Mikkel Damsgaard: From the Roskilde Fjord to La Samp
It was thirty-seven minutes into the pivotal final games in Group B at Euro 2020 that Mikkel Damsgaard announced himself on the biggest of stages. The 20-year-old received a pass on the edge of the D from Pierre-Emile Højberg, from there he took two touches to set himself before curling the ball past Matvey Safonov into the top corner. It was a moment he had pictured in his head since he could remember. He had just become Denmark’s youngest ever scorer at a European Championship. To do it in Copenhagen made it all the sweeter.
Jyllinge to Nordsjælland
Damsgaard’s journey starts around 40km west of Telia Parken, in the town of Jyllinge. To most, it would be an unremarkable place, born out of a fishing village it is now home to just over 10,000 people. There’s not much to do in Jyllinge, there is a small shopping center, two primary schools, two churches, and a marina. But to the Damsgaard family and many others, it is a place they are proud to call home.
The young Dane’s football journey started at 5 years old when he joined the local club, Jyllinge FC. A club based on inclusion that sports their vision statement “That everyone has the opportunity to have fun and develop in the best possible way in a safe and good environment” with pride. Mikkel was coached by his dad in his football infancy — someone he describes as very demanding as a coach.
Damsgaard however, always seemed to be destined to go on to greater things. At 12 years old he was scouted by FC Nordsjælland, who are based in the nearby town of Farum (just a 25-minute car journey from Jyllinge). FCN (as they are often referred to) are renowned in Denmark and in football analytics as a club that does scouting and data right. They are an extremely modern club that invests heavily in youth football and developing the next stars of the game. It was the perfect place for Damsgaard to harness his immense talent.
Mikkel would only have to wait five years from being scouted at the age of 12 to making his debut for the first team. He started a Danish Cup game vs. Vejgaard BK in September 2017 and from here his progression was seamless. He went from playing 38.1% of available minutes as a 17-year-old to playing 86% of available minutes two seasons later — and still as a teenager. In his three seasons at ‘Tigrene’ he scored 13 goals and provided 15 assists in 83 Superliga games.
The Italian Dream
It was the 6th of February 2020 when Sampdoria — one of Italy’s most famous clubs — announced Damsgaard would join them that coming summer. He became the third biggest sale in Nordsjælland’s history (behind Emre Mor & Mohammed Kudus) as he set off for the city of Genoa. Sampdoria — like FCN — are renowned for their scouting network. Players such as Bruno Fernandes & Milan Skriniar have called the Stadio Luigi Ferraris home over the years. It seemed like the ideal place for Damsgaard to further his development.
However, nobody — not even Mikkel himself — could have foreseen the impact he’d have in Northern Italy. Expectations were set that he would be someone who would get opportunities from the bench, that it may take a season to adjust but there would be an element of patience with a 20-year-old coming from such a different culture (both in footballing terms and lifestyle). But eighteen starts and 1818 minutes on the pitch later, Damsgaard has become an integral part of a Sampdoria team that managed a top-half finish under Claudio Ranieri. So, what makes him so exciting and why has he become so crucial to ‘I Blucerchiati’:
Style of Play
Positioning
Claudio Ranieri’s Sampdoria team were an extremely tactically disciplined side that managed a ninth-placed in Italy’s top division last season. Often — 52.6% of the time to be precise — they lined up in a 4–4–2 formation. Through this, they utilised a high-intensity system (top of Serie A for attempted pressures in 20/21). They would begin their defensive structure by applying a high amount of man-to-man pressure on the opposition defenders when playing it out from the back. In the second phase they would drop back into two structured and disciplined blocks of four. In attack, they would rely on a counter-attacking system that put an emphasis on long transitions. Damsgaard would play an important role in the way that Ranieri’s team attacked (more on this later) as he would make runs from wide left to the inside to cause confusion in transitioning defences.
As can often happen in a young footballer's career, they are used in different positions as managers try to adapt them to their plans. Damsgaard was no different in his inaugural Serie A season, playing in Left-Wing/Midfield, Right Wing/Midfield, Attacking Midfield, and as a Second Striker. The position he was used most often in, and one he made his own, was on the left-hand side of the midfield four.
Attacking Play
Damsgaard ended the season with two goals and four assists in the league — and while that may seem low for someone that made 18 starts and is considered an attacking player, that doesn’t tell the full story. There is of course plenty of room for improvement in the final third for the Dane. A return of 0.30 Goals + Assists per90 in Serie A (just under a goal contribution every 3 games) is an adequate return for a 20-year-old in their debut season. While Damsgaard wasn’t a goalscoring threat, he wasn’t really asked to be. Sampdoria were average (ranked 12th) in the league for xG across the season (46.2), with veteran Fabio Quagierella being their main threat.
He put up 0.10 non-penalty goals per 90 and 0.12npxG per 90 — meaning he was about as clinical as he was expected to be. These stats back up that Damsgaard wasn’t asked to be a goalscoring threat, he either wasn’t asked to be in a goalscoring situation or failed to do so (I lean towards the former). Where the Jyllinge native did impress is with his creativity. He provided 0.20 assists per 90, in the 58th percentile for Attacking Midfielders/Wingers across Europe’s top 5 leagues in the past 365 days. He also provided the joint second-most assists for Sampdoria with 4.
The assist that Damsgaard provided for Keita Baldé in a shock 2–1 victory for La Samp against eventual Scudetto winners Inter perhaps encapsulated everything that is so great about Denmark’s number 14. He carries the ball from just inside Inter’s half and targets Alessandro Bastoni, the LCB, with very few options in front of him. Damsgaard is direct and knocks the ball past Bastoni to the right-hand side of the box, banking on his pace to get him there first. He does get there first, and by that time Baldé is making his way into the box. Damsgaard then sends a low-driven cross with pinpoint accuracy to the feet of the Spanish-born forward, who makes contact and puts it past the seasoned Samir Handanovic.
Ball Progression
As mentioned previously, Damsgaard is vital to how Sampdoria attacks. They sit in their structured two banks of four and spring the opposition with faced paced counter-attacks once they won the ball. One of Damsgaard’s best attributes is his ability to bypass opposition players. As mentioned recently by the excellent Lee Scott (@FMAnalysis) on the equally as excellent Scouted Football Podcast, the Dane ranks highly in Packing stats (you can read more about what these are here). This is invaluable to Sampdoria, a team that often will concede the majority of possession to the opposition. Damsgaard often receives the ball in behind the opposition midfield, in the attacking third. His ability to find this space effectively and consistently is essential to the way Ranieri’s team attacks. It allows them to progress the ball up the pitch quickly as a counter-attacking unit (he receives 6.67 progressive passes per90 — the fourth-most in the Sampdoria squad).
He is a very effective dribbler, with 2.59 successful dribbles per90. And whilst he may be below the average for attacking midfielders & wide players in progressive carries (he’s in the 43rd percentile) this can be partly put down to the tactics of the side he plays for — as he is ranked second in the team (behind Antonio Candreva) for this statistic with 5.69 per90. He has extremely good close control but combines that with the knowledge on how to use his speed and will often back himself to beat a defender when knocking it past them.
One area of Damsgaard’s game that will need improvement if he is to make the step up in his development is his passing ability. He may be above the average for his position in progressive passing (3.50 per90) but his overall passing stats leave a lot to be desired. His passing accuracy is 70.8% — while we do expect attacking players to take risks on the ball this is well below the average for his position. He also struggles to make what some people may call ‘killer’ passes, with just 1.37 key passes per90. Some of this can be put down to the side that he plays for and his limited time on the ball, but it is still a noticeable area of improvement for the midfielder/attacker to work on.
Defensive Ability
While Damsgaard’s attacking and on-the-ball capabilities are what you’d expect for a young player (lots of promise but plenty of room for improvement), his defensive acumen is already at an elite level. In terms of his position, he is in the top 99th percentile for pressures (29.19), top 97th percentile for both tackles (2.54) and interceptions (1.42), top 96th percentile for blocks (2.18), top 65th percentile for clearances (0.66) and top 78th percentile for aerial duels won (1.12) (all per90). I understand that’s a lot of numbers but in the simplest of terms — Mikkel Damsgaard is extremely talented at the defensive side of the game.
When people talk about Damsgaard they will often refer to his ‘pressing’ stats, and rightly so. The Dane ranked 10th overall at the end of the season (in Serie A) for Pressures per90 minutes — and was four years younger than anyone else in the top 10. His high energy style may suggest that he can be erratic in his defending, but this is far from the truth. He is often tasked with assisting Sampdoria’s fullbacks when doubling up against dangerous attackers. For example, Damsgaard was tasked with defending against Gian Piero Gasperini’s high octane Atalanta side away from home, doubling up with left-back Tommaso Augello against Atalanta’s wing-back system in a surprise 3–1 win.
While there can often be little in the way of value when comparing two players, Mikkel Damsgaard’s high energy but very defensively disciplined style is reminiscent of former Liverpool & Feyenoord hero Dirk Kuyt. Both are players that will leave everything out on the pitch and press opposition defences until they have nothing left — but are also extremely smart in the way that they defend which leads to a high number of tackles and interceptions that allow their team to attack quickly and effectively.
Concluding Thoughts & Damsgaard’s Future
Damsgaard has built on a very good first season in Bel Paese to become one of the breakout stars of Euro 2020. He exceeded expectations to become a vital cog in Claudio Ranieri’s well-oiled machine. He particularly stood out in his defensive abilities and the intensity in which he plays the game — which has led to plenty of plaudits. While there were promising signs in the attacking third there is still plenty of room for improvement, Damsgaard will want to improve on his creative numbers and become more of a goalscoring threat through his positioning and anticipation. His role in Denmark’s games against both Belgium and Russia showed what he can offer going into next season, as he looked extremely dangerous in albeit a small sample of game time.
However, Ranieri has now left Sampdoria after the expiration of his contract. Sampdoria are still without a manager with pre-season just a few weeks away and will now be in transition. It’s extremely unlikely that any manager that comes in will play a 4–4–2 that suited Damsgaard so well. He’ll arrive late to pre-season and have a new man in charge to impress — it’s not the most ideal of situations for the 20-year-old, who has lost a manager that put a lot of faith in him. But Damsgaard is resilient, adaptable, and talented enough to overcome these sorts of obstacles (and who knows, the new manager might be even better for him and his development). He is someone that was managed by the toughest coach of all — their own father. His ability to play in several different roles means his talent will always likely shine through in the end.
The Future
In all honesty, the future can be anything Damsgaard wants it to be. He is talented enough to reach the highest levels of the game and has already been linked to teams such as Juventus and Tottenham. For now, he is in a great place for his development. He is still raw in the final third and as can happen with versatile youngsters, still figuring out his best position (some will say it’s down the left-hand side, others prefer him central). Sampdoria allows him to compete at a high level without any large pressures having a negative influence (Emre Mor’s path after FCN has been less than comfortable — although other circumstances are at play).
Italy seems to be the perfect place for Mikkel Damsgaard’s style of football. Serie A has transitioned into a higher intensity league in recent years and teams like Atalanta and Sassuolo have perfectly showcased the new style that is making the Italian league more exciting than ever before. It would be no surprise if one of Italy’s big three (Juventus, A.C. Milan & Inter) take the chance on the 20-year-old before too long, but all three have become revolving doors for managers in recent years so it’s hard to say what they will look like in even a years’ time.
It would also not come as a surprise if Bundesliga and Premier League teams came knocking on Sampdoria’s door before too long either. His game translates well to both leagues and his adaptability will be attractive to top managers. He could as easily be a LWB in an Antonio Conte 3–5–2 as he could be an ideal fluid attacker in Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Damsgaard has announced himself on the big stage. It’s now up to him to build on his performances with Denmark with even further improvement back at Sampdoria. He’s come from that small town in Denmark and defied expectations his whole life, his talent and hard work mean that nobody should be surprised if he makes it to the very top.
