Michael Manniche Explained

Michael Manniche
Birth Date:	17 July 1959
Birth Place:	Copenhagen, Denmark
Height:	1.92 m
Position:	Centre forward
Youthyears1:	1971–1977
Youthclubs1:	Brønshøj
Years1:	1977–1979
Years2:	1980–1983
Years3:	1983–1987
Years4:	1987–1992
Years5:	1992–1994
Years6:	1996
Clubs6:	FC Copenhagen
Caps1:	47
Caps2:	77
Caps3:	89
Caps4:	128
Caps5:	37
Caps6:	3
Totalcaps:	381
Goals1:	20
Goals2:	23
Goals3:	47
Goals4:	47
Goals5:	7
Goals6:	0
Totalgoals:	144
Nationalyears1:	1981–1987
Nationalteam1:	Denmark
Nationalcaps1:	11
Nationalgoals1:	2

Michael Manniche (born 17 July 1959) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.^[1]

Even though he played professionally for four clubs in his country, he was best known for his spell with Benfica in Portugal.^[2]

Career

Born in Copenhagen, Frederiksberg Municipality, Manniche started his career with Brønshøj Boldklub in 1977, signing for Hvidovre IF three years later and helping it to the Danish Cup in 1980 and the Danish Championship in the following year; in August he made his debut with Denmark, appearing as a second-half substitute in a friendly with Nordic neighbours Finland (2–1 win) – in total, he would win 11 caps in six years, but did not attend any major international tournament.

In the middle of 1983, Manniche moved abroad, signing with defending Primeira Liga champions S.L. Benfica. In his first season he helped the team retain the championship, scoring 11 goals in only 21 matches. Additionally, he netted twice in the 1985 Portuguese Cup final win against FC Porto (3–1), winning another league trophy in 1987.

Having played 132 official matches with 75 goals for Benfica, Manniche was affectionately known as "O Tosco" (Portuguese slang for a person/player with few or no technical abilities). In the decades following his retirement he stayed firmly connected to the club, either watching games, mediating in business negotiations or supplying training equipment.

In 1987, 28-year-old Manniche returned home, joining Boldklubben 1903 – on 1 July 1992, it merged with Kjøbenhavns Boldklub to become F.C. Copenhagen. In its first year of existence, they won the league; he played his last match on 17 April 1994, and became a coach for small Danish amateur sides.

Manniche returned to Copenhagen in 1996, as an assistant manager. After a string of poor results he made a short comeback as a player, at the age of 37, calling it quits shortly after.

The Portuguese footballer Maniche was nicknamed in reference to Manniche.^[3]