Per Billeskov Krøldrup (; born 31 July 1979) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
He has played 33 games for the Denmark national team, and was part of their squad for the 2004 European Championship.
Club career
Early career Born in Farsø, Krøldrup started his footballing career at Danish lower league clubs Farsø/Ullits IK and Aalborg Chang. He then went on to play for Copenhagen-based B.93 in the second-tier Danish 1st Division before transferring to Udinese in the Italian top-flight Serie A championship in 2001. In his final season at the club, they finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
Everton In June 2005, Krøldrup moved from Udinese to English club Everton on a four-year deal for a transfer fee of £5million.Per Krøldrup – Defender ToffeeWeb.com Before having played a single game for the club, he suffered a groin injury and had to undergo surgery. He made his debut for Everton on 26 December 2005 in a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa, which was to be his only league game for the club.
His Everton career was later described as one of the worst transfers in the history of the club and English football,Michael Kettiros, Top Ten: Players who made us both laugh and cry, Liverpool Echo, 21 February 2009.Bill Edgar, Top 50 worst transfers, The Times, 18 July 2007 and Krøldrup has stated his difficulties of adapting to the physical aspects of the English game.Dominic King, Fiorentina v Everton: Per Kroldrup admits he couldn't cope with the Premier League, Liverpool Echo, 6 March 2008
Fiorentina Krøldrup transferred back to Italy on 19 January 2006, when he joined ACF Fiorentina, 31 days after his Everton debut.
Following the 2006 Serie A scandal, where several clubs were on trial for match fixing, Fiorentina were initially relegated to Serie B in July 2006. Krøldrup was amongst the players wanting to leave. However, as Fiorentina made an appeal to the Italian Football Federation, the club remained in Serie A and most of their players, including Krøldrup, remained with the Florence club. He made his Champions League debut on 12 August 2008 against Slavia Prague, a 2–0 win for La Viola.
Krøldrup's contract with Fiorentina was set to expire in June 2010, but on 17 May 2010 he signed a new deal that expired in 2012.Kroldrup signs new Fiorentina deal , Ontheminute.com, 17 May 2010
Pescara and Olhanense On 8 March 2013, Krøldrup signed a short-term contract with Serie A club Delfino Pescara 1936 for the rest of the 2012–13 season.Officielt: Krøldrup på plads i Pescara, Ekstra Bladet, 8 March 2013
After a Summer as a free agent, he signed for Olhanense of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on 1 October 2013.
International career At Udinese, Krøldrup played alongside Danish national team player Martin Jørgensen, who claimed that Krøldrup was ready for the Danish national team in March 2002. Kurt Lassen, "Thomas Helveg melder afbud til testkamp", Berlingske Tidende, 19 March 2002 Krøldrup was not called up for the national team until February 2004, making his debut against Turkey. Per Krøldrup – Alle hold (Alle kampe) He was a part of the Danish squad for the 2004 European Championship, though he did not play any games at the tournament.
Career statistics International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsDenmark200490200540200620200730200850200940201060Total330
References
External links ACF Fiorentina official site English Viola