A couple of months before the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan two years ago, your correspondent met up with Danish international defender Thomas Helveg, writes Paddy Agnew
In the course of an amicable chat, the easy-going Helveg made a couple of seemingly rash predictions about the forthcoming World Cup.
Denmark started off as outsiders in a first-round group that was seemingly dominated by reigning champions France. Also in the group were two awkward customers in Uruguay and Senegal, the former an experienced campaigner and the latter a beaten African Cup of Nations finalist, just a few months earlier.
Were little Denmark going just to make up the numbers, we wondered? No way, replied Helveg, we will get out of that group and, by the way, watch out for a Senegal upset against France in the opening game of the tournament.
Denmark did, of course, get out of that group two summers ago, only to fail miserably against England in the second round. Likewise, Senegal lived up to Helvegian predictions by drilling the first hole in the side of the French cruiser by winning that opening game 1-0.
Given that recent precedent, it was with no small interest your correspondent sat down to talk about this summer's Euro 2004 finals with Helveg recently. Since last summer, Helveg has moved from one side of Milan to the other, leaving reigning European champions AC Milan to move to Inter Milan.
Given that AC Milan continue to look all-dominant in Europe and at home, whilst Inter continue to swirl around in football's equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle, one might expect to find Helveg a little down at the mouth. Not so. The welcoming grin and the warm hand-shake are as strong as ever. Asked about Inter's turbulent season, he just smiles, shrugs his shoulders and says: "Well, it's not boring. There's plenty to talk about around here."
Ask him about Denmark, however, and he is positively forthcoming. Surprise, surprise, he feels his country can do very well. He bases that assessment not just on the fact that Denmark won a tough qualifying group that included Norway, Rumania and Bosnia but also because he believes Danish football has never been stronger than today.
"We don't have just 11 good players. Now, we have a strong squad of 20 or more excellent players. That might indeed be the difference between this Denmark and the team of 10 years ago. We have substitutes for just about every position and we have a great coach in Marten Olsen.
"We're no longer dependent on a couple of players, like 10 years ago, when we relied a lot on the Laudrup brothers. But if they were not playing well or were ruled out injured, we were in difficulty."
Denmark, of course, have drawn Italy, Sweden and Bulgaria in the first round of Euro 2004. For most of the Danish nation, the clash with the "auld enemy" Sweden in the "Scandinavian Derby" will be the highlight of the first round. Yet for 32-year-old Helveg, in his 11th season in Italian football, the clash with his adopted country will be an even bigger moment: "Italy: we've beaten them before and I really think we can do it again. I was happy about the draw because Italy is a side we know really well, not just me because I play in Italy, but all the lads. Italy are unlikely to surprise us. There's a lot of leg-pulling in the dressing-room here at Inter at the moment with guys saying, 'you watch out, when we meet in Portugal, you're going to have a hard time'."
Denmark famously won the European championships at Sweden '92. Helveg was a young player at the time, watching at home in Denmark, but he remembers the moment well: "I was hanging out at home with my friends and it was so amazing. For a few days, the whole country ground to a halt, red and white colours everywhere, everybody out on the street having a huge street party. It was unforgettable. Maybe it could happen again this summer, certainly we've got a good enough team. We want to go all the way and I really believe we can do it."
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