Morten Gamst Pedersen (born September 8, 1981 in Vadsų) is a
versatile Norwegian football player who currently plays for
Blackburn Rovers primarily as a left winger/midfielder, but can
also operate on the right or as a striker. Despite being born
naturally right footed, Pedersen at the age of 15 trained
himself to become stronger on his left side after noticing the
shortage of natural left footers playing in the game.
He initially signed from Tromsų I.L. to Blackburn Rovers in
August 2004 for 1.5 million pounds, which could rise to anything
up to 2.5 million pounds on the basis of his later appearances.
It is reported that Manchester United, Aston Villa, Newcastle
United and Tottenham Hotspur were also interested in the player.
However, Pedersen was required to fill the gap left by Damien
Duff, who had left in July 2003 to go to Chelsea.
Pedersen, a Norwegian international, made his FA Premier League
debut in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on August 28,
2004, a match Blackburn were leading until deep into injury
time.
Pedersen initially struggled to make an impact in the Premier
League and had lenghty period of not being selected after Graeme
Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes as Blackburn Rovers manager
in September 2004. However he started the year of 2005 in style,
scoring against Cardiff City on his return to side and going on
to score three goals in his next three matches. He went on to
finish as the clubs second top scorer for the season with eight
goals. The highlight of his Rovers career came in September 2005
when he scored both goals in a 2-1 victory against Manchester
United at Old Trafford.
He holds sixteen caps for his country, scoring four goals.
