John Sivebæk (born 25 October 1961) is a Danish former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. He won the 1984 Danish championship with

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 ...

and played for English club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. He scored one goal in 87 appearances for the Denmark national team, and represented his country at the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

as well as three

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, including the triumphant 1992 European Championship tournament. Sivebæk has two sons,

Christian Sivebæk Christian Sivebæk (born 19 February 1988) is a retired Danish professional footballer. He is son of the former Denmark international, John Sivebæk. Career Club Sivebæk began his youth career with Vejle Boldklub . In 2005, he signed his fi ...

the eldest of the sons, is also a professional football player.

Biography

Sivebæk was 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 (''Municipalities of De ...

, and started his career with hometown club Vejle Boldklub in 1980. He was a part of the Vejle team that won the 1981

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

. He made his debut for the Danish national team in a May 1982

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He was a part of the Danish squad at the 1984 European Championship, where he played in three of Denmark's four games. He and Vejle won the 1984 Danish championship trophy, and he scored his only international goal, in a

1986 World Cup qualification The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...

game against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

in November 1985. In the winter 1985, Sivebæk moved to England to play for Manchester United, joining fellow Dane

Jesper Olsen Jesper Olsen (born 20 March 1961) is a Danish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, left winger. He is best remembered for representing AFC Ajax, Ajax of the Netherlands and Manchester United F.C ...

. On 22 November 1986, he scored his first and only goal for Manchester United, a direct free-kick in a 1–0 home win against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, which was also the first Manchester United goal under newly hired manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

.Paul Fletcher
The man who set Fergie on his way

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

, 4 November 2006 In his time at Manchester United, he was selected to represent Denmark at the

, where he played two of Denmark's four games before elimination. In 1987, Sivebæk was told he would not be a first team regular at Manchester United, and he moved to French club

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), abbreviated as A.S.S.E. () and commonly known as Saint-Étienne, is a French professional football club based in Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The club was founded in 1933 and competes ...

. While at Saint-Étienne, he was selected for the 1988 European Championship, where he played two of Denmark's three games. In 1991, he changed from Saint-Étienne to league rivals

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

. While at Monaco, he was called up to the Danish squad for the 1992 European Championship. He played full-time in Denmark's first four games and helped the team reach the final against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He took part in the final, but suffered an injury and was substituted in favour of Claus Christiansen, and watched from the bench as Denmark won 2–0. He ended his national team career later that year, following the

1994 World Cup qualification The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitting ...

game against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in November 1992. He went to Italy to play for

Pescara Calcio Delfino Pescara 1936, commonly referred to as Pescara, is a professional football in Italy, Italian football club based in Pescara, Abruzzo. The club was formed in 1936 and currently plays in Serie C, but will play in Serie B in the 2025–26 s ...

in 1992. He moved back to Denmark in 1994, to play for childhood club Vejle BK. He played a single season for Vejle, for a total 226 games and 23 goals for the club. He ended his career with Danish club

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 where gymnastics and fencing were featured as its main sports. How ...

in 1997. After retiring, he became a

football agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

with ''Proactive Scandinavia''.

Honours

Vejle * Danish championship: 1984 *

: 1981 Denmark * 1992 European Championship

References

External links

*
Vejle Boldklub profile
*
A.S. Monaco Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivebaek, John 1961 births Living people AS Monaco FC players AS Saint-Étienne players Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in France Ligue 1 players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Danish expatriate sportspeople in France Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Danish men's footballers Denmark men's international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Vejle Boldklub players Manchester United F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in England Sportspeople from Vejle Municipality Delfino Pescara 1936 players Serie A players Serie B players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Aarhus Gymnastikforening players Danish Superliga players UEFA Euro 1984 players 1986 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1988 players UEFA Euro 1992 players UEFA European Championship–winning players Footballers from the Region of Southern Denmark 20th-century Danish sportsmen