Søren Larsen (; born 6 September 1981) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a strong player with a decent header and good sense of positioning. He played in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, and the Netherlands during a career that spanned between 1997 and 2014. A full international between 2005 and 2010, he won 20 caps and scored 11 goals for the Denmark national team and was a squad member at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Club career

Larsen started his professional career at Danish club Køge Boldklub in Køge, Denmark. In 2001, he was sold to multiple Danish championship winners Brøndby IF in the top-flight

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

. At Brøndby he did not enjoy much success, and only played a single game in the 2001–02 Superliga season, which Brøndby went on to win, although he became well known for his bellyflop goal celebration, a result of which he was injured. He was sent on loan to fellow Danish club BK Frem by then-Brøndby manager Michael Laudrup. In 2004, he was sold to Swedish club Djurgårdens IF, playing just two matches before being sidelined for the remainder of 2004 with a

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

injury. When Djurgården won 2005 Swedish Cup and the 2005 Allsvenskan Larsen was a key player until he was sold. After a two-month-long controversy Larsen was sold to German club FC Schalke 04 on 31 July 2005, signing a four-year contract. At Schalke 04, he earned the nickname "Der Dänische Joker" (The Danish joker), "The Blonde Bomber" and "Die Waffe" (The weapon), referring to his ability to come on as a substitute and score the game-tying or -winning goal. He was, however, not able to keep up the good performances due to injuries, and he later lost his place in the Schalke team. He became fed up with his role on the bench and decided to look for a new club. On 18 July 2008, Larsen moved to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

as a replacement for the outgoing Johan Elmander. On 24 January 2009, he scored his first four goals for the club in an 8–0 win against amateur team Schirrhein in the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

, but after one year he turned back to

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 ...

and signed a one-year loan deal with MSV Duisburg. Larsen scored five goals in ten games and returned to Toulouse. In 2011, he moved to Feyenoord on loan. On 12 July 2011, despite having two years remaining on his contract, he left Toulouse by mutual consent. On 13 July 2011, he signed a three-year contract with the

side AGF Aarhus, and made his debut appearance for the first team only five days later, at home against Lyngby Boldklub. On 30 July 2011, he scored his first goal, an important equalizer in the 2–2 draw home against Odense BK. In the first two games of September 2011, Larsen scored an impressive seven goals: On 1 September 2011 he scored four goals in a 5–2 win in a Cup match against 1. Division side Blokhus FC. On 12 September 2011, he netted a hat-trick in a 4–2 win against FC Midtjylland. On 18 February 2014, he announced that he would be retiring immediately due to a knee injury.

International career

On 2 June 2005, Larsen was handed his international debut by Denmark manager Morten Olsen, when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 win over

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He continued his good form by sensationally scoring six goals in his first five national team matches from June to September 2005. Larsen was named in Olsen's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Larsen scored eleven goals in 20 games for Denmark.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.'' List of international goals scored by Sören Larsen

Honours

Brøndby *

: 2001–02 Djurgårdens IF * Allsvenskan:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

* Svenska Cupen:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Schalke 04 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

References

External links

*
Søren Larsen
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com
Boldklubben Frem profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Soren 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Køge Municipality Men's association football forwards Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Køge Boldklub players Brøndby IF players Boldklubben Frem players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players FC Schalke 04 players Toulouse FC players MSV Duisburg players Feyenoord players Danish Superliga players Allsvenskan players Bundesliga players Ligue 1 players 2. Bundesliga players Eredivisie players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Region Zealand Danish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Danish expatriate sportspeople in France Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 21st-century Danish sportsmen