Mariann Gajhede Knudsen
Danish footballer (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mariann Gajhede Knudsen (born 16 November 1984) is a Danish football coach and former player, who played as a central midfielder for the Danish national team. She was named Danish Player of the Year in 2008.[1] Gajhede is the assistant coach at A-Liga club Fortuna Hjørring.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 November 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Skagen, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fortuna Hjørring | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Skagen IK | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –2001 | B52/Aalborg | ||
| 2002–2010 | Fortuna Hjørring | ||
| 2011–2016 | Linköping FC | 117 | (10) |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | Denmark U17 | 8 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Denmark U19 | 24 | (2) |
| 2003–2004 | Denmark U21 | 10 | (2) |
| 2003–2015 | Denmark | 107 | (6) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Gajhede Knudsen represented Fortuna Hjørring in both legs of the 2003 UEFA Women's Cup Final, a 1–7 aggregate defeat by Umeå IK of Sweden. After being named 2008 Danish Player of the Year, she was nearly forced into retirement in 2009, when a blood clot on her leg kept her out for approximately twelve months.[2]
In November 2010 Gajhede Knudsen brought eight years and 215 matches with Fortuna Hjørring to an end and signed for Linköpings. She was cup-tied for the remainder of LFC's 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.[3] She won the 2016 Damallsvenskan league championship with Linköpings, then retired as the successful squad broke up at the end of the season.[4]
International career
Gajhede Knudsen made her senior international debut in October 2003, in a 6–1 win over Belgium. She went on to play at UEFA Women's Euro 2005 in North West England[5] and the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China. An anterior cruciate ligament injury kept Gajhede Knudsen out of UEFA Women's Euro 2009.[6]
She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013.[7] In Denmark's opening group match against hosts Sweden Gajhede Knudsen gave her team the lead in an eventful 1–1 draw.[8]
In November 2014, exhaustion and niggling injuries caused Gajhede Knudsen to reluctantly withdraw temporarily from national team selection, allowing her to focus on club football.[2] Gajhede retired from the national team in 2015, leading to a significant transition for the midfield in her absence.[9]
Managerial career
In 2017, Gajhede joined the Norwegian national team staff as a fitness coach and physiotherapist. In 2026 she joined A-Liga club Fortuna Hjørring as the assistant coach.[10][11]
