Anxo LamelaCopenhagen, Jun 11 (EFE) .- Teemu Pukki, the star of newcomer Finland with a “sevillista” past, relaunched his career at Danish Brøndby, but despite his good scoring figures in Denmark, Copenhagen’s Parken is black stadium for him.
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For EFE
June 11, 2021 – 05:31
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The 31-year-old Norwich striker, who has just been promoted to the Premier, scored 55 goals in 130 games in four seasons with Brøndby (9, 9, 20 and 17), but was unable to score any against Copenhagen in the national stadium in seven games.
Nor in the other seven he played in the capital derby at home. He only scored two goals at Parken in the Cup. One in the first leg of the semifinals (2016), the other in the final (2017). Both with defeat.
“My four seasons at Brøndby were decisive for me, especially mentally (…) A new coach arrived, Alexander Zorniger, a German. The next two seasons I scored 20 and 17 goals. He seduced the players, he put us in shape and I learned that defensive work benefited me, “he told the Daily Mail years ago.
Pukki, a fast forward with a scoring nose, quickly stood out. Sevilla caught him at the age of 18 for his subsidiary. But two seasons later, after playing only one game with the first team, he returned to his country.
At HJK he scored 13 goals in 25 games, enough for Schalke 04 to sign him. But neither in Germany nor in Scotland, where he spent two years at Celtic, did he just explode. Until the Brøndby got it back.
In Denmark he found his best game and exploited his speed and cunning. At Norwich he has done very good numbers, both in the Premier and in the Championship. His 26 goals this year, which earned him to be the third top scorer in the category, have been capital to certify the return to higher level football.
But two months ago he injured his ankle with his team. And it has been limping until the beginning of June. He came back in the painful defeat against Estonia (0-1), in the last rehearsal before the Eurocup. He played for half an hour and regained his sensations.
It will be a safe starter tomorrow. Their ten goals in qualifying were decisive for the “royal owls” to achieve a milestone, playing a final tournament for the first time.
At Parken, his cursed stadium, he will meet two former teammates at Brøndby (goalkeeper Rønnow and midfielder Nørgaard) and five former Copenhagen rivals (Skov, Boilesen, Zanka, Cornelius and Delaney). Only the last one points to starter in Denmark.
More of his teammates have been through Danish football. Captain Tim Sparv was a mainstay in three Midtjylland league titles. Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky also spent six seasons in Denmark, split between Esbjerg and Brøndby.
And unlike Pukki, Hradecky does have fond memories of Parken: there he was proclaimed Cup champion with Esbjerg in 2013.
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