Thomas Sørensen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Thomas Sørensen

Sørensen in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen
Date of birth	(1976-06-12) 12 June 1976 (age 49)
Place of birth	Fredericia, Denmark
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Erritsø
	Assens
	OB
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1998	OB	0	(0)
1995–1997	→ Vejle (loan)	6	(0)
1997–1998	→ Svendborg (loan)	45	(0)
1998–2003	Sunderland	171	(0)
2003–2008	Aston Villa	139	(0)
2008–2015	Stoke City	99	(0)
2015–2017	Melbourne City	37	(0)
Total		497	(0)
International career
1993–1995	Denmark U19	3	(0)
1993–1997	Denmark U21	25	(0)
1996	Denmark B	1	(0)
1999–2012	Denmark	101	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (born on 12 June 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper, protecting his team's goal.

Sørensen began his football journey with his local club, Odense BK. After playing well on loan at Vejle Boldklub and Svendborg, he joined the English team Sunderland in 1998. He was Sunderland's main goalkeeper for five years. Later, he moved to Aston Villa for £2 million.

He continued to be a regular player at Villa Park. However, a disagreement with his manager, Martin O'Neill, led to him being dropped. He left Aston Villa in May 2008. Next, he joined Stoke City. He was their first-choice goalkeeper for three seasons, helping the club stay in the Premier League. He finished his playing career with two years at the Australian club Melbourne City. Thomas Sørensen holds the record for the most Premier League appearances by a Danish player, with 364 games.

From 2000 to 2012, Sørensen was the main goalkeeper for the Denmark national football team. He followed the famous goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. He played 101 matches for his country. This makes him Denmark's eighth-most capped player ever. He was part of Denmark's teams for UEFA Euro 2000, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Denmark

Thomas Sørensen was born in Fredericia, Denmark. He started playing youth football for local clubs in Erritsø and Assens. He then joined the youth team of a top club, Odense Boldklub. He signed a trainee contract with them in 1993. Soon, he became a professional player for Odense BK's first team. He was a backup to the famous goalkeeper Lars Høgh and did not play any league games for the club.

In 1995, he was loaned to Vejle BK. He made his first Superliga appearance in March 1996. Sørensen played three impressive games in a row. The media even called him "the new Peter Schmeichel". He played six league matches for Vejle. He broke his arm in the summer of 1996. He then continued his loan with Vejle until 1997 but did not play more games. After that, Odense loaned him to FC Svendborg in the second-tier league. He played the whole 1997–98 season there.

Joining Sunderland in England

In 1998, Sørensen moved to England to play for Sunderland. They were in the Football League First Division, which was the second-highest league. Most people outside Denmark had not heard of him. But manager Peter Reid bought the 22-year-old for about £510,000. He was recommended by Peter Schmeichel himself.

Sørensen helped Sunderland get promoted to the top league, the Premier League. They won the League Championship title in 1999. Sørensen set a new club record with 29 clean sheets that season. He became Sunderland's main goalkeeper in the Premier League. He helped the club finish 7th in their first two seasons. He became a legend for Sunderland fans in 2001. He saved a penalty kick from Alan Shearer in the final moments of a game. This saved a win against their rivals, Newcastle United.

In the 2002–03 season, Sørensen was injured for a few months. He played only 21 games. Sunderland faced difficulties and were relegated from the Premier League. Sunderland then sold Sørensen for £2 million to Aston Villa. He had played almost 200 games for Sunderland and was a fan favorite.

Time at Aston Villa

At Aston Villa, Sørensen became known as a very good goalkeeper. He kept his spot as Villa's number one goalkeeper. He played under managers David O'Leary and Martin O'Neill. In his first three seasons, he missed only four games. In November 2003, he saved another penalty from Alan Shearer in a game against Newcastle.

During the 2007–08 season, he faced challenges at Villa. Sørensen got injured before the season started. Villa decided to loan in goalkeeper Scott Carson from Liverpool. Carson became the main goalkeeper. Sørensen said he wanted to leave the club in December 2007. His contract ended in 2008, and he left Aston Villa for free. He did not play any games in his final season. He was the third-choice goalkeeper behind Scott Carson and Stuart Taylor.

Joining Stoke City

Becoming First-Choice Goalkeeper

On 28 July 2008, Sørensen joined Stoke City for a trial. Stoke City had just been promoted to the Premier League. Two days later, he signed a three-year contract. Sørensen became Stoke's main goalkeeper for the 2008–09 season. He replaced Steve Simonsen. In October 2008, he had a clash with Alan Hutton of Tottenham Hotspur. Hutton's challenge hit Sørensen's head, and Sørensen said he almost lost his eyesight. Hutton later apologized. Sørensen made many important saves. Stoke finished 12th in their first Premier League season, which was a safe position.

He remained Stoke's main goalkeeper in 2009–10. He signed a new contract in November 2009, keeping him at the Britannia Stadium until 2011. He continued his good form. He saved penalties against Portsmouth, Arsenal, and Wigan Athletic. He played a big part in Stoke's good run, which saw them reach 10th place. By December, he had saved five out of his last six penalties.

Facing Competition and Injuries

In February 2010, Stoke signed Asmir Begović. This meant Sørensen had more competition for his spot. On 25 April, he dislocated his elbow in a game against Chelsea. His elbow was put back in place without surgery. But Sørensen missed the last three games of the 2009–10 season.

For the 2010–11 season, Sørensen started the first nine matches. But then he lost his place to Begović. However, he played in all of Stoke's FA Cup games. This included the FA Cup Final against Manchester City in May 2011. He played well, even though Stoke City lost 1–0. For the 2011–12 season, Sørensen was the second-choice goalkeeper. He played in cup matches and in the UEFA Europa League. After some less strong performances by Begović, Sørensen was brought back for league matches. He got a mild concussion in a game against Everton. But he recovered quickly. He signed a new contract with Stoke in December 2011, keeping him until 2014.

Final Years as Backup

In 2012–13, Sørensen mostly played in cup games. This was because Begović was playing so well. Also, Stoke signed Jack Butland. This made Sørensen think about his future at Stoke City. After manager Tony Pulis left, Sørensen planned to talk to the new manager, Mark Hughes.

Sørensen played his first Premier League game in over 20 months on 26 December 2013. This was against Newcastle United. Begović was injured. Sørensen saved a penalty from Loïc Rémy. But Stoke had two players sent off and lost 5–1. Sørensen started the next two matches. Then he got injured himself against Everton. This allowed third-choice Butland to play. Once Begović returned, Butland was loaned out. Sørensen went back to being the backup for the rest of the 2013–14 season. He was offered a one-year contract extension, which he signed in May 2014.

In December 2014, Sørensen said he would leave Stoke at the end of the 2014–15 season. He received a special award for his contributions to Stoke. He spent seven seasons at the Britannia Stadium, playing 129 games. Sørensen decided to cycle 4,000 miles across the United States for charity after leaving Stoke.

Playing in Australia

On 31 August 2015, Sørensen signed a two-year deal with the Australian team Melbourne City. He made his A-League debut on 10 October. This was in the first match of the new season against Sydney FC. The game ended in a 1–1 draw. Melbourne City released Sørensen in April 2017. This happened after they lost their final match to Perth Glory.

On 24 July 2017, Sørensen announced he was retiring from professional football. He was 41 years old.

International Career

Sørensen playing for Denmark

Sørensen first played for the Danish under-19 national team in April 1993. He then joined the Danish under-21 national team in September 1993, at just 17 years old. He played 24 games for the under-21 team until October 1997.

After moving to Sunderland, Sørensen made his debut for the senior Danish national team in November 1999. This was in a match against Israel. He came on to replace an injured Peter Schmeichel. He was a backup goalkeeper for Denmark at UEFA Euro 2000. For the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying games in 2001, he became the main goalkeeper. He helped Denmark qualify for the World Cup. Denmark won their group, beating teams like France. They then faced England. Sørensen let in three goals, and England won 3–0.

Sørensen played in all of Denmark's games at Euro 2004. He was named the official man of the match twice. Once after a 0–0 draw with Italy and again after a 2–0 win against Bulgaria. Despite his efforts, Denmark lost 3–0 to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.

During the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Denmark played Sweden. Sørensen saved a penalty in the tenth minute, and Denmark won 1–0. Sørensen missed three qualification matches due to injury. But Denmark still qualified for the 2010 World Cup. His elbow injury made his World Cup appearance uncertain. But Denmark's coach, Morten Olsen, included him in the team. Sørensen recovered and was the starting goalkeeper for his second World Cup. He played all three of Denmark's games.

He reached 100 international games on 29 February 2012. He was 36 years old. This was in a friendly match against Russia. On 26 May, in a friendly game against Brazil, Sørensen got injured. He had to leave the game and was removed from Denmark's team for UEFA Euro 2012.

On 7 August 2012, after playing 101 games for Denmark, he announced his retirement from international football.

Personal Life

Sørensen grew up supporting Odense BK. He looked up to Lars Høgh. He married Maria Borring in Denmark on 16 June 2001. Thomas and Maria have two children, Marcus and Celine.

In 2006, Sørensen became an investor in Golf Punk magazine. He joined former Sunderland teammates like Phil Babb and Michael Gray. This helped save the magazine from closing.

Sørensen now lives in Australia and has become an Australian citizen. He often appears as a commentator for Optus Sport's coverage of the English Premier League. He also talks about the Australian A-League and the Socceroos national team. Sørensen was also a commentator for UEFA Euro 2020, Copa America 2021, and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Honours and Awards

Sunderland

• Football League First Division: 1998–99 (Champions)

Stoke City

• FA Cup runner-up: 2010–11

Melbourne City

• FFA Cup: 2016 (Winners)

Individual Awards

• North East Football Writers' Player of the Year: 2001
• PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2015–16
• A-League Goalkeeper of the Year: 2015–16

See also

In Spanish: Thomas Sørensen para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps