It's been reported in the Danish press that Wade Barrett has agreed to terms with AGF Aarhus of the Danish Superligaen and will be joining the team early next month. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=644361#post644361
Good luck. Might hurt him in the National Team picture but who knows what this could lead to if he plays well there.
http://www.uefa.com/FootballCentral/FixturesResults/Country=DEN/League=1031/Standings.html Can't speak for past trends, but they're currently ninth out of twelve teams. There seems to be 15 fixtures left (they're on break until March 9th, I think, but they play into June).
It really depends on how Wade does, from what I have heard from the AGF fans they say MLS and the Danish Super Liga are on par with one another but is scouted far more often than MLS...in other words, European clubs take talent coming from Denmark with more respect than MLS...for now
It's historically one of the bigger clubs, but they haven't done well recently and the last couple of years they have been close to relegation. That is also the case in the current season, but the league is very tight this year with eight teams being within four points of a relegation spot. I don't AGF will be going down, but it certainly could happen. I don't really understand why a player from the US National Team would want to play in the Danish league. I don't think the salaries are higher here and the standard of play is probably not much better if at all. But if he does well here I suppose it is more likely to be noticed by clubs in the big European leages than if he does well in the US.
Wade has already said he wants to do it for the chance to experience a new culture and learn a new language...I'm sure hardware is nice, but that's not his main ambition seems to be...he wants to try something new...besides he's only contracted to AGF until 2005...which means that after then he can/will resign with AGF move to a bigger league or come back to MLS...he'll only be 28 you know...
I think of lot of life is just being asked. This might be just such a case. Barrett was probably waiting for someone to say "hey, you're a good player who can help us win" and Aarhus did so at just the right time. Bingo, they got their man.
I don't blame him for coming here and if his motives aren't of a financial nature then I think that is commendable. But I am surprised that he'll come here of all places. Denmark is hardly the most exciting place in the world. Or so it seems to me, but perhaps familiarity has bred contempt. True enough. And as the best players from the Danish league very often end up in England or Germany he may well be hoping to move on at some time.
Anybody who has spent time in Denmark or more importantly in the presence of Danish woman can fully understand this move.
Can you tell us what the average salary is? MLS' salaries are dreadfully low. I recently read somewhere that the average salary was $80,000/year. I'm sure Denmark pays more than that.
No, I actually think the Danish average is a bit less than that. Keep in mind that it's a league with a low average attendance and a small (5 million people) TV market. But our taxes are unbeatable I personally pay more than half my income in direct (income) tax and then there is a 25% sale tax on absolutely everything. And a special 180% tax on cars. Sigh. But foreign "experts" working in Denmark for a limited time (up to three years, I believe) and fulfilling certain other requirements only have to pay 25% in income tax. This was introduced to make it easier for Danish high-tech businesses to attract foreign scientists and researchers, but it is routinely used by football clubs signing foreigners. I'm pretty sure Barrett will be working under that scheme - which will virtually guarantee that he doesn't stay for more than a couple of years. Unless he really, really likes it here and wants to start paying as much as the natives. Two other reasons for choosing Denmark have been brought up: beer and women. On this I'm not so sure about the beer. It's not bad, but also no better than you would find in most countries. And I don't think we can compete with the likes of England, Germany or Belgium. I do, however, think that Danish women are - on average - the most beautiful I've seen anywhere. Of course that's entirely a matter of taste, but I have heard foreigners say the same.
Wade already got some exposure in England when he scored the winner for DCUnited in their friendly/tribute vs Spurs in the fall. I think a better way to get "noticed" in Europe would be to continue working his way into a starting role with the nats, which he seemed to be doing in MLS. Moving to Denmark isn't going to help with that (does the Bruce get SuperLiga on the dish?) Still, I wish Wade and his sideburns the best...
But we're not comparing the beer to German or Belgian beer (though the Belgian beers are a little yeasty for my tastes). You ever had Budwieser? Actually, I very much like Carlsberg and Elephant. And maybe he likes the Aquavit.
You have to try more of the 300 or so different Belgian beers. The variety in taste and style make it impossible to characterize Belgian beer. But for an everyday beer, I think Carlberg might just be the world's finest. (That's the Danish brewed version available in Europe, not the Canadian brewed version over here.)
Yes. Once. Long ago. So imagine my surprise when I first visited the US and found that good beer (foreign and domestic) was readily available in most places! It may not be the most popular, but it's there and that's the important thing. My only complaint would be that the bars close way too early. Here in Denmark you can almost literally drink 24/7. But a professional footballer really shouldn't be attracted by that The Elephant Beer is very good, I agree. As are several others. But we haven't got the variety that you'll find in the great beer nations. I've never been much of an Akvavit drinker myself, but if he likes that and pickled, raw herring he's certainly come to the right place. AGF play in Aarhus. The local brewery there is Ceres so he'll probably get to taste some of their "Royal" beers which are quite good.
Here's another link....check out the dreadful picture. Methinks Wade needs a touch up http://www.uefa.com/footballcentral/News/Kind=2/newsId=50800.html
Plenty of good beer in the US, just dont buy the stuff that comes in cans and your bound to run into some. And yes, I have had Belgian beer (not german though).