He is a 44-year-old football pundit who as a player had a hard-hitting style, on and off the pitch.
Was he good?
The defensive midfielder played for the national football team at two World Cups and two European Championships between 1993 and 2002. He was infamous for his rash, unstoppable tackles that earned him the nickname ‘The Lawn Mower’.
Why infamous?
Just last weekend, he was arrested – and released again – for attacking the police officers who were arresting his 23-year-old stepson Nick outside a cocktail bar in Aarhus. The pair then got to spend some father-son quality time in police custody.
Not his first time in jail then?
He has been involved in a handful of violent incidents and convicted of violence twice.
What makes him so angry?
That varies. His most memorable episode took place at Café Ketchup in Copenhagen in 2002 when he head-butted the restaurant manager in front of his fellow team members and 200 dinner guests because he didn’t like the music. He then knocked out the kitchen chef. The episode cost him four months behind bars and his contract.
How has he responded?
He explained his version of several of these episodes in his autobiography ‘No Regrets’, which he named after the giant tattoo covering his belly.
Shouldn’t he have been a boxer?
‘Tøffe’ has stepped into the boxing ring on several occasions. If you remember the Holyfield-Nielsen showdown in 2011, you may also recall that his ‘celebrity bout’ against Aqua’s René Dif, who was 15kg heavier, ended in a tie. It was a bit disappointing given that he had knocked media whore Sidney Lee unconscious in no less than eight humiliating seconds.
Where is he now?
Despite his violent clashes, he remains a respected football TV pundit and co-commentator, and he also has a weekly sports column in Ekstra Bladet tabloid called ‘Shut up and listen to the lawnmower’.
