Ebbe Skovdahl

Ebbe Skovdahl Hansen (5 July 1945 – 23 October 2020) was a Danish football manager. He most prominently was a successful manager at Brøndby, for whom he had also played in his active years. He helped turn the side into the most dominant Danish team in the 1990s, and he also managed the club in several European campaigns with regular successful UEFA Cup runs, and a UEFA Champions League qualification. He won numerous Danish Superliga and Danish Cup titles.

Career Skovdahl started playing as a child for Vanløse. He played 130 amateur games for the club before he moved to Brøndby in the Danish 3rd Division in 1971. Following 89 amateur matches, many of them as team captain, he went on to become Brøndby's third team coach in 1977. He coached a few minor Danish teams Hvalsø and Glostrup, before he secured two consecutive promotions for Brønshøj to the Danish 1st Division in 1982, the then best league of football in Denmark. In 1986, he moved back to coach Brøndby, who had just won the Danish football championship in 1985.

Championship coach Skovdahl went on to coach Brøndby towards its second Danish championship in 1987 and he also guided the club to the quarterfinals of the 1986–87 European Cup international tournament. Following two years at Brøndby, Skovdahl moved to Portugal before the conclusion of the Danish season to coach the defending Portuguese Liga champions Benfica. Birger Peitersen went on to finish his job at Brøndby and secured the 1987 Danish championship. The job at Benfica was too much for the internationally inexperienced Skovdahl, He went on to install a 4–4–2 system with hardworking players, whose constant pressure on the opponent, combined with the necessary technical and tactical skills, went on to dominate the Danish championship for half a decade. Despite overseeing one of the poorest sides in Aberdeen's recent history in his first season in charge, Skovdahl proved popular with the fans. In that first year, he brought in many foreign signings, with mixed success, and among his signings were Arild Stavrum, Hicham Zerouali and Roberto Bisconti. The one highlight of Skovdahl's first season was that Aberdeen reached both the 2000 Scottish League Cup Final and the 2000 Scottish Cup Final, but they lost both finals to Celtic and Rangers respectively. The next year, Aberdeen improved dramatically, as Skovdahl guided them to fourth place in the 2001–02 Scottish Premier League. He was replaced by Steve Paterson in December 2002.

Danish return He returned to Danish Superliga club Frem, who he tried to save from relegation, though without success. Following disputes with the club board over the long-term aims of the club, Skovdahl resigned in winter 2005.

Personal life Skovdahl was the uncle of Danish international footballers Michael and Brian Laudrup.

Death Skovdahl died after years of battling cancer on 23 October 2020 at the age of 75.

Honours Danish Championship: 1988, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98 Danish Cup: 1988–89, 1993–94, 1997–98