John Eriksen facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Hartmann Eriksen | ||
| Date of birth | 20 November 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Assens, Denmark | ||
| Date of death | 12 February 2002 (aged 44) | ||
| Place of death | Svendborg, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1964–1975 | Svendborg fB | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1977 | Svendborg fB | (23) | |
| 1978–1980 | Odense Boldklub | 60 | (42) |
| 1980–1984 | Roda | 144 | (80) |
| 1984–1985 | Mulhouse | 34 | (27) |
| 1985–1986 | Feyenoord | 31 | (22) |
| 1986–1989 | Servette | 87 | (75) |
| 1989–1991 | Luzern | 70 | (37) |
| 1991–1993 | Svendborg fB | 57 | (39) |
| Total | 479 | (342) | |
| International career | |||
| 1975 | Denmark U17 | 1 | (1) |
| 1975 | Denmark U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 1978–1983 | Denmark U21 | 15 | (3) |
| 1981–1988 | Denmark | 17 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John Hartmann Eriksen was a famous Danish football player. He was born on November 20, 1957, and passed away on February 12, 2002. John played as a striker, which means he was a forward player whose main job was to score goals. He scored an amazing 319 goals in league games over 15 seasons!
John played football in four different countries: his home country Denmark, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland. He also played for the Danish national team in the 1980s. He even represented Denmark in big tournaments like the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 1988.
Contents
Early Life and Football Start
John Eriksen was born in Assens on November 20, 1957. In 1964, when he was seven years old, his family moved to Svendborg. There, John and his brother began playing football for Svendborg fB.
In 1968, his team won the Funen boy Championship. John made his first appearance for the senior club team in June 1975. He was just 17 years old at the time.
Playing for Clubs
After playing for Svendborg for two seasons, John Eriksen moved to OB. This was the biggest football club in Funen. He was a great scorer, getting 22 goals in each of his two seasons with OB.
In January 1980, John moved to Roda in the Netherlands. He continued his impressive scoring streak there. In his four seasons playing in the Eredivisie league, he never scored less than 16 goals each year.
Moving to France and Back to the Netherlands
For the 1984–85 season, Eriksen joined FC Mulhouse in the French Ligue 2. He was the second-highest goal scorer in the league that season. His team almost got promoted to a higher league but lost in the playoffs.
In the summer of 1985, John returned to the Netherlands. He joined Feyenoord, a famous club in Rotterdam. He scored over 20 goals again, helping Feyenoord finish third in the league.
Success in Switzerland
When he was almost 29, John Eriksen moved to Switzerland. He kept scoring lots of goals for his new teams. He played for Servette FC and later for FC Luzern.
At Servette, he was the top scorer in his first two seasons. In the 1987–88 season, he scored an amazing 36 goals in 34 games! This helped his team finish second in the league. He even played alongside the famous German player Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at Servette.
John Eriksen finished his football career at almost 36 years old. He returned to play for his very first club, Svendborg fB, in his hometown.
Playing for Denmark
John Eriksen played for the Danish national team 17 times. He scored six goals for his country. His first game for Denmark was in 1981.
He was chosen to be part of the Danish team for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He came on as a substitute in two important games. He scored a goal in a 2–0 win against West Germany. He also played in the game against Spain, which Denmark lost 1–5 in the round of 16.
John Eriksen also played for Denmark in the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament in West Germany. He played in two games during the group stage. Denmark did not make it past the group stage that year.
Later Life and Passing
After he stopped playing football, John Eriksen became unwell. He needed special care and spent his last three years in a place where he could get the help he needed in Svendborg. He passed away on February 12, 2002, at the age of 44, after an accident at home. He was buried in St. Nicolai Church in Svendborg on February 20, 2002.
