At just barely 21 years of age, Danish centre back Simon Kjær is already a key player for Sicilian side Palermo in Serie A, who achieved a highly impressive and surprising 5th place finish this season, just missing out on a Champions League spot to Sampdoria in the final game. Kjær has been viewed as one of Europe's biggest centre back talents since youth, with his former club FC Midtjylland having turned down an offer from Real Madrid in 2007. After 62 apperances in Serie A, no European top club will have failed to take notice of the Dane, who will be one of the hottest transfer prospects of the World Cup, with a reported buyout clause of about £11M for non-Italian sides.
If Arsenal babyface duo Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri were to be out on the lash and suddenly ran into the angelic faced Dane in a dark alley, chances are the encounter wouldn't be a bloody one. But on the football field, the agile duo would have a much harder time getting past the strong and highly anticipative centre back. At 6 ft 2½ in and with good heading ability, he's also strong in the air and has contributed offensively with 5 league goals over two seasons for Palermo. Another key quality of Kjær, similarly to Liverpool's Daniel Agger, is his ability with the ball at his feet. In fact, the centre back duo are so comfortable with the ball that it's often them, rather than the full backs, who are given the responsibility of starting the Danish attacks and give them momentum, perhaps by dribbling the ball past the halfway line or hitting a decisive cross-ball. This results in a sometimes unconventional style of play from the Scandinavian side.
It wasn't until the 9th game of the qualifying campaign that Simon Kjær made his competitive debut for Denmark, but his performances in the remaining qualifiers, including two 1-0 wins againts Sweden and a 1-1 draw against Portugal, were vital in helping Denmark finishing the group ahead of the two favourites. Together with Daniel Agger, he will form one of the strongest center back partnerships in South Africa.
G. Lindström
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