Løvenkrands - a look back at his time with NUFC
Peter Løvenkrands did an in-depth interview with a Danish football magazine recently and talked about his time at Newcastle. I thought I'd translate the bit about his time with the club as he says some really nice things about NUFC and the fans.
Newcastle finally secured Løvenkrands
British Premier League club Newcastle had shown an interest in Løvenkrands several times in the past, and in 2002 the club were very close to securing a deal with the player. However, in the eleventh hour, the Danish striker chose to go to Rangers instead.
Løvenkrands knows that Newcastle were anything but happy about the late rejection, but nonetheless the club was still interested when he was seeking new fields of grass in January 2009, being employed by Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 at the time.
- It was probably "meant to be" in some way, me going to Newcastle. When they once again showed an interest in me, I wasn't in doubt - I just had to go! says Løvenkrands.
- Naturally, it meant a lot to me to have the chance of playing in such a strong league. It is a privilege as a footballer to get to play in the big leagues with such strong players, like I had also experienced in the Bundesliga.
- I felt that I joined the league at the right time, and that English football suited my own style. I joined a club where I got to play with one of my idols when I was younger in Michael Owen.
- I had been very impressed with him previously in his career, so it was extremely special for me to play in the same team as him. Unfortunately, he was injured a lot during his time at the club, so I rarely got to play with him. I played more alongside Obafemi Martins.
- Generally, Newcastle had a very strong squad, so it felt strange to be fighting in a relegation battle all season, which we eventually didn't succeed with as we got relegated.
- I scored quite a few goals in my first season in the Premier League. It actually went quite well for me personally, but seeing as we went down, that's not a favourite topic for people to talk about, Løvenkrands says with a smile on his face.
Took a year in the Championship
Once relegation was a fact, Løvenkrands chose to follow the team down to the Championship, England's next best league. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that he is still a popular figure at the club.
- The Championship season was even more special than my debut in the Premier League. I remained at the club and scored 16 goals, which helped us get back to the best league, and that in itself was a massive experience, Løvenkrands says.
- I think it is important to take responsibility and not just leave a club when you have a stake in having put that club in a bad situation.
- However, I think the most important thing, and maybe why people seemed to like me, was my attitude towards working as hard as I could, even if I was playing a bad game. I didn't want anyone to be able to say that I didn't give everything, and I think I lived up to that.
- I have always given a 100% for that logo on the chest, the supporters and my teammates. You can't really do more than that, even when you're not playing to your best, maintains Løvenkrands.
Emotional goal after personal tragedy
After a long time of being seriously ill, Peter Løvenkrands lost his dad in 2010. The loss of his father was tough on Løvenkrands, but playing football for Newcastle helped him through the hard times. Only a couple of games after his father's passing, Løvenkrands was back on the pitch.
- I had been gone for a few days, but returned to the club on the day we were playing West Bromwich at home. My manager asked me whether I was ready to play. I said yes, and he informed that I was starting the game.
- We fell behind 0-2, but managed to fight our way back, and I ended up scoring the equalising 2-2 goal. That was when I heard 50.000 people at St. James' Park roaring and screaming my name out loud. It actually wasn't the first time I had tried that, but this time there was something different about it.
- I have never heard such a loud roar in my life before, and for the remaining 10 minutes of the game, I was running around on the pitch crying uncontrollably. I really couldn't control myself - it was such a moving thing for me to hear the fans like that, and it meant the world to me.
- When I meet Newcastle fans today, or when they write to me on social media, they always tell me that they were present at that game, and that they will never forget that moment because it was special for them as well. I want to let them know that I will never, ever forget it either.
- I have scored goals that were more important than that one - as such - but with all the feelings that were involved, this is one of the biggest - if not the biggest - moment of my career.
- Of course it was a hard time, but football really helped me get through. I thought about my dad every day, but it meant a lot to me that I could play football at this level, and for a long while after that special goal, I was on fire!
- I started putting goals in the back of net consequently, and played really well. That form contributed to us getting promoted, and we won the Championship and got Newcastle back in the Premier League. Being a part of that was massive for me, Løvenkrands states.
These days he's working under Steven Gerrard at Rangers as the reserves team manager. Not bad. Good luck in the future Peter!
