Jon Dahl Tomasson 

(Danish pronunciation: [ˈtsʰomæsʌn]; born 29 August 1976) is a

Danish football manager and former player who is the current head coach of EFL
Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

A forward, his most notable run of football came in his first stint at Feyenoord, with whom he won the
2002 UEFA Cup, and Italian club AC Milan, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 and
reached the final in 2005. He also played top-flight football in England, Germany and Spain. He is the
joint all-time top goalscorer for the Denmark national team with 52 goals in 112 games and was also
honoured with the Danish Player of the Year award in both 2002 and 2004. He played at the UEFA
European Championship in 2000 and 2004 and the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2010.

After his playing career, Tomasson went into coaching, being both assistant and manager in the
Netherlands, before becoming assistant manager in the Denmark national team under Åge Hareide. In
2020, Tomasson became the manager of Malmö FF and left two years later after winning the Swedish
championship for two consecutive seasons. In June 2022, he signed a three-year deal at Blackburn
Rovers.

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Born in Copenhagen, son of Bjarne Tomasson and Leila Dahl Petersen, Tomasson first started playing
football as a five-year-old in the youth team of Solrød BK near Køge. At nine years of age, he moved to
the biggest club in the area, Køge BK. In November 1992, at 16, he made his senior debut for the club.
During the next two years he helped the club to get promoted twice in a row: at the end of the 1993
season, when the club was promoted from the Denmark Series to the 2nd Division; and at the end of the
1994 season, when the club was promoted to the 1st Division.[1]

Heerenveen[edit]

In December 1994, aged 18, he agreed on a transfer from Køge BK to the Dutch club SC Heerenveen, of
the Eredivisie. A first-team regular by the 1995–96 season, Tomasson was the club top scorer for the
season as well, netting 14 goals in 30 league matches. He increased this tally in the 1996–97 season to
18, and was top-scorer for the club once again. On top of that, he also won the Best Dutch Football
Talent of 1996, beating the likes of Boudewijn Zenden and Patrick Kluivert to the prize.

Newcastle United[edit]

His success attracted the interest of other clubs, and he completed a high-profile move to FA Premier
League club Newcastle United in July 1997. Newcastle's manager at the time, Kenny Dalglish, saw
Tomasson as the perfect link-up player to England national team striker Alan Shearer. The partnership
initially worked well, with Tomasson impressing during a pre-season friendly tournament in the Republic
of Ireland. However, a career threatening injury to Shearer, combined with the transfer of striker Les
Ferdinand to Tottenham Hotspur, meant that Tomasson was moved from his traditional attacking
midfield position to that of striker. He struggled to adapt to his new position on the field, and to the
English game, due to his lack of physical strength.[2][3] He scored only four goals in 35 appearances in all
competitions during the 1997–98 season.[citation needed]

Feyenoord[edit]
Tomasson returned to the Eredivisie in July 1998, where he joined Feyenoord, once again as an attacking
midfielder.[3] The club won the Eredivisie championship for the 1998–99 season, and the Dutch Super
Cup. Although Feyenoord did not manage to repeat as champions in the following years, they still
performed well enough to capture third place in 1999–00, second place in 2000–01, and third place
again in 2001–02. In his latter two seasons, Tomasson scored 15 and 17 Eredivisie goals respectively,
forming a partnership with Pierre van Hooijdonk, who was 2002's league top scorer with 24 goals.

In 2002, Tomasson was an integral player in the Feyenoord team, that won its first international trophy
in 26 years, when the club triumphed in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup tournament. He scored four goals in the
tournament and also had an impressive collaboration on the field with striker Pierre van Hooijdonk.
During the tournament, they defeated SC Freiburg, Rangers F.C., PSV Eindhoven and Internazionale
Milano before meeting German team Borussia Dortmund in the final. Tomasson scored the goal to 3–1,
in a game that ended 3–2 to Feyenoord, and he was subsequently voted man of the match.[4]

Milan[edit]

On 2 May 2002, as Tomasson's contract with Feyenoord was expiring before their UEFA Cup victory, he
agreed a move to Italy on a four-year free transfer, to play for Serie A club A.C. Milan. He joined
compatriots Martin Laursen and Thomas Helveg at the San Siro club.[5]

The 2002–03 season, Tomasson's first at Milan, saw them winning the Italian Cup. Tomasson was most
often used as a late substitute, but did manage to score three goals in the UEFA Champions League; and
thereby also held his share of the trophy, when Milan won the prestigious tournament in May 2003.
Tomasson missed the final because of an injury that he picked up in the first leg of the 2003 Coppa Italia
Final.[6] During the 2003–04 season, Tomasson was given more playing time and managed to score 12
Serie A goals in a title-winning campaign. In August 2004, he was also a part of the Milan team that won
the Italian Super Cup, with a 3–0 victory against the Coppa Italia champions Lazio.

For the next 2004–05 season, he struggled to secure a regular starting place in the line-up of Milan. He
was once again in the role of substitute, and therefore also scored fewer goals compared to the previous
season. At the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final against Liverpool, he was again used by Milan as a
late substitute, and when the final had to be decided in penalty shootout, he was selected to kick.
Tomasson scored on his attempt, but Milan lost as Serginho, Andrea Pirlo and Andriy
Shevchenko missed their shots. When striker Christian Vieri joined the club in July 2005, Tomasson was
deemed as potential surplus, and he therefore agreed with Milan to be placed at their transfer list.

Years later, prior to the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League round of 16 match between Chelsea

FC and FC Copenhagen former Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti, now manager of Chelsea, was asked
about his view on Danish footballers: "Above all the Danish work ethic surprised me, their special ability
to give everything in training. These were very professional and skilled players. The one who performed
best and showed the most continuity, was Jon Dahl Tomasson, who always had to fight for playing time
against world class strikers. He never had an easy time, but he never gave up and tried to take every
chance he got".[7]

VfB Stuttgart[edit]

In July 2005, the German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart paid a transfer fee to Milan of €7.5 million, in
order to sign Tomasson to a four-year contract.[8] He joined international teammate Jesper Grønkjær at
the club but the upcoming 2005–06 season was not successful for either of them. Even though
Tomasson was the team's top scorer with eight Bundesliga goals, the team struggled throughout the
season to create enough chances and goals,[9] and as a consequence Stuttgart only finished in ninth
position of the Bundesliga. After the season, Grønkjær left the club, while Tomasson stayed and in
the 2006–07 season Stuttgart became the new champions of the Bundesliga.

Villarreal[edit]

On 24 January 2007, Tomasson was loaned to Villarreal in the Spanish Primera División championship, to

cover the place of the injured striker Nihat Kahveci, for the remaining part of the 2006–07 season.
[10]
 When he made his Villarreal debut, in a game against Real Madrid,[11] Tomasson became only the fifth
player to have played in the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Primera División. This rare
achievement had previously only been made by the four players: Florin Răducioiu, Gheorghe
Popescu, Abel Xavier and Pierre Womé.[12]

His loan contract expired on 1 July 2007, but also featured a buying option, for which Villarreal paid
Stuttgart the second half of a total transfer fee at €1 million in order to sign Tomasson to a two-year
contract .[13] In the first match of the 2007–08 La Liga season, he scored in a 3–0 victory against Valencia,
but he mostly played the club's UEFA Cup games that season, and scored five goals in eight games. The
season ended as the best ever for Villarreal, who were runners-up in La Liga.

Return to Feyenoord[edit]

Tomasson agreed with Villarreal in June 2008 to search the market for a possible transfer. The Spanish
sportspaper Marca immediately linked him together with Dutch side Feyenoord. This was at first
described by Tomasson as pure speculation.[14] The speculation, however, turned out to be true. In July
2008, he left Villarreal on a free transfer, and returned to Feyenoord on a new three-year contract.[15] He
made a fine start with four goals in three games. But this was followed by an injury from the end of
September until the end of January, which meant he could only play a total of 14 games for Feyenoord
in 2008–09.

Tomasson training with Feyenoord, August 2008

In the next 2009–10 season, he again had to battle with a couple of injuries. But during the season he
was still able to play another 28 games for Feyenoord, where he scored a club-best 12 goals. With his
good performance on the field, he helped Feyenoord to achieve a fourth place in the Eredivisie, and help
the club to reach the final of the Dutch Cup. The final was played over two legs, and Feyenoord lost 6–1
on aggregate to Ajax, with Tomasson scoring the only goal for Feyenoord. During the 2010 World Cup,
he was hit by another serious injury, that spoiled his first half of the 2010–11 season for Feyenoord.
[16]
 According to the medical staff at Feyenoord, the injury was a lot worse than original thought. When
they tried to get him ready for a game at 15 August, the injury had not entirely healed; and after a too
hard training session, it therefore reappeared at its previous strength. Based upon further examination
of the injury, the coach now feared that Tomasson only would be ready to play his first game of the
season in January 2011.[17]

International career[edit]

Tomasson scored 10 goals in 16 games for the national under-19 team, and was awarded 1994 Danish
U-19 Player of the Year. In all, he scored 27 goals in 37 matches for various national youth selections.

After two good seasons with Heerenveen, Tomasson got a call-up to the Denmark national team, and he
made his debut on 29 March 1997, against Croatia. During his time at Newcastle, reduced playing time
saw Tomasson dropped by the Denmark national team, and he was not selected to play at the 1998 FIFA
World Cup. When he moved to Feyenoord, Tomasson was once more called up for the Denmark
national team in August 1998, and with six goals in seven matches of the Euro 2000 qualification, he
quickly became an important part of the Danish team, playing as an attacking
midfielder behind striker Ebbe Sand. He played in all Denmark's three matches at the main Euro
2000 tournament, but did not score as Denmark were eliminated in the group stage. Before moving to
Milan, he played for Denmark in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he scored four goals in as many
games.

Tomasson played for Denmark at Euro 2004, where he scored three goals in four games and was
selected for the Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament. On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach Morten
Olsen announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 FIFA
World Cup in South Africa.[18] On 24 June, he scored against Japan in a 3–1 defeat as Denmark went out
of the competition.[19] He was rated by FIFA as the best Danish player of the tournament.[20] Some fans
and the media did not agree with the world football's governing body, however.[21][22]

Tomasson scored a total of 52 goals in 112 games for Denmark throughout his career, which spanned
from March 1997 to June 2010, making him joint all time goal scorer of the Denmark national team
with Poul Nielsen. He played at Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2010 World Cup. On
9 August 2010, having scored 52nd international goal in Denmark's final match at the 2010 World Cup,
Tomasson decided to retire from the national team. "We say farewell to a terrific player and a fantastic
person," national coach Olsen said, adding that Tomasson was "the ultimate team player".[23]

Coaching career[edit]

Early coaching career[edit]

Tomasson with Vitesse in 2016

Tomasson retired on 6 June 2011, and became assistant coach at Dutch club Excelsior.[24] He became the
club's head coach at the beginning of the 2013–14 season.[25] His debut was a 2–2 Eerste Divisie draw at
home to Helmond Sport,[26] and he took the Rotterdam-based team to the last 16 of the KNVB
Cup before losing 2–1 at home to PEC Zwolle on 17 December.[27]

Eredivisie side Roda JC Kerkrade sacked their head coach Ruud Brood on 15 December 2013,[28] and

signed Tomasson 11 days later,[29][30] on a 31⁄2-year deal, effective 3 January.[29] He made his debut 15
days later in a 2–2 draw at his former club Heerenveen.[31] After the second half of the season, which
resulted in relegation, he was dismissed on 26 May 2014.[32]

On 19 June 2015, Tomasson was appointed as the new assistant manager of Vitesse.[33] On 7 March
2016, he was appointed as an assistant coach of the Danish national team.[34] During their 3.5 year
working they duo qualified the Danish national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020 UEFA
European Championship. The team did not loose a game for 3 years.

Malmö FF[edit]

On 5 January 2020, Tomasson was appointed as the new manager of Swedish Allsvenskan side Malmö

FF.[35] He led the team to the 2020 Allsvenskan title in his first season with the club, winning Malmö FF its
21st Swedish Championship.[36][35]

In his second season for Malmö FF he took the club to the group stage of Champions League after
succeeding in four qualification rounds, including beating Rangers in the third round and Ludogorets
Razgrad in the fourth. In December 2021, Tomasson and Malmō FF won their second consecutive
Allsvenskan league title.[37] On 30 December, he left by his own request.[38]

Blackburn Rovers[edit]

On 14 June 2022, Tomasson was appointed as the new head coach of Blackburn Rovers.[39] He signed a
three-year deal at the club, stating: "I'm really proud and excited to be taking over as head coach of
Blackburn Rovers – a club with a lot of tradition and also great ambition."[40] On his debut on 30 July, the
team won 1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers with a long-range goal from Lewis Travis.[41]
Personal life[edit]

Tomasson has two sons, Luca (born in 2008) and Liam (born in 2012), with his Danish wife Line Dahl
Kongeskov Tomasson.[42] Tomasson is of Danish, Finnish and Icelandic heritage.[43]

Style of play[edit]

Tomasson was known for his positional strength and fine finishing as a forward, despite his lack of
notable pace or physicality.[2] He also drew praise from pundits and managers for his discipline in
training, and for his work-rate and movement off the ball, as well as his ability to create space for his
teammates with his runs.[7][44] A versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a striker and as a
second striker.[45]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [46]

National League Continen

League Other Total
Cup Cup tal
Seas
Club
on
Divisio Ap Goa Ap Goa Ap Goa Ap Goa Ap Goa Ap Goa
n ps ls ps ls ps ls ps ls ps ls ps ls

Denma
1992[
47] rk 2 0 0 0 – 0 0 – 2 0
Series

Denma
1993[
rk 15 5 5 5 – 0 0 – 20 10
Køge 47]
Series

1994[ 2nd
47] 31 23 2 4 – 0 0 – 33 27
Division

Total 48 28 7 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 55 37

1994 Eredivis
16 5 2 1 – 0 0 – 18 6
–95 ie

Heerenvee 1995 Eredivis

30 14 1 0 – 0 0 – 31 14
n –96 ie

1996 Eredivis
32 18 6 6 – 0 0 – 38 24
–97 ie
 Total 78 37 9 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 87 44

1997
Newcastle Premier
– 23 3 2 0 3 1 7 0 – 35 4
United League
98[48]

1998 Eredivis
33 13 3 1 – 2 2 – 38 16
–99 ie

1999 Eredivis
28 10 1 0 – 11 4 1[a] 1 40 14
–00 ie

Feyenoord 2000 Eredivis

31 15 2 1 – 2 1 – 35 17
–01 ie

2001 Eredivis
30 17 1 1 – 7 4 – 38 22
–02 ie

Total 122 55 7 3 0 0 22 11 1 1 152 70

2002
– Serie A 29 4 7 4 – 11 3 – 37 11
03[48]

2003
– Serie A 26 12 4 2 – 6 0 1[b] 1 37 15
AC Milan 04[48]

2004
– Serie A 30 6 3 2 – 6 1 1[c] 0 40 9
05[48]

Total 75 22 14 8 0 0 23 5 2 0 114 35

2005
Bundesl
– 26 8 2 1 3 0 6 2 – 37 11
iga
06[48]
VfB
2006
Stuttgart Bundesl
– 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 – 6 1
iga
07[48]

Total 30 8 4 2 3 0 6 2 0 0 43 12

Villarreal (l 2006 La Liga 11 4 0 0 – 0 0 – 11 4

 –
oan)
07[48]

2007
Villarreal – La Liga 25 3 4 0 – 8 5 – 37 8
08[48]

2008
Eredivis
– 13 9 0 0 – 1 0 2[d] 1 16 10
ie
09[48]

2009
Eredivis
– 24 11 4 1 – 0 0 – 28 12
ie
Feyenoord 10[48]

2010
Eredivis
– 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 – 0 0
ie
11[48]

Total 37 20 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 44 22

Career total 449 180 51 30 6 1 67 23 5 2 578 236

1. ^ Appearance in 1999 Johan Cruyff Shield

2. ^ Appearance in 2003 Intercontinental Cup

3. ^ Appearance in 2004 Supercoppa Italiana

4. ^ Appearances in Eredivisie play-offs for the Europa League

International[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[49]

National team Year Apps Goals

1997 4 0

1998 3 0

Denmark 1999 8 6

2000 11 3

2001 9 4
 2002 12 10

2003 8 4

2004 14 8

2005 10 3

2006 6 5

2007 11 7

2008 6 1

2009 5 0

2010 5 1

Total 112 52

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tomasson goal.

List of international goals scored by Jon Dahl Tomasson [49]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

Liverpool, UEFA Euro 2000

1 9 June 1999  Wales 1–0 2–0
England qualification

4
Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2000
2 September  Switzerland 2–1 2–1
Denmark qualification
1999

8
UEFA Euro 2000
3 September Napoli, Italy  Italy 3–2 3–2
qualification
1999

4 13 1–0
UEFA Euro 2000
November Tel Aviv, Israel  Israel 5–0
qualification
5 1999 2–0

17
Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2000
6 November  Israel 3–0 3–0
Denmark qualification
1999
List of international goals scored by Jon Dahl Tomasson [49]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

29 March Leiria,
7  Portugal 1–0 1–2 Friendly
2000 Portugal

Copenhagen,
8 3 June 2000  Belgium 1–0 2–2 Friendly
Denmark

2
Reykjavík, 2002 FIFA World
9 September  Iceland 1–1 2–1
Iceland Cup qualification
2000

25 May Copenhagen,
10  Slovenia 2–0 3–0 Friendly
2001 Denmark

Copenhagen,  Czech 2002 FIFA World

11 2 June 2001 2–1 2–1
Denmark Republic Cup qualification

12 5 1–0
2002 FIFA World
September Sofia, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 2–0
Cup qualification
13 2001 2–0

17 April Copenhagen,
14  Israel 2–0 3–1 Friendly
2002 Denmark

17 May Copenhagen,
15  Cameroon 2–0 2–1 Friendly
2002 Denmark

16 1–0
Ulsan, South 2002 FIFA World
1 June 2002  Uruguay 2–1
Korea Cup
17 2–1

Daegu, South 2002 FIFA World

18 6 June 2002  Senegal 1–0 1–1
Korea Cup

11 June Incheon, 2002 FIFA World

19  France 2–0 2–0
2002 South Korea Cup

20 7 1–0
UEFA Euro 2004
September Oslo, Norway  Norway 2–2
qualification
21 2002 2–1

22 12 October Copenhagen,  Luxembourg 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004

List of international goals scored by Jon Dahl Tomasson [49]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

2002 Denmark qualification

20
Copenhagen,
23 November  Poland 1–0 2–0 Friendly
Denmark
2002

12 February
24 Cairo, Egypt  Egypt 2–1 4–1 Friendly
2003

29 March Bucharest, UEFA Euro 2004

25  Romania 3–2 5–2
2003 Romania qualification

10
Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2004
26 September  Romania 1–0 2–2
Denmark qualification
2003

16
Manchester,
27 November  England 3–2 3–2 Friendly
England
2003

30 May Tallinn,
28  Estonia 1–0 2–2 Friendly
2004 Estonia

18 June Braga,
29  Bulgaria 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2004
2004 Portugal

30 1–0
22 June Porto,
 Sweden 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004
2004 Portugal
31 2–1

9 October Tirana, 2006 FIFA World

32  Albania 2–0 2–0
2004 Albania Cup qualification

13 October Copenhagen, 2006 FIFA World

33  Turkey 1–0 1–1
2004 Denmark Cup qualification

34 17 1–0
2006 FIFA World
November Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia 2–2
Cup qualification
35 2004 2–1

36 17 August Copenhagen,  England 2–0 4–1 Friendly

List of international goals scored by Jon Dahl Tomasson [49]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

2005 Denmark

7
Copenhagen, 2006 FIFA World
37 September  Georgia 4–1 6–1
Denmark Cup qualification
2005

12 October Almaty, 2006 FIFA World

38  Kazakhstan 2–0 2–1
2005 Kazakhstan Cup qualification

27 May Aarhus,
39  Paraguay 1–1 1–1 Friendly
2006 Denmark

1
Brøndby,
40 September  Portugal 1–0 4–2 Friendly
Denmark
2006

6
Reykjavík, UEFA Euro 2008
41 September  Iceland 2–0 2–0
Iceland qualification
2006

42 3–0
11 October Vaduz, UEFA Euro 2008
 Liechtenstein 4–0
2006 Liechtenstein qualification
43 4–0

44 1–0
6 February London,
 Australia 3–1 Friendly
2007 England
45 3–0

Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2008

46 2 June 2007  Sweden 2–3 0–3 (a)
Denmark qualification

12
Aarhus, UEFA Euro 2008
47 September  Liechtenstein 3–0 4–0
Denmark qualification
2007

13 October Aarhus, UEFA Euro 2008

48  Spain 1–2 1–3
2007 Denmark qualification

17 October Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2008

49  Latvia 1–0 3–1
2007 Denmark qualification
 List of international goals scored by Jon Dahl Tomasson [49]

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition

21
Copenhagen, UEFA Euro 2008
50 November  Iceland 2–0 3–0
Denmark qualification
2007

6 February
51 Celje, Slovenia  Slovenia 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2008

24 June Rustenburg, 2010 FIFA World

52  Japan 1–2 1–3
2010 South Africa Cup

 (a): Match abandoned

Managerial record[edit]

As of 19 March 2023

Record
Team From To
Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
.

17 June 3 January [50]

Excelsior 25 10 9 6 37 29 +8 40.00
2013[25] 2014[29]

3 January 26 May [51]

Roda 17 3 2 12 14 30 −16 17.65
2014[30] 2014[32]

30
5 January 10 [52]
Malmö  December 93 52 21 20 187 +83 55.91
2020[52] 4
2021

Blackburn 14 June
Present 46 24 6 16 54 51 +3 52.17
Rovers 2022

21
Total 181 89 38 54 292 +78 49.17 —
4

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Feyenoord

 Eredivisie: 1998–99
  Johan Cruijff Shield: 1999

 UEFA Cup: 2001–02

A.C. Milan

 Serie A: 2003–04

 Coppa Italia: 2002–03

 Supercoppa Italiana: 2004

 UEFA Champions League: 2002–03

 UEFA Super Cup: 2003

Individual

 1994 Danish U19 Player of the Year

 1996 Dutch Football Talent of the Year

 2002 World Cup Bronze shoe (4 goals)

 2002 Danish Player of the Year

 2004 UEFA Euro All-Star Team

 2004 Danish Player of the Year

 1994 top-scorer of the Danish 2nd Division (23 goals) and Køge BK (27 goals)

 1995–96 top-scorer of SC Heerenveen (14 goals)

 1996–97 top-scorer of SC Heerenveen (24 goals)

 2000–01 top-scorer of Feyenoord (17 goals)

 2005–06 top-scorer of VfB Stuttgart (11 goals)

 2009–10 top-scorer of Feyenoord (12 goals)

Manager[edit]

Malmö FF

 Allsvenskan: 2020, 2021

 Allsvenskan Manager of the Year: 2020