Pernille Harder: From watching Ryan Giggs & Peter Schmeichel to chasing her dream against Manchester United

There are some players who started out only thinking of one club, whose childhood dream was to one day represent that team. For Linda Dallmann or Sarah Zadrazil, for example, it’s well known from old photos of them in Bayern kits that they grew up supporting the club. Pernille Harder also wore red as a child, but not of the Munich variety. She wore the red of Manchester United.

That fact makes Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford a particularly special moment in her already stellar career. “I was a big United fan as a child. My Dad was always a United supporter, so I grew up with the club,” the Dane explained. “It’s really special to now get to be out on that pitch myself on Wednesday night.”

Big dreams from Ikast

Harder’s journey to global footballing stardom started in the Danish town of Ikast, home to around 16,000 people. The 33-year-old grew up in an environment where football wasn’t just something to play but to live for. “My Mum and Dad both played football and were coaches. My [older] sister also played as well. Football is in our blood,” she explains. It meant that wanting to be a part of the sport was almost a given for young Pernille. “When everyone’s playing, you join in too.”

Not just playing but also watching. And in the Harder household that meant Manchester United. “Peter Schmeichel was the main reason why my family liked United so much. I liked Ryan Giggs the most,” she recalls. “He had great technique and scored fantastic goals. My Dad loved Roy Keane because he was such a hard tackler.” There was something for the whole family to enjoy watching together.

The complete forward

Nowadays, it’s players like Harder who are performing on the biggest stages and exciting the next generation. And the traits of her game can attract such a wide audience. She’s not a classic centre-forward or an outright playmaker. But that’s her special quality. She’s tough to read but also a complete player. “It’s not just about playing nice football. You need to be clever, try to be a step ahead in your thinking,” she explains. And she’s been doing that for years.

Harder emerged as one of the dominant figures in European women’s football during her time at Wolfsburg between 2017 and 2020. Her technical elegance, tactical clarity and remarkable calmness meant that both teammates and opponents looked up to her. From 2020 to 2023, she helped Chelsea dominate English football, perhaps even giving her the experience that could make the difference over these two legs against familiar opposition.

“The teams in England are big, full of good individuals,” she said thinking back to her time there. “In Germany it’s all more tactical. The team is the focal point. There are sometimes players in the Women’s Super League who bring something special but maybe don’t work quite so hard for the team. It’s different in Germany. I know both worlds.”

The Theatre of (childhood) Dreams

Knowing that, Harder is looking ahead to a quarter-final tie that will push Bayern to the limit. “It won’t be an easy game. United play with great intensity. Their development in recent years has been very good. We’re expecting a team that’s physical, runs hard and plays with great dynamism. It’ll be tough, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

🔍 Get the lowdown on Man United ahead of the first leg:

Wednesday night will be Harder’s first time getting to play at Old Trafford as a childhood ambition comes true at the Theatre of Dreams. “It’ll be really special to play there,” the Dane says. “I watched games there as a child, and now I get to play there myself. It’s a great moment.” Until now, Old Trafford was somewhere she’d only seen from a distance, on TV, heard stories about. But it feels like she knows the place, given all her memories of David Beckham, Giggs and Schmeichel, crosses, goals and saves. They’re scenes that helped shape her image of football.

Her big dream

However, playing at Old Trafford is just one small part of a much bigger dream she’s been chasing for many years. Harder has played in three Champions League finals but is yet to be on the winning side. “The closest was the first with Wolfsburg against Lyon in 2018,” she recalls. “We were 1-0 up in extra time. I’d scored the goal, but we still lost. That feeling of being so close still shapes me today.” The Dane knows that in games like this it’s about having mental clarity, being consistent in key duels and being willing to take on responsibility. “You need to win these games, win these duels. Playing nice is good, but you first need to decide those key situations for yourself. That’s the most important thing,” she insists.

A collective promise

Since joining Bayern, Harder has discovered an environment that prepares her perfectly for such big occasions. “The special thing about Bayern is that everyone works hard for the team. We win together; we lose together. That culture is hugely important,” she states. Players like Germany duo Klara Bühl and Giulia Gwinn embody that approach just as much as Harder. They have individual quality amidst a clear common goal. The fact that Harder extended her contract last December again underlines that. She wants to be a part of a project, a team and the chance to make history together.

As for Wednesday night, though, that’s about the here and now. It’s a Champions League quarter-final where the past meets the present for Harder – a childhood United fan who became one of the best players in women’s football. She knows it’s not just any old fixture for her. In a way, it’s a moment that fits into a career that is far from over, and into a dream that lives on.

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