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Proving he belongs on the same stage with the world's elite players has been a theme of Jon Dahl Tomasson's past few seasons, and it has never been more relevant than at the 2002 World Cup.
In the mid-1990s, Dahl Tomasson was one of the most coveted teenaged talents in Europe, but within just a few seasons, he was not only a washout in the English Premier League, but also failed to make the Danish World Cup side for 1998, denying him the chance to savour a wild ride to the quarter-finals at France '98 along with his compatriots.
Since those trying times, Dahl Tomasson has been pure clutch. Back in the Dutch Eredivisie league, he's become the top scorer with premier Dutch side Feyenoord, and he proved his worth to the Danish cause with six goals in the country's last five qualifying games for the 2000 European Championships, including the winning goal in qualifier against Italy.
Not merely a flashy striker, Dahl Tomasson is known for his work ethic as well as his speed and stealth, as he teams up with Ebbe Sand to give the Danes a potent pairing up front.
He has a knack for disappearing from the opposing defence's radar until he's in position to score, as Bulgaria found out the hard way in a qualifying match last year. Dahl Tomasson twice managed to sneak through the Bulgarian defence to put himself in the clear and score both goals in a 2-0 Danish victory.
Dahl Tomasson is "incredibly effective when he wants to (be)," said Denmark coach Morten Olsen. "He can miss a great opportunity, and then he can take a chance and score."
Tomasson's first tenure in the Dutch league began as a teenager in 1994 with SC Heerenveen, where he quickly became a scoring leader. By the 1997-98 season, Tomasson had become such a prolific scorer that he was plucked out of the Dutch ranks by Newcastle United.
However, he was not prepared for the much tougher English Premier League and scored only three goals before returning to the Dutch league, signing on with Feyenoord for the 1998-99 season and quickly establishing himself as one of the stars of the league.
In four seasons, Dahl Tomasson has yet to score less
than 10 goals and led Feyenoord to the UEFA Cup final
in 2002, which could be just the first major title he
propels one of his teams toward.
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