Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Per Christian Røntved | ||
Date of birth | 27 January 1949 | ||
Place of birth | Frederiksberg, Denmark | ||
Playing position | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1967–1972 | Brønshøj BK | 116 | (48) |
1972–1979 | Werder Bremen | 194 | (40) |
1979–1982 | Randers Freja | 114 | (29) |
1983 | Hvidovre IF | 15 | |
National team | |||
1970–1971 | Denmark U-21 | 3 | (0) |
1970–1982 | Denmark | 75 | (11) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Per Christian Røntved (born 27 January 1949) is a Danish former footballer who played professionally for German club SV Werder Bremen from 1972 to 1979. He also played for Danish clubs Brønshøj BK, Randers Freja, and Hvidovre IF. He was named 1972 Danish Player of the Year, and was the first to earn 75 caps for the Denmark national football team, doing so from 1970 to 1982.
Born at Frederiksberg in Copenhagen, Røntved started his club career at local club Brønshøj Boldklub. He made his senior debut as a left winger at the age of 18, and played alongside his footballing idol Erik Nielsen at Brønshøj. He was eventually moved back to the defender position to cover for injuries in the Brønshøj team. He helped the club win promotion for the top-flight Danish 1st Division in 1969. Having participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics, Røntved moved abroad to play professionally for SV Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga.
At Werder Bremen, he played alongside fellow Danish international John Danielsen, under German manager Sepp Piontek. Røntved played seven seasons at Werder Bremen, first as a midfielder, but he eventually settled as a libero. He was known for his good humour in the dressing room, and was chosen as Werder Bremen team captain for a number of games. As Werder was not a rich club, the notion that they could always "Sell Røntved" (German: Verkauf Röntved) if they needed money was popularized. According to new Werder manager Otto Rehhagel, Røntved was the next best libero in the World, second only to Franz Beckenbauer. He was expected to replace Beckenbauer at FC Bayern Munich in 1977, but Røntved chose to stay with Werder. He played 194 games and scored 40 goals for Werder in the Bundesliga until June 1979.