Nicklas Bendtner scored a two-digit number of goals for the first time in the last decade, helping Rosenborg win the country's top flight, and upon his return to the national team, he will try to help the Danish team overcome the Irish national team in the crucial World Cup qualifying match. But how did this striker manage to revive his scoring touch and transform from "Lord Bendtner" into "Emperor Bendtner"? Sky Sports analyst James Walker-Roberts tried to find answers to these questions.
"I always felt a passion for football, but probably didn't always look at it from the right perspective," Perspective: if you asked English football fans what perspective they have on N. Bendtner's performances on the field, you would hardly receive many positive responses. During the nine years he spent in England, eight of which in the Premier League, he only scored a two-digit number of goals once - in the 2006-2007 season when he was loaned to the Birmingham team playing in the Championship division. The player is mostly remembered not for his productive game, but for the title bestowed upon him - "Lord," or for his underwear goal celebration, for which the striker showed his briefs, resulting in a €100,000 fine. However, he is also remembered for bold statements, one of which he claimed he would become "one of the best strikers in the world."
At 29 years old, the player had not achieved his set goals so far, but the striker finally experienced a resurgence in his career. After ending his ten-year relationship with Arsenal, N. Bendtner initially spent a couple of unproductive seasons in the Wolfsburg team, and later one unsuccessful year in the Nottingham Forest club, before finally arriving at the Rosenborg team in Norway.
"This is a fantastic purchase for the Rosenborg club and for all of Norwegian football. The arrival of such a caliber player at Rosenborg club is an event that the Norwegian league should be proud of," - the team's coach, Kare Ingebrigtsen, said during the player's presentation.
N. Bendtner himself admitted that he went to Norway hoping to learn the secrets of football played in that country and to learn in a team known for squeezing the maximum out of the players.
The positive steps in the player's introduction to the team were immediately evident: in his debut match coming off the bench, he made an assist and helped the team win the Norwegian Super Cup. Meanwhile, in the first two league matches, he scored two goals, and his team started the season with four consecutive wins. However, his teammates were surprised at the time not by his successful performances on the field.
"Bendtner is the best player I've ever played with. When we acquired him, there was a lot of interest in the press, and I understand that. He is a top-level player, which is noticeable in training and in matches, where he shows his level.
Indeed, he does not have a big ego. I expected a player like him to be pompous and arrogant, but in reality, he is a good guy," - defender Alex Gersbach spoke about the team's newcomer to Goal.
However, do not think that the player suddenly became a different person: when a journalist once asked him if he enjoyed being Nicklas Bendtner in Norway, the striker gave his usual answer: "I enjoy being Nicklas Bendtner anywhere." His path was not easy in the new country either; after a successful start to the season, the striker later stopped scoring goals, and the team's coach, K. Ingebrigtsen, was criticized for not benching the Dane afterward. The coach justified it by believing that continuous playing would make N. Bendtner better.
"My advantage over critics was that I saw Nicklas every day in training. We saw things that we hadn't seen at the Lerkendal stadium (Rosenborg's home field) in a long time. Nicklas had to get back into good playing form. In recent years, he had played so few games that he needed time to get back in his playing rhythm, which he could only achieve by playing. And I had to let him onto the field so he could achieve that," - the coach told the Norwegian newspaper VG.
The strategic decision paid off: Rosenborg ended the season winning their 25th national champion title, and N. Bendtner, with 18 goals, became the top scorer in the Eliteserien. After the season, the player's performance was praised, even by the same VG newspaper that had criticized him at the beginning of the season.
"If you were to compare the current N. Bendtner with the N. Bendtner you've seen in recent seasons, you could talk about a true breakthrough story. His non-standard career decision finally brought him positive results. He unquestionably accepted the role given to him in the Rosenborg team and we increasingly saw moments that no one else in the Eliteserien championship could replicate. There is no longer any critic debating whether the decision to call him up to the team was right. Rosenborg won the title, and a significant part of the credit goes to N. Bendtner. Congratulations on the gold, Lord Bendtner. You deserve it," - Leif Welhaven wrote in the newspaper after the end of the season.
The player's demonstrable form, undoubtedly the best of his entire career, also caught the attention of the Danish national team, where he had been deemed unnecessary in recent years. "Bendtner onto the field - we want Bendtner on the field," - the entire Copenhagen stadium chanted in September while Denmark faced Poland. The desire of 30,000 fans was fulfilled when the striker entered the field after a 4-0 victory substitution.
"The reception from the spectators as I stepped onto the field gave me special feelings. It was irreplaceable. I rarely feel anything in my body, but entering the field this time, I felt excited," - N. Bendtner said after the match.
Although the striker has not scored a goal since his return to the field, in the recent matches against Romania, he made it into the starting lineup and earned a penalty of eleven meters, allowing the team to fight to a 1-1 draw.
Today, the player may have the chance to step into the starting lineup of the Danish national team again in the crucial match against Ireland, especially when Nicolai Jorgensen may miss the match due to injury. However, regardless of whether N. Bendtner appears on the field or not, the 29-year-old player can consider this year very successful.
"Before joining this team, I no longer wanted to play football. It was hard for me to understand what I did wrong during my career. The situation changed when I returned to the field, and the joy of playing soccer came back to me. I just had to find a place where I could do that," - the player spoke about the future a few days ago to NRK.
As for the future of the player - the Rosenborg club already knows they may lose their best player. The team's coach acknowledged that the player is "too good for the Eliteserien championship," but hopes that in one scenario, they may be able to retain the player.
"We hope that Denmark will qualify for the World Cup. In that case, I believe we could keep the player in Trondheim. Here he has a familiar environment and knows he will definitely be part of the team," - K. Ingebrigtsen said.
The wanderer's career history up to now, N. Bendtner openly admits he is not looking for a new workplace.
"As long as you are happy somewhere and it seems like the right place to you, I see no reason to change that. I came here and found in myself what I had long forgotten... All of this means a lot to me. Here, I have rediscovered the love of playing football. I regained a love that was a significant part of my life," - the player spoke about the future.
In Norway, N. Bendtner not only revived his career but also gained a new nickname. Since the "Lord" nickname was already taken in the Rosenborg team, the player is now known in Norway as "Emperor Bendtner."
