Claus Thomsen (born 31 May 1970) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He won the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

with

AGF Aarhus Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ), is a professional sports club based in Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1880, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country and gymnastics and fencing are featured as its main sports. Howev ...

and played in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for top level teams

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and Everton, as well as

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He played 20 matches for the Danish national team, and represented Denmark at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 European Championship.

Life and career

Born in Aarhus, Thomsen started his career at local top-flight club

, where he initially played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Thomsen made his debut for the Danish under-21 national team in May 1989, where under-21 national team coach

Richard Møller Nielsen Richard Møller Nielsen (19 August 1937 – 13 February 2014) was a Danish football player and manager. He coached the Denmark national football team that won the UEFA Euro 1992 tournament. In 1995, he was awarded a gold version of the Medal ...

used the 6' 3" Thomsen as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Thomsen was named under-21 national team captain in 1990. In December 1990, Thomsen signed a new contract with AGF, rejecting interest from Brøndby IF and

B1903 Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Dani ...

. In November 1991, Thomsen was scouted by

Celtic FC The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

manager

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland ...

, but the deal fell through due to "too many intermediaries" according to Claus Thomsen himself. Bjarne Nielsen, "Nu håber Claus på et gyldent fodboldår",

Ekstra Bladet ''Ekstra Bladet'' is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen.About
(in Danish) ''E ...

, 2 January 1993. He was injured in an under-21 national game against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in March 1992, but recovered in time to help AGF win the 1992

. He also captained Denmark at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where he played all three of Denmark's matches, and scored a goal against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In the fall of 1992, he lost his place in the central defence in AGF's starting line-up, and he was used in a number of different positions. He went on trial at

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

in December 1992, but was not signed by Werder manager

Otto Rehhagel Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other being Jupp Heynckes). In t ...

Ipswich Town

In June 1994, he moved abroad to play for English club

,Claus Thomsen
at SoccerBase.com in a

transfer deal In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can on ...

worth £250,000. He was called up for his Danish national team début, by national coach Richard Møller Nielsen, in April 1995. Thomsen was also called up to the Danish national squad for the 1996 European Championship, and played in all of Denmark's three matches before elimination. He made a total 97 appearances and scored 8 goals for Ipswich, and was one of the stronger players in the weakest side in Ipswich Town's history. In his first season, he was relegated with Ipswich in 1994/95, and was a key player in the team that missed out on the First Division play-offs in 1995–96; however, as Ipswich were looking to improve their side, he was sold to Everton, for £900,000, in January 1997.

Everton

At Everton, Thomsen notably scored an own goal in the

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

on 16 April 1997, meaning that Everton were held to a 1–1 draw by

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, although they still achieved

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

survival in 15th place. He scored once at the right end for Everton, his side's only goal in a 2–1 defeat to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Akademisk Boldklub

After little more than a year at Everton, marred by poor performances, he moved back to Denmark for £500,000 in March 1998, to play for

Akademisk Boldklub Akademisk Boldklub Gladsaxe (or AB) is a Danish professional football club from Gladsaxe north of Copenhagen, currently playing at the 3rd highest level of Danish domestic football in the Danish 2nd Division group 1. The club was established on ...

(AB). He stayed at AB for six months, before moving abroad once again.

VfL Wolfsburg

Thomsen joined German club

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

in September 1998. In April 1999, he ended his Danish national team career, citing a lacking energy surplus. Struggling with injuries, he remained at Wolfsburg for four years, but saw little playing time during this period,Claus Thomsen
at FussballDaten.de retiring in April 2002.

Career statistics

International

:Source:

Honours

AGF Aarhus *

: 1991–92

References

External links

Danish national team stats
at DBU.dk
Danish Superliga stats
at Superligaen.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomsen, Claus 1970 births Living people Danish men's footballers Aarhus Gymnastikforening players Akademisk Boldklub players Ipswich Town F.C. players Everton F.C. players Premier League players VfL Wolfsburg players Danish Superliga players Bundesliga players Olympic footballers of Denmark Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 1996 players Denmark international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Germany Footballers from Aarhus Association football defenders