Daniel Agger

Brøndby IF

In July 2004, he was moved from the youth squad to the first team, following the departure of Swedish international defender Andreas Jakobsson. Agger quickly established himself not only as a first team regular, but as one of the key components in the team that won the 2004–05 Danish Superliga championship. After the first half of the season Agger was named 2004 "talent of the year" by Spillerforeningen (the Danish equivalent of the English PFA). An injury sustained in the 2005–06 Danish Superliga season in September forced him out for the remainder of 2005. On 6 December 2005 and at only 20 years of age, Agger was awarded the Danish "talent of the year" for all sports.

Liverpool

2005–06 season

Agger was long linked to a transfer to a big club, and in the January 2006 transfer window, he got his wish and was looking to join Premier League team Liverpool, then holders of the UEFA Champions League. Agger did not travel with his Brøndby teammates for their winter training camp in January and on 12 January 2006, he signed a 4+1⁄2-year contract with Liverpool. The £6 million fee made him the most expensive footballer sold by a Danish club to a foreign club. During his first half-season at Liverpool, injuries limited Agger to four first-team appearances, and he missed the club's victory in the 2006 FA Cup Final.

2006–07 season

Agger played the full game as Liverpool won the 2006 FA Community Shield against Chelsea. Still…

Agger made his debut for Denmark on 2 June 2005, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 friendly win over Finland in Tampere. Agger spent the next national team match on the bench before playing the full 4–1 friendly win on 17 August against England, alongside Per Nielsen. On 7 September, he scored his first international goal in a 6–1 home win over Georgia in the nation's unsuccessful campaign to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In May 2006, he played 10 games and scored 3 goals for the Danish under-21 national team, for which he was selected to play in the 2006 European Under-21 Championship tournament.

Agger scored on 2 June 2007 in a 3–3 home draw against rivals Sweden for UEFA Euro 2008 qualification; the game was abandoned in the last minute for crowd misbehaviour and awarded to the Swedes. He made eight appearances in qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scoring once in a 3–0 home win over Malta. In the finals in South Africa, Agger scored an own goal to open a 2–0 loss to the Netherlands in the first game; Simon Poulsen had headed the ball into him while trying to clear Robin van Persie's cross. He played the other two fixtures in a group stage exit. Agger first captained Denmark on 11 August 2010 in a 2–2 home friendly draw with neighbours Germany. He was given the armband a year later as Poulsen suffered from stress. Under Agger's captaincy, the Danes qualified for UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, and he was again a fixture in a group stage…

In March 2021 it was announced that Agger would become manager of Danish 1st Division side HB Køge in June 2021 with former Danish national team player Lars Jacobsen as his assistant. In August 2021, Agger was registered as a player again, boding a comeback to playing football. After two seasons in charge of the club, Agger left by mutual consent in June 2023. On 8 August 2024, Agger became assistant manager of the Denmark national football team.

Agger selected Volbeat's The Garden's Tale as his choice for the "LFC Athens 2007 Playlist" in the buildup of Liverpool's 2007 UEFA Champions League Final appearance. In May 2010, Agger married girlfriend Sofie Nielsen in Denmark. The couple wore matching white outfits for the wedding, which was followed by a reception at the Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen. They have two sons. In September 2014, Agger donated 20,000 kroner, about £2100, to the Denmark homeless national football side to help pay for travel expenses so the team could make it to the Homeless World Cup in Chile. Agger founded The Agger Foundation in 2012 aiming to help children in need.

Tattoos

Outside of football, Agger is a qualified tattoo artist. He has numerous tattoos including a Viking on his upper right arm, a large drawing of Vikings and a graveyard that spans his whole back, which includes his birth date and the Latin motto "Mors certa, hora incerta" ("death is certain, its hour is uncertain"), forming a memento mori. He also features an intricate band around his left elbow which includes the phrase "Succes er at leve som man selv vil" ("Success is to live as you wish" in Danish). In August 2012, during a period of intense speculation regarding his future at the club, Agger had the letters "YNWA" tattooed on the fingers of his right hand, referencing the anthem of Liverpool F.C., "You'll Never Walk Alone".