Name Pernille Harder Position Midfielder Years Team Current team Linkopings FC | Number 16 Height 1.68 m Role Footballer | |
 | ||
Full name Pernille Harder Mosegaard Date of birth (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 23) Similar People Stina Blackstenius, Hedvig Lindahl, Therese Sjogran | ||
Playing position | ||
Pernille Mosegaard Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for VfL Wolfsburg as well as for the Danish national team, the latter of which she has captained since 2016. She made her debut for the national team in 2009.
Contents
Club career
Before signing for Linköpings in June 2012 Harder played for Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken in her country's Elitedivisionen. Skovbakken had made Harder and her contemporary Sofie Junge Pedersen contracted players in April 2010, in recognition of their exception potential.
Harder chose a Swedish club for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in Scandinavia. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at relegation-bound Sunnanå SK.
In the 2015 Damallsvenskan season Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare (English: Forward of the Year) and Årets Allsvenska Spelare (English: League Player of the Year). At the annual awards gala she shared the stage with male winner Zlatan Ibrahimović and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world class" by Swedish national coach Pia Sundhage. Harder was also voted Danish Football Player of the Year in 2015. In June 2016, Harder was among 30 local worthies to be named in a Wall of Fame by Linköping Municipality.
Harder enjoyed further success in the 2016 Damallsvenskan season, retaining the League Player of the Year award. Her 23 league goals secured the Top Goalscorer award and helped Linköping win the Damallsvenskan title. By now a transfer target for the biggest clubs in women's football, Harder's agent announced in November 2016 that she would be leaving Linköping for a new challenge. In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two and a half year contract with VfL Wolfsburg running from January 2017.
International career
At the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand, Harder was part of the Denmark team who won their group before losing 4–0 to eventual champions North Korea in the quarter-final. Still 16 years old, she contributed a hat-trick to a crushing 15–0 win over Georgia in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.
Harder scored further hat-tricks against Austria and Armenia in 2011 and Russia in 2013. She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013. With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.
In October 2013, Harder won her 50th cap for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with Serbia. She scored Denmark's goal in the match. In March 2016, Harder was appointed captain of the national team. In 2017, she was named in national coach Nils Nielsen's Denmark squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017.
Personal life
Harder is in a relationship with former Linköpings FC teammate and Swedish international, Magdalena Eriksson.