The Parken Stadium is the home of FC Copenhagen - F.C. København in Danish or FCK for short! The stadium also hosts the Danish national side as well as numerous concerts and events. Fresh from a month long tour of the UK with Campey Turfcare’s Simon Gumbrill, taking in BTME Harrogate on the way, Assistant Groundsman Daniel Madsen talks about life at the stadium
PARKEN FINE!
Hi, my name is Daniel Madsen and I am Danish. I am 21 years young but, after visiting Harrogate this year, and spending a month with Simon Gumbrill of Campey Turfcare, I feel much older! Chris Hague, my boss at the Parken Stadium, had arranged for me to come over to the UK to see the golf show and then, with Simon, visit a lot of the Football and Premier League grounds, and their groundsmen of course. It was an eye opening opportunity for me, seeing the sort of machinery that each ground had and also the quality of the pitches in England. I was lucky enough to be invited to some of the games and the atmosphere at English grounds is something really special. All the guys I met were very knowledgeable and gave me lots of encouragement. I thought that the Danes had a reputation for drinking, but I now know the Brits are far more capable!
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I have known Chris for a number of years and began working for him on a ‘casual’ basis at the age of 15. Chris must have been impressed with my skills as he offered me the opportunity to join the grounds team at Parken and begin my career when I was 18. My role and duties, according to Chris, include everything and anything; basically we have to maintain all surfaces to the highest standard possible at both Parken and the KB (Kjøbenhavns Boldklub) training ground. In my brief career so far I have developed a number of skills, from using pedestrian and ride on cutting machinery, tractor mounted and pedestrian aerators, operation of lighting rigs, match day preparations, verti- cutting, sweeping, seeding and brushing, the application of topdressings and fertilisers and irrigation. I have also been involved in the pitch renovations,
including using the Koro to strip the surface.
At the moment we have a ‘multi-use’ pitch in the stadium and two pitches at KB, with a third under construction. Chris and myself have to look after all of this, although we are currently recruiting a new team member. As a groundsman all I’ve known is
Parken and the training ground and, since my appointment I believe that I have brought with me enthusiasm, commitment to hard work and a willingness to learn. I’ve asked Chris about his history, but he won’t tell me! I also asked him to offer his opinion (for this article) on this question and he mentioned Jack Shit. Does he work in England? I am currently studying at Jutland College in Denmark, learning the basics of groundsmanship and greenkeeping. Summer 2008 was the first time this
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