Jacob Thaysen-Laursen (born 6 October 1971) is a Danish 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 le ...
who played as a
defender.
Laursen most notably played for English club
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 1884 ...
and won the
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...
championship with
Silkeborg IF
Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. He gained 25
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for the
Denmark national team, with whom he won the
1995 King Fahd Cup
The 1995 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد) was the second and last tournament held under the King Fahd Cup name before the competition was retroactively sanctioned by FIFA and recognized as FIFA Confederations Cup. Disputed as the King ...
and participated in the
1996 European Championship and
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
tournaments.
Club career
Born in
Vejle
Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...
, Laursen spent his childhood years playing for
Vejle Kammeraterne and
Vejle Boldklub
Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...
. He made his senior debut for VB in July 1989, and was named 1989
Danish U19 Player of the Year''.
He played at VB until the club was suffered relegation to the secondary
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...
in the summer 1992. Laursen then moved to
Silkeborg IF
Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
, where he was part of the team that won the 1994
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...
championship.
In July 1996, Laursen moved abroad to play for English club
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 1884 ...
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 onl ...
worth £500,000.
He spent four seasons at Derby, where he played more than 100 games for the club.
While he did not win over the Danish public while playing for the national team, Laursen was selected as
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
for Derby in a number of games, and was named "Player of the Year" in the
1998–99 season.
One of his more memorable moments for the club was goal from a free-kick on 4 September 1996, he, from the edge of the penalty area, lashed the ball into the top corner, with great power and accuracy, to give Derby the lead against
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
's
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
team.
In August 2000, Laursen moved back to Denmark to be closer to his children. He signed a contract with
F.C. Copenhagen
Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
(FCK), moving to the club on a
free transfer.
In his first year at FCK, the club won the
2000–01 Danish Superliga
The 2000–01 Danish Superliga season was the 11th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 22, 2000 to final match on June 13, 2001.
The Danish c ...
under manager
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player.
He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...
. Before the new season, Laursen criticized his FCK teammates for a lack of professionalism, and he left the club in January 2002. He moved back to England to play for
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in January 2002, in a £400,000 transfer deal. He played ten games for Leicester before his relationship with the club turned sour.
After two months at Leicester, he spent a month on loan with the English club
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
, before being loaned out to
AGF in Denmark for the remainder of the
2001-02 season. He was loaned out to Greek club
PAOK for the entire 2002–03 season, but eventually refused to play for the club. In November 2002, Laursen was given a free transfer by Leicester, which was struggling financially, and he left the club.
On 30 November 2002, he signed a contract with Austrian team
Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...
, but he was dropped from the team in April 2003. He moved back to Denmark to play on an amateur basis in September 2003, and enlisted at childhood club Vejle Boldklub in the second-tier
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...
. Laursen signed a contract with division rivals
FC Fredericia
Fodbold Club Fredericia af 1991 (, simply known as FC Fredericia), is a professional association football club based in the town of Fredericia, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league syst ...
in July 2004, and played with the club until he ended his career in September 2005.
International career
Laursen represented Denmark at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, where he played full-time in Denmark's three matches, before elimination.
After the Olympics, he went on to captain the
Denmark under-21 national team. After winning the Danish championship with Silkeborg, he made his
Denmark senior national team debut in January 1995. He was selected for the
1995 King Fahd Cup
The 1995 King Fahd Cup ( ar, كأس الملك فهد) was the second and last tournament held under the King Fahd Cup name before the competition was retroactively sanctioned by FIFA and recognized as FIFA Confederations Cup. Disputed as the King ...
by Denmark national team manager
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
The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelan ...
, and went on to play in every game of the tournament, which Denmark won. He also played a single game for the Denmark national team at the 1996 European Championship.
He was a part of the Denmark national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but was unimpressive in his single match participation at the tournament. In March 2000, he decided to end his national team career under national team manager
Bo Johansson
Bo "Bosse" Johansson (born 28 November 1942) is a Swedish former football player and current football coach.
Biography
Johansson was a player for fourteen years with Kalmar FF and Lindsdals IF, though he did not win any trophies as a player. In ...
. Laursen cited personal reasons, as well as the booing he received by Danish spectators when he came on as a substitute for his 25th national team game in November 1999.
Honours
Silkeborg
*
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...
:
1993–94
Copenhagen
*Danish Superliga:
2000–01
Denmark
*
King Fahd Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
*
: In 1997, FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
took over the organization of the tournament and named it the FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
.
Individual
*
Danish U19 Player of the Year: 1989
*
Derby County F.C. Player of the Year
Derby County's Player Of The Season award is voted for by the club's supporters and named in honour of Jackie Stamps (The Jack Stamps Trophy) – who scored two goals in Derby's sole FA Cup final victory in 1946. It was first introduced in the 196 ...
:
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
References
External links
Danish national team profileF.C. Copenhagen statisticsVejle BK profile
*
*
tv2.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laursen, Jacob
1971 births
Living people
Danish men's footballers
Denmark international footballers
Denmark under-21 international footballers
Danish expatriate men's footballers
Danish Superliga players
Vejle Boldklub players
Silkeborg IF players
Derby County F.C. players
F.C. Copenhagen players
Leicester City F.C. players
Aarhus Gymnastikforening players
SK Rapid Wien players
Premier League players
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Austria
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
Olympic footballers of Denmark
Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1995 King Fahd Cup players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players
Association football defenders
People from Vejle Municipality
Denmark youth international footballers
Sportspeople from the Region of Southern Denmark