Marc Rieper became West Ham United’s first-ever Danish player when he signed from Brøndby in 1994...
These days, the dapper Dane runs his own on-line fashion business.
But nearly three decades ago, Marc Rieper was tailor-made to fit into the heart of the Hammers defence.
Seen as perfect material to shore-up his relegation-threatened rear-guard, Harry Redknapp had big designs on the hugely popular ‘Rieps’, initially bringing him to the Club on loan from Brøndby in December 1994, before unhesitatingly signing him permanently just a few months later.
“I’m the guy from Denmark who watched English football on the television from the moment that I was old enough and tall enough to be able to switch it on,“ smiles our first-ever Danish footballer, who went on to make 101 appearances in the Claret and Blue. “It then became a dream come true to be able to move across to the Premier League and play with the best players in the best stadiums around. I loved every minute of my time at West Ham United and, in fact, would’ve done it all for free.
“I may now be retired and living back home again but I follow West Ham as much as I can and they’ve done amazingly well over these past few years. Going into the final few weeks of last season, this David Moyes side was still competing for the Champions League spots and, when you think about it, we’re talking about trying to finish in the top four places in the best league in the world.
“To be mentioned in those terms shows the level that this Hammers team has now reached and it’s obvious that everyone in the squad has really stepped up their game.
“When I joined from Brøndby in the mid-90s, there probably wasn’t too much between the best Danish Superliga teams and some of the mid-table clubs in England’s top division but during this Premier League era English football has really taken-off.’ observes the pioneering, 54-year-old, married father of two, as he casts an eye towards this two-legged UEFA Conference League play-off. “The Premier League has become immense and that means that there’s a major difference between West Ham United and Viborg coming into these two ties.
“It’s going to be a great occasion for all the Danish players and it’s a fantastic draw for their football club. Only last week, I spoke to one of the Viborg directors and he told me that he believes that this is the biggest tie in their entire history!
“Viborg are about 125 years old so they’re a team with a lot of tradition. In recent seasons, though, they’ve just bounced around between the Danish First Division and the Superliga but they did well last season to finish seventh and then qualify for Europe.
“Under their manager Jabob Friis, they’ve become a solid team which always tries to play decent football but you have to remember, too, that this Hammers squad is full of brilliant players,” contends Marc. “Certainly, as a former central defender, I wouldn’t want to find myself up against Michail Antonio. He’s such a handful – he drops deep, draws his markers out wide, is so strong in the air and also possesses immense pace.
“Another big handful is Jarrod Bowen who has improved so much over the past season or so, scoring lots of goals and, of course, breaking into the England team, too.”
And talking of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions, the 61-times capped Danish international – a veteran of both the Euro 96 and France 98 tournament finals – also has huge admiration for captain Declan Rice.
“When I was at West Ham, we saw Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard break into the first team and it was then really exciting to see them go on to achieve what they did during their careers,” acknowledges Rieper, who left the Hammers at the start of the 1997/98 season to join Celtic, where a toe injury cruelly forced him into premature retirement aged just 32.
“While all three have different skillsets, I now look at Declan, who has similarly come through the Club’s Academy and he’s just so joyful to watch as a footballer. He works so hard, distributes the ball so well and he’s still only 23. Without doubt, Declan Rice has the full package to become one of the best holding midfielders in the world.
“You can see, therefore, that Viborg face an uphill struggle over these two matches but across in Denmark, West Ham will find that the Viborg Stadion is a very intimate ground, where the supporters are very close to the pitch.
“The ground only holds about 10,000 people and they could already have sold-out the tickets two or three times over so, whatever happens at London Stadium, there will still be an amazing atmosphere for next Thursday’s second-leg.
“Viborg definitely will be trying to take something home from tonight so that there’s still everything to play for back in their own stadium,” concludes Marc with just a hint of helpful caution for his former team.
“Although the reality of Viborg getting through to the UEFA Conference Group stages is probably only about ten per cent, West Ham still need to be wary because if they’re not on their toes in either game then they could well end up getting a nasty shock...”
