, against Georgia national football team. In the following two games against Greece national football team and Kazakhstan national football team, he scored a goal in each match. The start of his national team career thus featured three goals in five games, an impressive tally for a central defender.

In the January 2007 transfer window, he was linked with a move to England clubs Newcastle United F.C. and West Ham United F.C., but the rumours quickly took off.

On June 2 2007, Gravgaard stopped the attacking fan in the 2008 UEFA qualifier fan attack in an international match against Sweden national football team which was subsequently abandoned.

On July 6 2008, he joined Ligue 1 side FC Nantes

International goals

Honours

Team
- Danish 2nd Division: 1998-99, with Randers
- Danish Superliga: 2005-06 & 2006-07, with FCK
- Royal League: 2005-06, with FCK

Individual
- 2005 Danish Superliga profile (by the Superliga managers)
- 2005 Danish profile of the year (by the player association)
- 2005 Danish team of the year (by the player association)
- 2006 Danish Superliga autumn profile (by Tipsbladet)
- 2006 Danish profile of the year (by the player association)
- 2006 Danish team of the year (by the player association)