Skovdahl started playing as a child for
Vanløse. He played 130 amateur games for the club before he moved to Brøndby in the
Danish 3rd Division in 1971. Following 89 amateur matches, many of them as
team captain, he went on to become Brøndby's third team coach in 1977. He coached a few minor Danish teams Hvalsø and
Glostrup, before he secured two consecutive
promotions for
Brønshøj to the
Danish 1st Division in 1982, the then best league of
football in Denmark. In 1986, he moved back to coach Brøndby, who had just won the
Danish football championship in 1985.
Championship coach Skovdahl went on to coach Brøndby towards its second Danish championship in 1987 and he also guided the club to the quarterfinals of the
1986–87 European Cup international tournament. Following two years at Brøndby, Skovdahl moved to
Portugal before the conclusion of the Danish season to coach the defending
Portuguese Liga champions
Benfica.
Birger Peitersen went on to finish his job at Brøndby and secured the 1987 Danish championship. The job at Benfica was too much for the internationally inexperienced Skovdahl, He went on to install a
4–4–2 system with hardworking players, whose constant pressure on the opponent, combined with the necessary technical and tactical skills, went on to dominate the Danish championship for half a decade. Despite overseeing one of the poorest sides in Aberdeen's recent history in his first season in charge, Skovdahl proved popular with the fans. In that first year, he brought in many foreign signings, with mixed success, and among his signings were
Arild Stavrum,
Hicham Zerouali and
Roberto Bisconti. The one highlight of Skovdahl's first season was that Aberdeen reached both the
2000 Scottish League Cup Final and the
2000 Scottish Cup Final, but they lost both finals to
Celtic and
Rangers respectively. The next year, Aberdeen improved dramatically, as Skovdahl guided them to fourth place in the
2001–02 Scottish Premier League. He was replaced by
Steve Paterson in December 2002.
Danish return He returned to Danish Superliga club
Frem, who he tried to save from relegation, though without success. Following disputes with the club board over the long-term aims of the club, Skovdahl resigned in winter 2005. ==Personal life==