Football League World
·6 March 2022
How is ex-Birmingham City man Nicklas Bendtner getting on these days?
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·6 March 2022
Bendtner started his career at Arsenal after coming through the academy in North London and his first taste of first team football was in the Championship with Birmingham City.
Bendtner arrived on loan in the West Midlands alongside two of his Arsenal teammates in Fabrice Muamba and Sebastian Larsson in the summer of 2006.
His deal was originally meant to run until January 2007 before Steve Bruce had it extended until the end of that season after an impressive run of form.
The Danish international made his debut for Birmingham against Colchester United in a tightly contested game, playing the final half-hour and eventually scoring the winner, giving supporters a glimpse of what was to come for the rest of the season.
He scored a key goal against Wolves in a 3-2 win later on in the season and hit 13 for the Blues as they went onto win promotion from the Championship, finishing second to Sunderland.
Since his spell at St Andrews, Bendtner’s career has been an interesting one. His career has taken him around some of the top teams in Europe which included spells as Arsenal, FC Copenhagen, Wolfsburg and Juventus.
He was also a member of the Danish national team that went to the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro’s as well as helping them qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Despite having a semi-decent career at the top level, Bendtner was well known for his lifestyle away from football which started in his days at Birmingham City. The Dane recently made an appearance on Talksport, speaking about stories throughout his career.
He told of a story in which he made a fuming Steve Bruce laugh, when asked by host Laura Woods: “Steve Bruce asked you about going to lap dancing clubs five times a week, what did he say?”
Bendtner replied: “I had an injury. I had such huge respect for Steve. People I really respect I cannot lie to. I have to be completely honest. He called me in fuming. He was really upset. When he was explaining ‘you’ve been out four times this week’. I was like ‘I’m really sorry, Steve, it was five’.
“He didn’t really know how to react. He was so mad but couldn’t stop doing a giggle to himself.”
Bendtner eventually returned to Denmark, seeing out his career with Copenhagen before announcing his retirement on television, on the Discovery+ show Bendtner og Philline.
He was a player who split opinion but his time at Birmingham City will be remembered fondly by Blues fans for his contribution to the club’s promotion in the 06/07 season.