Huddersfield Town have today signed Mathias “Zanka” Jørgensen from FC Copenhagen for a fee reported to be £3.5m. The Danish international defender usually referred to as Zanka, arrives at Town with a reputation as a great defender and a big personality. Having read up a bit on him I’m convinced he’s going to tear up the Premier League for Town.
What kind of a player is Zanka?
Zanka, 27, usually plays on the right side of central defence. He’s made over three hundred career appearances, mostly for FC Copenhagen in the Danish Superligaen. He’s won the Danish league five times, the Danish Cup five times for FC Copenhagen and the Dutch Super Cup in his spell at PSV Eindhoven.
He’s played in the Champions League for FC Copenhagen and even made the Champions League team of the week last September alongside the likes of Messi, Neymar and Aguero.
He’s referred to as “the most hated player in Denmark” though it’s hard to understand exactly why. The highlights clips show a committed and physical defender that occasionally gets caught up in the on-pitch drama. The only incident that looked pretty bad involved him shoving over an opposition coach.
The Daily Express wrote an article about him that suggests he’s a big talker, both on the pitch and off it. He likes to get under his opponent’s skin and can aggravate strikers into a retaliation that leads to a red card. If this is true then it’s understandable why opposition fans wouldn’t like him, but I’m delighted that Town will have this kind of player on their team.
He also looks mobile, strong and comfortable in possession. So that may be a factor in why rival fans hate him.
History
Zanka started off at FC Copenhagen, played 92 games between 2007 and 2012 before moving to PSV Eindhoven. His time in Holland wasn’t successful and he only managed 14 first team games in two years, the rest of his appearances coming for Eindhoven’s second team.
He returned to to FC Copenhagen for a second spell in 2014 where he’s been since, playing 93 games and becoming a mainstay of their defence.
Zanka is currently a regular for the Danish national side, having earned five of his ten caps in the last year. Prior to this recent spell in the national setup he’d only managed five other appearances for his country, spread out between 2008 and 2011.
Fans opinion
A Danish football fan joined the Down At The Mac forum and gave his opinion about Zanka, saying he is the personification of positive arrogance, alongside describing him as a natural leader, athlete and tactically brilliant. It’s worth reading his forum posts just to admire his excellent command of English and insight into football in Denmark.
Delving into Google Translate territory again, I took a look at FC Copenhagen fans forum sidelinien.dk. Forum member Zan mentions that the transfer fee involved for Zanka is probably lower than expected due to him only having a year left on his contract. Suggesting we may have managed to get a bargain because Copenhagen didn’t want to see him go for nothing next year.
How will Zanka fit in at Huddersfield Town
Zanka’s a centre back, he’s never played any other position, so he’ll be fighting Schindler and Hefele for a starting position. It’s likely that Schindler’s place is secure and Hefele and Zanka will fight it out for the right-hand side of central defence.
I’ve already written about how much I love Michael Hefele, so Zanka is going to have to prove himself in preseason to surpass Hefele in the pecking order. Thankfully Wagner likes to rotate his players, so I suspect all of Town’s centre backs will get plenty of game time next season.
Why is he called Zanka?
According to an article on a Danish website, the nickname comes from a character in the film Cool Runnings. Mathias Jørgensen was crushed in the back of a car as a child and the coach driving thought he looked crammed in like the famous Jamaican bobsled team from the film. He named him Zanka after the character in the film.
Terrier Spirit opinion
The things I’ve read and seen about Zanka suggest he’ll be an excellent addition to David Wagner’s squad. He’s got the experience of playing internationally, in the Champions League and has also won five league trophies and six cups.
He’s strong, passionate and technically gifted if the reports are to be believed. Even better it sounds like we’ve got him for a bargain price because his contract only had a year left.
It also seems like he’s got the potential to become a fans’ favourite, just like Michael Hefele did last season. I can’t wait to see him in action for Town.