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COPENHAGEN: Morten Olsen has taken service to his country toextraordinary lengths, having played for Denmark and now coachedthe national side more than 100 times. This year's Euro 2012 tournament is the fourth time he has guidedthe Scandinavians to a major championships since he took over in2000 -- a remarkable run given the current longevity of mostfootball managers. But 62-year-old Olsen's career is most impressive still given thathe has had to battle a debilitating loss of hearing since the1970s, a hereditary affliction which got so bad that he couldhardly hear anything at all during matches. Questions at news conferences have posed problems while on socialoccasions he said he would sometimes laugh at inappropriate momentsand felt increasingly isolated. Thankfully for him and his players, life has improved since hebegan wearing a hearing aid, describing the device in one 2004interview as "like getting a new pair of ears". "Suddenly I was hearing sounds I hadn't heard for years. I couldfunction normally again both professionally and socially," headded. Such determination and resolve to overcome his handicap has been afeature of his tenure. But he has also shown he is far from single-minded, as seen in howhe changed his mind about stepping down after the Euros and insteadsigned a new contract taking him up to 2014. "My decision to stop after the European Championships next summer,was the right thing at the time," Olsen told the Danish footballassociation's website dbu.dk. "We had embarked on a new chapter forthe national team after the World Cup finals. "No-one is above the team and therefore I made a decision I feltwas right for the national team at that time. But I want to stressthat under no circumstances was it due to a lack of motivation. "During the summer I got calls from both established and newerplayers in the team, who asked me to reconsider. It was a necessarysupport from the players to both me as coach and to our commonproject. "It gave me a good feeling that together we were doing somethingreally good in the national team." Olsen has done well during his time in charge to get his side to somany finals, given that Denmark can no longer call on players likethe Laudrup brothers in their prime or the 1980s squad in which heplayed. The coach, who won three Belgian titles with Anderlecht as well asthe 1983 UEFA Cup as a player, was a stylish sweeper in a talentedand exciting Danish side that reached the 1984 Euro semi-finals andthe second round of the 1986 World Cup. He went on to win 102 international caps before retiring in 1988. Olsen refuses to compare different squads but admits that with morelimited resources than group B opponents Germany, the Netherlandsand Portugal, it is asking a lot for them to make the last eight. However, he believes his experience and knowledge of his playerwill help. "I've been coach for 12 years and this is my fourth finals," saidOlsen, who before becoming national team coach proved himself inthe Netherlands, taking Ajax to the 1998 domestic double. "New coaches have brought in innovation but we have experiencewhich can be helpful when it comes to difficult times." -AFP/sb. I am an expert from uv-flatbed-printer.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Banner Slitter , Large Format Solvent Printer Manufacturer, ECO Solvent Printer,and more.
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