Anders Due

Infobox Football biography


playername = Anders Due
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|3|17
cityofbirth = Nykøbing Falster
countryofbirth = Denmark
height = height|m=1.77
position = Winger
currentclub = Aalborg Boldspilklub
clubnumber = 7
contractend = 30 June 2011
youthyears =
youthclubs = Stubbekøbing Boldklub
years = 2002-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2008-present
clubs = Nykøbing Falster Alliancen
FC Nordsjælland
Vitesse Arnhem
AaB Aalborg
caps(goals) =85 (22)
31 (4)
8 (1)
0 (0)
pcupdate = 11 January 2008

Anders Due (born March 17, 1982 in Nykøbing Falster) is a Danish football (soccer) player, who plays as a left midfielder for Danish Superliga side Aalborg Boldspilklub.

Club career

Anders Due stated playing football at Stubbekøbing Boldklub, but like many promisting youngsters from Lolland and Falster switched to Nykøbing Falster Alliancen.

Nykøbing Falster Alliancen

Anders Due started playing for Nykøbing Falster Allicancen (NFA) as a child, having almost his entire football upbringing at the club. Initially used as a left back, he later switched to the left midfield where his brilliant left foot helped crossing to the strikers. He started his professional career with in 2002, playing in the lower divisions of Danish football. He helped the club win several promotions up through the Danish football hierarchy. In 2004 Due signed a contract extension to 2006 along with fellow NFA youngster Anton Smedegaard.

During the 2004/2005 season, Due scored 10 goals, 8 of which were from direct free kicks. As his contract with NFA was running out and with many good displays in the first division, Due had attracted the attention of clubs from the Danish Superliga, especially AGF, Brøndby IF and FC Nordsjælland. In the end he chose FC Nordsjælland, a club with an excellent record of picking good players from first division and turning them into quality players.

FC Nordsjælland

After arriving Due quickly replaced the injury plagued Henrik Eggerts as the first choice on the left midfield at FC Nordsjælland. Anders Due had an astonishing beginning in FC Nordsjælland making 12 assists and scoring twice. Because of this Due was selected for the Danish Superliga Team of the fall 2006. The remaining part of the season was not as successful, but Due still managed to lead the most assist table by the end of the season, with a total of 15 assists.

Vitesse Arnhem

After only one season at FC Nordsjælland, Due was headhunted by Vitesse Arnhem, who previously signed his team mate, Mads Junker. Vitesse, while scouting Junker, had noticed that Due was making most of the assists and decided to pay the 10 million DKK, approx 1.34 million Euro, price tag. Despite initial statements from the FC Nordsjælland owner, Allan K. Pedersen, denying the transfer, Due officially signed a four year contract with Vitesse on July 5, 2006.

Due success during the first season in Vitesse was limited though, making only 17 appearances out of which only 7 were full matches. During the end of the 2006/2007 season, Due told the media that he would most likely be leaving the Vitesse during the summer transfer window, citing Brøndby IF as the most likely destination. Having played in only 17 matches, he was unhappy with the lack of first team football. However, after talks with the manager, he announced that he would stay as the manager had explained that the club saw him as a great player for the future season.

International career

In his first season in the Superliga, Due established himself as one of the best wingers of the league. In January 2006, he was a part of national team manager Morten Olsen's Danish league national team, a representation team under the Danish FA consisting of players from the domestic Superliga. He played three unofficial international matches for the league national team, and scored a goal in the 3-0 victory against Hong Kong.

Because of his good displays during the USA trip, he was called up for the friendly against Paraguay on May 27, 2006 and France on May 31, 2006 as a replacement for Peter Løvenkrands. Due remained on the bench in both games as an unused substitute.

Trivia

* Anders Due is the cousin of Danish National Team and former Bolton, Charlton and Fulham midfielder, Claus Jensen.
* Anders Due’s favourite team is Juventus.
* Anders Due’s favourite player is Alessandro Del Piero.

References

*da icon [http://aabsport.dk/D9F0E860-B9F4-4ADF-B984-D671D77AA564.W5Doc?id=dc7c1150-2aef-492b-b1a1-64450e5aa58e AaB profile]
* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerid=5607 Danish national team profile]
* [http://resol.dr.dk/sportservice_person.aspx?personid=551789 Career stats] at Danmarks Radio

Persondata
NAME = Due, Anders
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Danish footballer
DATE OF BIRTH = March 17, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH = Nykøbing Falster, Denmark
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =