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Morten Gamst Pedersen
	Morten Gamst Pedersen
Personal information
Full name	Morten Gamst Pedersen
Date of birth	September 8, 1981 (age 28)
Place of birth	Vadsø, Norway
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Left winger
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	12
Youth career
1997–1998; 1998–1999; 1999–2000	Norild; Polarstjernen; Norild
Senior career1
National team2
	1 Senior club appearances and goals; counted for the domestic league only and; correct as of 15:29, 04 December 2009 (UTC).; 2 National team caps and goals correct; as of 11:33, 12 August 2009 (UTC).; * Appearances (Goals)

For the Danish football player, see Morten Petersen.

Morten Gamst Pedersen (born 8 September 1981 in Vadsø, Finnmark) is a Norwegian-Sámi footballer who currently plays for Blackburn Rovers as well as the Norwegian National Football Team.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Tromsø IL

Pedersen had his breakthrough in the Norwegian Premier League club Tromsø IL, scoring 7 goals in the 2004 season, before he signed with Blackburn with only half a season played by August. The fee was £1.5 million, which could rise to anything up to £2.5 million on the basis of future appearances.^{[citation needed]} Gamst was required to fill the gap left by Damien Duff, who had left in July 2003 to go to Chelsea.

[edit] Blackburn

The Norwegian international made his Premier League debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United on August 28, 2004, a match Blackburn were leading until deep into injury time. He initially struggled to make an impact in the Premier League and had lengthy period of not being selected after Graeme Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes as the Blackburn manager in September 2004. However he started the year of 2005 in style, scoring against Cardiff City on his return to side and going on to score three goals in his next three matches. He went on to finish as the clubs second top scorer for the season with eight goals. Pedersen is also known for his aerial ability.

2005–06 saw Pedersen make the left-midfield position his own and he has become well known for scoring many spectacular goals, such as a volley against Fulham in August 2005 which won BBC Match of the Day's Goal of the Month. The highlight of his Blackburn career came in September 2005 when he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

During the 2006–07 season, Pedersen seemingly struggled for form during the early half of the league season, but returned to form in the second half of the campaign. With new management under Paul Ince, Pedersen found himself in and out of the team but when Ince was dismissed in December and Sam Allardyce being appointed Pedersen was a constant face in the first XI providing dangerous long throws into the box to feed Chris Samba.

13th of December reports Pedersen linked with a January moved to SPL side Celtic. But manager Sam Allardyce dismissed transfer of Pedersen moving to Celtic.

[edit] International career

He holds 54 caps for his country, scoring 12 goals. He received the coveted Golden Watch award given to him by the Football Association of Norway on the occasion of his 25th appearance for his country. He has become one of the first names on the team sheet for Norway.

In September 2006, in a match against Hungary, Gamst Pedersen, whose favourite player as a kid was Marco van Basten, scored a goal which was very similar to van Basten's famous goal in the final of the 1988 European Football Championship. Major newspapers Aftenposten, Dagbladet and Verdens Gang all dubbed him van Gamsten as a result of the goal.^[1]

On 12 August 2009, he scored 2 goals for Norway in a world cup qualifier against Scotland, scoring in stoppage time in both the first and second half.

[edit] Personal life

Ernst Pedersen, his father as well as a football coach, began to train him to use his left foot rather than his natural right foot in a bid to help him become a professional player, as there is less competition for left-sided roles within the sport. As a result his left foot has become his dominant foot.^[2]

Pedersen fronts Norwegian boyband The Players, alongside fellow footballers Freddy dos Santos, Raymond Kvisvik, Kristofer Hæstad and Øyvind Svenning. Released in aid of the Soccer Against Crime campaign, their first single became a hit across Scandinavia.^[3]

[edit] Club career statistics

[edit] Blackburn

(correct as of 29 October 2009)

Club	Season	League			Cup^[4]			Europe			Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Blackburn Rovers	2004–05	19	4	3	8	4	0	0	0	0	27	8	3
	2005–06	34	9	6	8	1	3	0	0	0	42	10	9
	2006–07	36	6	11	6	2	1	7	0	0	49	8	12
	2007–08	37	4	4	3	1	0	6	1	4	46	6	8
	2008–09	33	1	8	4	0	1	0	0	0	37	1	9
	2009–10	12	0	1	3	2	1	0	0	0	15	2	2
Career totals		171	24	33	32	10	6	13	1	4	216	35	43

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 February 2004	Windsor Park, Belfast	Northern Ireland	4-1	Win	Friendly
2	18 February 2004	Windsor Park, Belfast	Northern Ireland	4-1	Win	Friendly
3	13 October 2004	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Slovenia	3-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
4	16 November 2004	Craven Cottage, London	Australia	2-2	Draw	Friendly
5	3 September 2005	Arena Petrol, Celje	Slovenia	3-2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
6	16 August 2006	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Brazil	1-1	Draw	Friendly
7	2 September 2006	Szusza Ferenc Stadium, Budapest	Hungary	4-1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
8	21 October 2007	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali	Malta	4-1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
9	28 March 2009	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	South Africa	1-2	Loss	Friendly
10	1 April 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Finland	3-2	Win	Friendly
11	12 August 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Scotland	4-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qual.
12	12 August 2009	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo	Scotland	4-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2010 Qual.