#ikast

Which place in Denmark do you like the most? "It's my childhood town, Ikast. I moved away from Denmark early to become a professional soccer player in Sweden, and ever since I have played in foreign clubs, so I have never tried living in other Danish cities. My parents and my older sister still live in Ikast, and therefore I also associate the city with security. We are a fairly close family who have always spent a lot of time together. It has made me a good team player. My mother was my coach when I was smaller, and although I was better than many of my teammates, I didn't get more playing time than others. There had to be room for everyone, no matter how good or bad you were. If I scored and was the least bit cocky, I was always put in my place. Then I was told that it was also the team's merit that I scored. After all, they had done all the processing. I was also brought up to keep both feet on the ground, even if you succeed. That you don't put yourself on a throne and think that you are more important than others just because you are more skilled. You are not. When I come home to Ikast today, I am also just Pernille. Both out in the city and at home with my family. It is very Danish. And very healthy.'

What is the best thing about Denmark? "When you travel around the world, you are often reminded of how lovely Denmark really is. I think we are good at not taking things so seriously at home. We are also not as formal and solemn as people are in many other places. We are very little self-congratulatory, and we have no problem making fun of ourselves and each other. That way we are very down to earth. I really like that. At the same time, we are good at giving space to being different, and we were the first country in the world to allow homosexuals to marry. Of course, there is still a difference between being gay in Copenhagen and in a small provincial town. When you live in a big city, you experience quite naturally that life can be lived in many different ways, and therefore one's view often expands. That was probably also the reason why I didn't feel completely comfortable coming out as a lesbian at home in Ikast when I was a teenager, but only did it when I moved to Sweden and had gotten a little older. Today, I only meet support when I walk on the street in Ikast, and I hope that my openness helps to make it easier for others to stand by their sexuality.'

What is the worst? "The climate. When playing football, it is more fun to do it in good weather. I love sun and heat as much as I hate rain, wind and cold. I could really live without the Danish winter. Today I live in London, and here the weather is nothing to shout about either. Fortunately, I am young enough to have escaped playing on the wet clay courts that my parents played on when they were young. I grew up with artificial grass and synthetic pitches, and after all, it makes autumn and winter a little more bearable.

What is the strongest memory from childhood? "I spent most of my childhood playing football. Not just in the local club. I often continued to play with the other children in the neighborhood when I got home from training. We ran around the country roads and broke our knees or fought close battles around the gardens. One evening we had hoisted a lamp up a flagpole so that we could continue playing even though it had become dark. Time flew by and we forgot all about mealtimes and when to go to bed.

I always wanted to be the best and early on dreamed of making the national team. But every time I watched the television at home in the living room, there were only boys and men kicking the ball. At one point I demanded to have my hair cut short so I could look like the players on the screen. It continued like this for a few years, until one day my older sister told me that there was also a national team for women. Then I let my hair grow back.'

If you were to move to another place in Denmark, where would it be? "When my sports career ends and I have to return to Denmark, I would like to live in Aarhus or Copenhagen. Once you've tried living in a big city, it's hard to miss the cafés, restaurants, concert venues and the long opening hours.'

Where do you eat the best meal? "At my parents'. For many years, my grandmother made the best fried pork with parsley sauce you could find in Ikast and the surrounding area, but when she died a few years ago, my mother took over the role of my favorite cook. Her version of fried pork with parsley sauce is not as good as my grandmother's, but it comes close. Maybe it's really about the fact that I have so many good childhood memories with my grandparents that the memories make the food taste better.

After all, you also eat with your heart. I think my nephews will feel the same way about my mother's roast pork with parsley sauce. She is their grandmother, after all.'

Which Dane do you respect? » Lise Nørgaard. It's crazy to think that she fought the women's fight already in the 1930s. After all, it was a completely different society back then, and it must have taken a lot of courage to stand up and speak her mind the way she did. Few did. Back then, women were supposed to keep quiet and behave nicely, but Lise Nørgaard decided early on that she didn't want to be a stay-at-home housewife, and instead chose to enter the labor market together with the men. I can sometimes be surprised that equality.

I grew up with a mother who always had her own opinion, and my father did not sit at the end of the table and decide everything. He also went to the kitchen and cooked. Maybe not quite as often as my mother, but then he did the dishes. Therefore, it is also completely natural for me to take part in the fight for equality.

Sometimes people ask why I bother to come forward, but I'm so screwed up that if there's something I want to change, I'll do it myself. If nobody does anything, nothing happens either.''

What do you miss when you are abroad? "Rye bread. My partner is from Sweden, and she cannot understand that you can be full from a few slices of rye bread in the middle of the day. She wants hot food for lunch. But I love a rye bread meal with a good curry herring or a fish fillet with remoulade.'

'Which season do you enjoy the most? "Summer. I grew up in the middle of Jutland, so I always had an hour and a half drive to the sea, but my parents liked to drive that trip to get to the water. Not least in the summer months, when you could swim. During the summer holidays we always went camping in Italy, and as an adult I also love to travel. Every summer I make sure to spend at least a week in Denmark, because I love the Danish summer light, but I also make sure to go abroad, so I'm sure to get some sun and warmth.'

'Where in the country would you like to go? like to be buried? "I don't think much about death. In fact, I try to avoid thinking about it. I'm not the type to believe that anything happens afterward. Unfortunately. Otherwise, it could be nice if you went to a nice place and saw all the people you've cared about again. My mother's family was quite religious, and so is my mother actually, but I did not inherit that faith. Therefore, I also have the opinion that you should enjoy and get the most out of life while you have it. You do that by being in the moment and being grateful for the things you have, and trying not to be upset about all the things you don't have.