You can tell how long Jan Molby has been around Liverpool, he was dubbed 'Rambo' because of his formidable frame and ferocious shot. Now, with his testomonial just around the corner, the undisputed heavyweight champion of Damage In The Box sits back and sifts through his memoirs with 90 Minutes.
Jan Molby, Damage In The Box legend and former Danish international, is approaching his testomonial year after another largely anonymous season at Anfield. There's more chance of spotting Elvis busking down on the Pier Head than seeing the Danish midfielder, 31 next month, in the Liverpool first-team. Blame it on a calf injury which refused to go away and restricted him to 11 Premiership outings last season.
When he does play, though, Liverpool can still roll back the years. Take the Aston Villa game last season. Ron Atkinson's side arrived at Anfield at the end of November on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run. Molby, fresh from nine weeks of solitary slogging round the training ground and pumping iron in the gym in Melwood, was thrown in at the deep-end. He responded by inspiring the Reds to a 2-1 victory. Sadly, that niggling calf injury nipped any extended comeback in the bud and Molby is just returning to full fitness.
"Yeah, it's been a frustating time." he sighs. "Though I suppose when you're out for so long, it's twice as sweet when you return and play a couple of games. Overall, the good times certainly make up for the bad. In my case, it was annoying because it started off with a calf injury and progressed into the muscle coming away from the bone, so it all took longer than expected." It also put pain to any hopes he had of getting back into the Danish national squad, although Denmark's failure to qualify for USA '94 didn't help either.
I don't think I'll play for Denmark at that level again, " he admits, "especially with us not being in the World Cup Finals. There'll be another change in personnel, there'll be younger players coming in for the European Championships in 1996 and that'll close the chapter on my international career.
"If we'd qualified for America, I think I'd have been more or less a cert to go to the Finals. I felt that manager, Richard Moller Nielson, was having a change of heart and was prepared to come over and watch me. He said that if I was fit and playing on a regular basis, he would've taken me to America. But that dream ended in Seville when Spain beat Denmark and I'm pretty certain it'll be younger players trying to get Denmark through to the 1996 Euro Championship."
Still, he can't complain, having swept the board at club level with Liverpool. Molby is one of the rapidly diminishing group of players still at Anfield who have played under Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Roy Evans. He was part of the 1986 Double-winning side, won another championship in 1990 and orchestrated the FA Cup Final stroll against Sunderland in 1992. All this and three months in the nick on a drink-driving conviction!
Three years ago, though, he was on the verge of joining Barcelona, but the leaving of Liverpool was not to be. "I don't know what happened, " he shrugs. "It was something to do with the way they wanted to pay the fee - one big slice or two payments. Liverpool said Barcelona weren't prepared to pay the full fee straightaway - they wanted to pay so much when I signed and so much at a later stage - and that wasn't the way Liverpool do business, so that was the end of my dream move. "Still, it made it a lot easier knowing that, despite everything falling through, I could still stay at Liverpool. It would've been more difficult at a lesser club, but all I had to do was keep playing here. But you only have to look at the three years I could've been at Barca - frightening. I could've lived for the rest of my life on the win bonuses. It would have been unbelievable." Instead - and to the relief of many a Liverpudlian - Molby stayed on Merseyside.
This season will be the tenth anniversary of his move from Ajax of Amsterdam, and he's looking forward to his testimonial. "It'll be a great honour to get one, especially being a foreign player at Liverpool for 10 years. That's a first and something that may never be repeated. "I know people who get testimonials get a lot of stick, especially when people say: 'They don't need one - they've got enough money'. But you only have to look at players who move around and maybe get 10 or more clubs during their careers, picking up a little bit of spare cash on the way. Those players who stay loyal miss out on those big signing-on fees. "I'm not complaining, but its nice when you get towards the end of your career to get the loyalty bonus of a testimonial. "
As it stands, Molby has a year left on his current contract. After that, he reckons he's worth another two years of first-class football. "Anything from Liverpool would be a bonus. If not, there might be someone else around the leagues who might fancy me for a couple of years.
"I've always said that I'd like to remain in English football and although it doesn't always suit the way I play, I think over ten years that I've acquitted myself all right. "When my contract runs out I'll be 32. There might not be clubs queuing up but I might be able to drop in somewhere - a smaller European club, Switzerland or Austria perhaps or maybe even Japan. Places where they take footballers who are past their best! I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.
Copyright - 90 Minutes