A leader for both club and country

The highly versatile Thomas Helveg, battle-hardened after close to a decade playing in Serie-A, has been a virtual omnipresent force in the Danish side since making his debut in 1994.

His home ground has been the San Siro playng for both Milan clubs and although he prefers to play in midfield, he has proved to be perfectly comfortable on the right side of defence where he has often played for his country.

He is a good marker, a tough tackler and is quick around the field and likes to get forward whenever possible. Helveg is also a good crosser of the ball, although goals are a rarity.

Helveg began his career with his hometown club Odense, where he returned to marry his girlfriend Nicoline - the Odense players formed the guard of honour dressed in full club kit.

In 1993 he joined Udinese where his consistent displays over five seasons attracted the attention of giants AC Milan.

He joined the five-times European champions after France '98 when the Milan club made a treble swoop on Udinese, dramatically dubbed the "Holy Trinity", with the deal taking German striker Oliver Bierhoff and coach Alberto Zaccheroni to the club.

World Cup quarter-finals

At the World Cup in France, Helveg was a key factor in Denamrk's drive to the quarter-finals and he even picked up a rare goal in the second round 4-1 demolition of Nigeria.

Helveg quickly established himself at the San Siro despite enormous competition for places. He made 27 appearances in his first season, helping to revive the fallen giants who finished the season in third place.

In the 1998/99 season Helveg played a central role as the Italian giants regained the league title after producing the type of awesome form that made them the most feared club in Europe in the early 1990s.

Denmark's Euro 2000 campaign was nothing short of disaster as the surprise 1992 champions failed to score in three group matches while conceding a total of eight goals.

Successive defeats against France, Holland and the Czech Republic meant Helveg and the Danish squad were on an early flight home, despite optimistic pre-tournamnent hopes.

A fine qualifying campaign meant Denmark returned to the World Cup in 2002 and they played a key factor in the first round elimination of holders France before running into a bouyant England side in the second round where they were soundly beaten 3-0 in Japan.

Helveg was bought by Inter Milan in 2001 but loaned straight back to AC where he played two more seasons winning the Champions League in 2003 before moving back to Inter.

Denmark safely qualified for Euro 2004 where they are in a first round group with Italy, Scandinavian rivals Sweden and Bulgaria.