Michael Gravgaard

Early career

Born in Spentrup, eight kilometres north of 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 to the 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 in July 2002.

Viborg

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 Copenhagen (FCK), alongside Viborg's goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen.

Copenhagen (FCK)

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. In the January 2007 transfer window, he was linked with a move to the English Premier League, where both Newcastle United and West Ham United were rumoured to offer him a contract. None of the rumours were however converted to a transfer, and so he continued to play for FCK until July 2008.

Nantes

On 6 July 2008, he signed a contract…

Gravgaard was selected for the Denmark national 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. Gravgaard played his first full international match on 7 September 2005, against Georgia. In the following two games against Greece and Kazakhstan, 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. On 2 June 2007, Gravgaard stopped the attacking fan from reaching referee Herbert Fandel in the 2008 UEFA qualifier fan attack in an international match against Sweden which was subsequently abandoned. He played his latest and 18th game for the national team in September 2007.

Randers Freja

Danish 2nd Division: 1998–99 F.C. Copenhagen

Danish Superliga: 2005–06 and 2006–07 Royal League: 2005–06 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)