Kenneth Perez
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Pérez Dahl Jensen (born 29 August 1974) is a Danish
former professional football player. Perez scored two goals in 24 matches for the Danish national team
from 2003 to 2006, and he was chosen to compete at the 2004 European Championship
.
Perez's mother is from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
.
, where he reached the 1995 Danish Cup
final. The final was lost to F.C. Copenhagen
, with whom Perez signed a two-year contract in autumn that year. He played two years for F.C. Copenhagen, and Perez was a part of the team which won the 1997 Danish Cup. With months left of his contract, he moved abroad in August 1997, to play for Dutch Eredivisie
side MVV. Perez scored goals frequently for MVV, and his dribbling
ability was regarded as one of the best in the Eredivisie. With his contract nearing expiry, he looked to leave the club in winter 1999. Dutch clubs Roda JC and AZ wanted to buy Perez, and he eventually penned a 5½-year contract with AZ starting from January 2000.
He made his debut for the Danish national team
under manager Morten Olsen
in November 2003. He came on as a substitute to replace Dennis Rommedahl
in the 3–2 victory against England
. He was selected to represent Denmark at the 2004 European Championship, where he took part in one match, coming on as a substitute.
Often playing on the left wing, Perez was the most technical of AZ's prolific strike force during the 2004–05 season
. He was AZ's top goal scorer in that season, as he fired 13 goals past opposition goalkeepers, and was the joint 9th best league goal scorer. The club finished in third place that season, and ended second in the 2005–06 season
. After six and a half years at AZ, Perez transferred to rival Eredivisie side Ajax in the summer 2006. He subsequently ended his national team career to focus on playing for Ajax. Since his debut in November 2003, Perez played 19 national team matches, though he was either substituted on or off the pitch, and never played a full national team match.
He won the Dutch Super Cup trophy with Ajax, beating PSV 3–1 in August 2006. In December 2006, Perez admitted having used a racial slur against an assistant referee. He publicly apologized to the assistant referee and received a five-match ban and a €12,500 fine.
In July 2007, Perez signed with Ajax rivals PSV on a two-year deal.
On 31 December 2007, it was announced Perez will make a shock return to Ajax with immediate effect. He signed a one-and-a-half-year deal with an option for another season. This transfer caused much uproar in the Netherlands and was criticized by both sets of fans. PSV fans were not happy with the fact that Perez, as one of the more influential players, was allowed to return to their arch rivals and thus strengthening their squad. Although Perez has the reputation of being a soloist and having a difficult character Ajax fans in majority did bit object the return of Perez but saw his return after just 5 months as the ultimate proof of incompetence of the Ajax board which is already under intense pressure to guide the club back to winning ways after years of bad results.
On 1 January 2008, Jan Reker
, the technical director of PSV was forced to give an explanation. He stated that after Ajax failed to lure Ismail Aissati
to Amsterdam, Perez requested PSV for a transfer back to Amsterdam. According to Reker, Perez cited two reasons. Commuting from his home in Noord-Holland to Eindhoven on a daily basis was felt to be a burden and the limited chances given to him by interim coach Jan Wouters after Ronald Koeman
left.
These remarks were later dismissed by Perez and Martin van Geel
, the technical director of Ajax. Perez stated it was in fact PSV who initiated the transfer by telling Perez he no longer had a future at the club after just four months. Ajax, on the other hand, was still looking for a replacement for star midfield player Wesley Sneijder
who was sold to Real Madrid
and saw Ten Cate leave for Chelsea
last September thus paving the way for Perez to move back to Amsterdam. Van Geel added that Ajax only wanted to buy Aissati last summer and he had no part in this transfer.
Perez was relegated to the Ajax reserves in the summer of 2008 by new Ajax head coach Marco van Basten He was released at the end of August. and later on July was transferred to Steve McClaren
's FC Twente
.
In January 2010, Perez marked himself as the player with the second most assists and goals in Dutch football through the past decade. The only player above him was Dirk Kuyt. On May 2, 2010, Perez won his first Eredivisie title, coincidentally also the first title of his club FC Twente, at the age of 35 years. It was his last match in a FC Twente jersey.
Copenhagen
Ajax
FC Twente
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
former professional football player. Perez scored two goals in 24 matches for the Danish national team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
from 2003 to 2006, and he was chosen to compete at the 2004 European Championship
2004 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...
.
Perez's mother is from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
.
Biography
Perez started his career for Danish club Akademisk BoldklubAkademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub or AB is a Danish professional football club from Copenhagen,currently playing at the second highest level in Danish domestic football, the 1st Division.-History:...
, where he reached the 1995 Danish Cup
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955...
final. The final was lost to F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
, with whom Perez signed a two-year contract in autumn that year. He played two years for F.C. Copenhagen, and Perez was a part of the team which won the 1997 Danish Cup. With months left of his contract, he moved abroad in August 1997, to play for Dutch Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
side MVV. Perez scored goals frequently for MVV, and his dribbling
Dribbling
In sports, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs , hands , stick or swimming strokes...
ability was regarded as one of the best in the Eredivisie. With his contract nearing expiry, he looked to leave the club in winter 1999. Dutch clubs Roda JC and AZ wanted to buy Perez, and he eventually penned a 5½-year contract with AZ starting from January 2000.
He made his debut for the Danish national team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
under manager Morten Olsen
Morten Olsen
Morten Per Olsen is a Danish football manager and former football player. He has been the head coach of the Danish national team since 2000, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup...
in November 2003. He came on as a substitute to replace Dennis Rommedahl
Dennis Rommedahl
Dennis Rommedahl is a Danish footballer, who currently plays as a right winger for Brøndby IF. He has played 112 matches and scored 21 goals for the Danish national side. Rommedahl was selected for the Danish squads at the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2010 World Cup...
in the 3–2 victory against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
. He was selected to represent Denmark at the 2004 European Championship, where he took part in one match, coming on as a substitute.
Often playing on the left wing, Perez was the most technical of AZ's prolific strike force during the 2004–05 season
Eredivisie 2004/2005
The 2004-05 season in Dutch football saw PSV Eindhoven winning the double, under the guidance of manager Guus Hiddink. Because PSV won the title in the Eredivisie the losing Cup finalist Willem II Tilburg earned the right to play in the UEFA Cup....
. He was AZ's top goal scorer in that season, as he fired 13 goals past opposition goalkeepers, and was the joint 9th best league goal scorer. The club finished in third place that season, and ended second in the 2005–06 season
Eredivisie 2005/2006
The 2005/06 season of the Eredivisie began in August 2005 and ended in May 2006. PSV Eindhoven became champions on April 9, 2006. The season was overshadowed by the death of FC Utrecht player David di Tommaso.-Promoted teams:...
. After six and a half years at AZ, Perez transferred to rival Eredivisie side Ajax in the summer 2006. He subsequently ended his national team career to focus on playing for Ajax. Since his debut in November 2003, Perez played 19 national team matches, though he was either substituted on or off the pitch, and never played a full national team match.
He won the Dutch Super Cup trophy with Ajax, beating PSV 3–1 in August 2006. In December 2006, Perez admitted having used a racial slur against an assistant referee. He publicly apologized to the assistant referee and received a five-match ban and a €12,500 fine.
In July 2007, Perez signed with Ajax rivals PSV on a two-year deal.
On 31 December 2007, it was announced Perez will make a shock return to Ajax with immediate effect. He signed a one-and-a-half-year deal with an option for another season. This transfer caused much uproar in the Netherlands and was criticized by both sets of fans. PSV fans were not happy with the fact that Perez, as one of the more influential players, was allowed to return to their arch rivals and thus strengthening their squad. Although Perez has the reputation of being a soloist and having a difficult character Ajax fans in majority did bit object the return of Perez but saw his return after just 5 months as the ultimate proof of incompetence of the Ajax board which is already under intense pressure to guide the club back to winning ways after years of bad results.
On 1 January 2008, Jan Reker
Jan Reker
Jan Reker is a Dutch former football manager and currently the chief executive of Dutch football team PSV Eindhoven...
, the technical director of PSV was forced to give an explanation. He stated that after Ajax failed to lure Ismail Aissati
Ismaïl Aissati
Ismaïl Aissati is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer. He currently plays for Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie.-Career:Being born to Moroccan parents in the Netherlands, he is still allowed to play for either national team...
to Amsterdam, Perez requested PSV for a transfer back to Amsterdam. According to Reker, Perez cited two reasons. Commuting from his home in Noord-Holland to Eindhoven on a daily basis was felt to be a burden and the limited chances given to him by interim coach Jan Wouters after Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
left.
These remarks were later dismissed by Perez and Martin van Geel
Martin van Geel
Martin van Geel is a retired Dutch footballer who was active as a midfielder. Van Geel made his professional debut at Willem II Tilburg, and also played for Ajax Amsterdam, Roda JC and Feyenoord Rotterdam.-Honours:...
, the technical director of Ajax. Perez stated it was in fact PSV who initiated the transfer by telling Perez he no longer had a future at the club after just four months. Ajax, on the other hand, was still looking for a replacement for star midfield player Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch footballer playing as an attacking midfielder for Internazionale. He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA....
who was sold to Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
and saw Ten Cate leave for Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
last September thus paving the way for Perez to move back to Amsterdam. Van Geel added that Ajax only wanted to buy Aissati last summer and he had no part in this transfer.
Perez was relegated to the Ajax reserves in the summer of 2008 by new Ajax head coach Marco van Basten He was released at the end of August. and later on July was transferred to Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
's FC Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
.
In January 2010, Perez marked himself as the player with the second most assists and goals in Dutch football through the past decade. The only player above him was Dirk Kuyt. On May 2, 2010, Perez won his first Eredivisie title, coincidentally also the first title of his club FC Twente, at the age of 35 years. It was his last match in a FC Twente jersey.
Career statistics
| Season | Club | Competition | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | Copenhagen | Danish Superliga Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the... |
7 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Copenhagen | Danish Superliga Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the... |
22 | 3 | |
| 1997–98 | MVV | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
12 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | MVV | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
22 | 8 | |
| 1999–00 | MVV | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
13 | 6 | |
| AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
7 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
7 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
28 | 6 | |
| 2002–03 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
29 | 11 | |
| 2003–04 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
32 | 10 | |
| 2004–05 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
30 | 13 | |
| 2005–06 | AZ Alkmaar | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
31 | 10 | |
| 2006–07 | Ajax | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
27 | 12 | |
| 2007–08 | PSV | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
14 | 8 | |
| Ajax | Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
16 | 7 | ||
| 2008–09 | Twente FC Twente FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys... |
Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
26 | 6 | |
| 2009–10 | Twente FC Twente FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys... |
Eredivisie Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA.... |
31 | 5 | |
| Total | 354 | 108 | |||
Club
CopenhagenF.C. Copenhagen
F.C. Copenhagen is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Parken Sport & Entertainment....
- Danish CupDanish CupThe Danish Cup is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955...
: 1997
Ajax
- Dutch Super Cup: 2006
FC TwenteFC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
: 2009–102009–10 Eredivisie-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...