Pernille Harder (footballer)

Pernille Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for English FA Women's Super League club Chelsea and the Danish national team. In September 2020, she became the world's most expensive female footballer following her transfer from Wolfsburg to Chelsea.[1]

Pernille Harder
Harder with Denmark in 2017
Personal information
Full name Pernille Harder
Date of birth (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992
Place of birth Ikast, Denmark
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 23
Youth career
1997–2005 Tulstrup-Faurholt
2005–2007 Ikast
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Team Viborg
2010–2012 Skovbakken 27 (22)
2012–2016 Linköping 88 (71)
2017–2020 Wolfsburg 75 (68)
2020– Chelsea 11 (4)
National team‡
2007–2009 Denmark U17 23 (9)
2009–2011 Denmark U19 15 (13)
2009– Denmark 123 (64)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2020

Harder, who is also known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy, won the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award in 2018 and 2020.[2]

Club career

Denmark
Harder in 2013

Harder played for Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken in her native Denmark's Elitedivisionen.[3] Skovbakken had made Harder and her contemporary Sofie Junge Pedersen contracted players in April 2010, in recognition of their exception potential.[4]

Linköpings FC

Harder chose Swedish club Linköpings FC for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in Scandinavia. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at relegation-bound Sunnanå SK.[5]

In the 2015 Damallsvenskan season Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare (English: Forward of the Year) and Årets Allsvenska Spelare (English: League Player of the Year). At the annual awards gala she shared the stage with male winner Zlatan Ibrahimović and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world class" by Swedish national coach Pia Sundhage.[6][7] Harder was also voted Danish Football Player of the Year in 2015.[8] In June 2016, Harder was among 30 local worthies to be named in a Wall of Fame by Linköping Municipality.[9]

Harder enjoyed further success in the 2016 Damallsvenskan season, retaining the League Player of the Year award. Her 23 league goals secured the Top Goalscorer award and helped Linköping win the Damallsvenskan title.[10] By now a transfer target for the biggest clubs in women's football, Harder's agent announced in November 2016 that she would be leaving Linköping for a new challenge.[11]

VfL Wolfsburg

In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg running from January 2017. In all four seasons with the team, Harder won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. She also played in two Champions League finals (2018 and 2020), losing both to Lyon.

Chelsea

On 1 September 2020, Harder signed for Chelsea on a three-year contract for a world-record fee for a female footballer, reportedly in excess of £250,000.[12][13][14]

International career

At the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand, Harder was part of the Denmark team who won their group before losing 4–0 to eventual champions North Korea in the quarter-final.[15] Still 16 years old, she contributed a hat-trick to a crushing 15–0 win over Georgia in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.[16]

Harder scored further hat-tricks against Austria and Armenia in 2011 and Russia in 2013.[17] She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013.[18] With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.[19]

In October 2013, Harder won her 50th cap for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with Serbia. She scored Denmark's goal in the match.[20] In March 2016, Harder was appointed captain of the national team.[21]

In 2017, she was named in national coach Nils Nielsen's Denmark squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She captained the team to the final and scored a goal in Denmark's 4–2 defeat by hosts the Netherlands. She was voted runner-up to Lieke Martens in the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award for 2016–17.[22]

Career statistics

Club summary
As of match played 15 November 2020.[23][24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Other[lower-alpha 4] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Linköpings 2012 Damallsvenskan 10300———103
2013 211842———2520
2014 149610—61—2620
2015 211753—————2620
2016 222414————2328
Total 8871161900612011091
Wolfsburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 12632—20—178
2017–18 211732—88—3227
2018–19 211855—68—3231
2019–20 212752—79—3338
Total 7568161100232500114105
Chelsea 2020–21 FA WSL 42002100—63
Career total 167141323021292620230199
  1. Includes the Svenska Cupen, DFB-Pokal and FA Cup
  2. Includes the FA Women's League Cup
  3. Includes the UEFA Champions League
  4. Includes the Svenska Supercupen

International goals
# Date Location Opponent Assist/Pass Score Result Competition
1 24 October 2009 Vejle, Denmark  Georgia 3–0 15–0 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying round
2 7–0
3 12–0
4 3 October 2010 Vejle, Denmark   Switzerland 1–3 1–3 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying play-off
5 21 September 2011 Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia 3–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying round
6 22 October 2011 Vejle, Denmark  Austria 1–0 3–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying round
7 2–0
8 3–0
9 23 November 2011 Vejle, Denmark  Armenia 4–0 11–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying round
10 6–0
11 10–0
12 8 December 2011 São Paulo, Brazil  Chile 4–0 4–0 2011 International Tournament of São Paulo
13 11 December 2011 São Paulo, Brazil  Italy 2–2 2–2 2011 International Tournament of São Paulo
14 13 December 2011 São Paulo, Brazil  Brazil 1–0 1–2 2011 International Tournament of São Paulo
15 4 April 2012 Prague, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 2–0 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying round
16 19 September 2012 Vejle, Denmark  Portugal 1–0 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying round
17 9 December 2012 São Paulo, Brazil  Mexico 3–0 5–0 2012 International Tournament of São Paulo
18 13 March 2013 Lagos, Portugal  Mexico 2–0 3–0 2013 Algarve Cup
19 8 April 2013 Horsens, Denmark  Russia 3–1 5–1 Friendly
20 4–1
21 5–1
22 25 September 2013 Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 2–0 4–0 Friendly
23 4–0
24 26 October 2013 Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 1–0 1–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
25 24 November 2013 Valletta, Malta  Malta 3–0 5–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
26 19 June 2014 Tel Aviv, Israel  Israel 2–0 5–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
27 21 August 2014 Reykjavik, Iceland  Iceland 1–0 1–0 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
28 11 March 2015 Albufeira, Portugal  Norway 1–3 2–5 2015 Algarve Cup
29 2–5
30 8 April 2015 Stockholm, Sweden  Sweden 3–3 3–3 Friendly
31 22 October 2015 Viborg, Denmark  Moldova Katrine Veje 2–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualification
32 2 June 2016 Viborg, Denmark  Slovakia Sanne Troelsgaard 1–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualification
33 7 June 2016 Viborg, Denmark  Poland unassisted 2–0 6–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualification
34 Simone Boye 4–0
35 15 September 2016 Chișinău, Moldova  Moldova Nadia Nadim 2–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualification
36 Theresa Nielsen 3–0
37 unassisted 5–0
38 28 November 2016 Turbize, Belgium  Belgium 2–0 3–1 Friendly
39 3–1
40 20 January 2017 Larnaca, Cyprus  Scotland 0–1 2–2 Friendly
41 6 March 2017 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  Russia unassisted 1–0 6–1 2016 Algarve Cup
42 unassisted 2–1
43 Nicoline Sørensen 4–1
44 8 March 2017 Albufeira, Portugal  Australia Cecilie Sandvej 1–1 1–1 2016 Algarve Cup
45 11 April 2017 Slagelse, Denmark  Finland Stine Larsen 1–0 5–0 Friendly
46 1 July 2017 Gladsaxe, Denmark  England unassisted 1–1 1–2 Friendly
47 6 August 2017 Enschede, Netherlands  Netherlands unassisted 2–2 2–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2017
48 19 August 2017 Győr, Hungary  Hungary unassisted 3–1 6–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
49 24 October 2017 Zaprešić, Croatia  Croatia unassisted 1–0 4–0 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
50 Theresa Nielsen 2–0
51 2 March 2018 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  Netherlands unassisted 1–0 2–3 2018 Algarve Cup
52 8 June 2018 Lviv, Ukraine  Ukraine unassisted 3–0 5–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
53 12 June 2018 Viborg, Denmark  Hungary Nadia Nadim 5–1 5–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
54 4 March 2019 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  China PR 1–0 1–0 2019 Algarve Cup
55 29 August 2019 Viborg, Denmark  Malta 2–0 8–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
56 3 September 2019 Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 3–0 3–0
57 12 November 2019 Viborg, Denmark  Georgia unassisted 7–0 14–0
58 unassisted 10–0
59 Sofie Svava 12–0
60 4 March 2020 Parchal, Portugal  Norway Sofie Svava 1–0 1–2 2020 Algarve Cup
61 10 March 2020 Lagos, Portugal  Belgium unassisted 1–0 4–0
62 22 September 2020 Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta Simone Boye Sørensen 5–0 8–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
63 21 October 2020 Viborg, Denmark  Israel unassisted 1–0 4–0
64 Katrine Veje 2–0

Personal life

Since May 2014, Harder has been in a relationship with current Chelsea teammate and Swedish international, Magdalena Eriksson.[22]

She grew up as an avid Manchester United fan.[25]

Honours
Harder (#16) playing for Linköpings in the UEFA Women's Champions League, 2014

Club
Linköpings FC
VfL Wolfsburg

Country

Individual

References
  1. "Abschied gegen Ablöse". Wolfsburg Official Website (in German). 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  2. Ames, Nick (2019-08-07). "Harder and Eriksson: 'After the photo people wrote and said how much we'd helped'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  3. Harder and Nadia leave Skovbakken Archived 2017-01-13 at the Wayback Machine. IK Skovbakken's website
  4. Dahl Mikkelsen, Tejs (27 April 2010). "To talenter på kontrakt i Skovbakken" (in Danish). Århus Stiftstidende. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  5. Fussganger, Rainer (14 September 2013). "Pernille Harder – Player of the Week". Our Game Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. Bråstedt, Mats; Kristoffersson, Daniel (9 November 2015). "Alla vinnare på Fotbollsgalan 2015" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  7. Lyngbach Johnsson, Katja (9 November 2015). "Pernille Harder på scenen med Zlatan" (in Danish). DR (broadcaster). Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  8. "Pernille Harder kåret til årets spiller" (in Danish). TV 3 (Denmark). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  9. "Wall of fame" (in Swedish). Linköping Municipality. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  10. "Pernille Harder: Jag har nästan allt klart" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  11. Bråstedt, Mats (16 November 2016). "Pernille Harder lämnar Linköping" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. "Pernille Harder joins Chelsea FC Women". chelseafc.com. 1 September 2020.
  13. "Chelsea Women sign Wolfsburg's Harder". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  14. "How brilliant is Chelsea signing Pernille Harder?". UEFA. 1 September 2020.
  15. "List of Players – Denmark" (PDF). FIFA. 27 October 2008. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  16. Profile in the Danish Football Association's website
  17. Boye Estrup, Rasmus (10 July 2013). "Portræt af Pernille Harder" (in Danish). Footy.dk. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  18. Bruun, Peter (21 June 2013). "Upbeat Heiner-Møller confirms Denmark squad". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  19. "Denmark". UEFA.com. UEFA. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  20. "Dansk uafgjort i Serbien" (in Danish). Danish Football Association. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  21. "Kvindelandsholdet skifter anfører". dr.com. DR. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  22. Wrack, Suzanne (13 February 2018). "Pernille Harder: 'I was the only girl in the team but they wanted to play with me'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  23. "Pernille Harder soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  24. "Pernille Harder - Spielerinnenprofil". DFB Datencenter (in German).
  25. https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/10/05/pernille-harder-one-of-the-womens-games-finest-talents-opens-up-about-her-life-on-and-off-the-pitch/
  26. Spillerforening. "Player female of the Year". Spillerforeningen.
  27. Spillerforening. "Player female of the Year". Spillerforeningen.
  28. Spillerforening. "Player female of the Year". Spillerforeningen.
  29. Spillerforening. "Player female of the Year". Spillerforeningen.
  30. "2016 FIFPro Award". fifpro.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  31. "The FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11 of 2019-2020 - FIFPRO World Players' Union". FIFPRO. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  32. Goal. "Female World Player of the Year". Goal.
  33. UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season
  34. UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season
  35. UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season
  36. "THE IFFHS WOMEN WORLD TEAM 2017". IFFHS. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  37. "IFFHS AWARDS – THE WOMEN WORLD TEAM 2018". IFFHS. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  38. "IFFHS WORLD AWARDS 2020 - THE WINNERS". IFFHS. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  39. Bundesliga
  40. Bundesliga
  41. "Pernille Harder wins UEFA Women's Player of the Year award". UEFA. 30 August 2018.
  42. "Pernille Harder named 2019/20 UEFA Women's Player of the Year". UEFA. 1 October 2020.
  43. "Pernille Harder named Women's Champions League Forward of the Season". UEFA. 1 October 2020.
  44. Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2018". The Guardian.
  45. Laverty, Rich. "The 100 best female footballers in the world 2020". The Guardian.
  46. "Niedersachsens "Fußballer des Jahres"".
  47. "Harder ist Fußballerin des Jahres 2020 - und sorgt für Novum" (in German). kicker.de. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  48. "2020 Winners". World Soccer. Winter 2020. p. 39.
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