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Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (; born 12 June 1976) 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 lea ...
who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. Sørensen started his career with his local side
Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...
. After impressing on loan at
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
Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
in 1998. After five years as first-choice goalkeeper on
Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunderland Built- ...
, he joined
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
for £2 million. He remained a regular for his time at
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
until a fall-out with manager
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
saw him dropped and then released in May 2008. He then went to Stoke City, where he was first-choice goalkeeper for three seasons, helping the club consolidate in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
. He then finished his playing career with a two-year spell at Australian club Melbourne City. He remains to date the Danish player with the most Premier League appearances (364 in total). Between 2000 and 2012, Sørensen was the starting goalkeeper for the
Denmark national football team The Denmark national football team ( or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark and Greenland in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing body for ...
, the successor to the legendary Peter Schmeichel, and he played 101 matches for his country, making him their eighth-most capped player of all time. He was part of Denmark's
UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
,
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
,
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
, and
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. ...
squads.


Club career


Early career

Born in
Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...
, Sørensen started playing youth football with local clubs in Erritsø and Assens. He then moved to the youth team of local top-flight club Odense Boldklub. He played in training matches against
FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...
and
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. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
in February 1993, and signed a trainee contract with the club. He was soon a professional with Odense BK's first team squad in the
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 ...
championship. Sørensen served as an understudy to club legend goalkeeper Lars Høgh, and did not play any league games for the club. During the 1995–96 season, he was loaned out to league rivals
Vejle BK 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 ...
in December 1995. Initially an understudy to Erik Boye, he made his Superliga debut in March 1996. Sørensen played three thoroughly impressive games in a row, and the press dubbed him the new Peter Schmeichel. He played six league matches in all for Vejle, including a 6–0 defeat to
Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...
, before being dropped by coach Ole Fritsen following a 1–0 defeat to
Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening (), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional association football, football club based in the Central Denmark Region, Central Jutland city of Viborg, Denmark, Viborg. They compete in the Danish ...
, in which Viborg's Ralf Pedersen headed the ball from Sørensen's hands to score the goal. Sørensen broke his arm in the summer 1996, but continued his loan deal with Vejle until the summer 1997, without playing any more games for the club. Odense then loaned him out again, this time to FC Svendborg 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 for ...
league, where he played the full 1997–98 season.


Sunderland

In the summer 1998, Sørensen moved abroad to play for English club
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
in the
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
, the then second level league of English football. Hardly anyone outside of Denmark had even heard of the tall and athletic keeper,EURO 2008 profile
UEFA, 2006
when English manager
Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
bought the 22-year-old from Odense for about £510,000 in July 1998.Ronald Atkin
Why Sorensen is keeping to the Schmeichel strut holds
The Independent on Sunday, 16 November 2003
He was recommended to the club by Peter Schmeichel. Sørensen was bought to replace fan favourite Lionel Pérez who left on a free transfer. This move helped Sunderland to promotion for the top flight English Premiership, when Sørensen and his team grabbed the League Championship title in 1999. Sørensen smashed the club's
clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...
record with 29 clean sheets in the process. Sørensen established himself as Sunderland's starting goalkeeper in the Premiership, and helped the club finish 7th in both of their two first Premiership seasons. He gained legendary status with Sunderland fans in 2001, when he saved a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
from
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...
in the dying moments of a November 2000 game, to preserve a valuable win over archrivals and neighbouring club
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
. In the 2002–03 season, Sørensen was injured from October 2002 to January 2003, and only played 21 of 38 games. Sunderland were struggling both on and off the pitch and Sørensen could not save the club from relegation at the end of the season. Reid had already been sacked, and as a result of the club's mounting financial worries, Sunderland sold Sørensen for £2 million to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
, who had held off interest from a handful of other clubs, including
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 ...
and
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. He played nearly 200 games on
Wearside Wearside () is a built-up area in County Durham and Tyne and Wear, England. It is named after the River Wear which flows through it and traditionally all in the County of Durham. In the 2011 census, its official name was the Sunderland Built- ...
for Sunderland and remains a fan favourite.


Aston Villa

At Aston Villa, Sørensen developed his reputation as a good goalkeeper. Sørensen's ability as a shot stopper allowed him to retain his place as Villa's number one under both managers
David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. The majority of his 20-year playing career was spent as a central defender at Arsenal, where his tally of 722 appearances stands as a club record. He played 68 time ...
and
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...
, ahead of the likes of Stefan Postma and Stuart Taylor. In his first three seasons at Aston Villa, he only missed four games. In a November 2003 game against Newcastle, he once again saved an Alan Shearer penalty kick. He suffered a knee injury during the 2006–07 season, but still played 29 games that term. During the 2007–08 season he fell out of favour at Villa. Sørensen had suffered an injury during the pre-season, and Villa decided to loan in goalkeeper
Scott Carson Scott Paul Carson (born 3 September 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester City. Carson joined the Leeds United academy in 2002, making his full first-team debut for Leeds against Mancheste ...
from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. Carson went on to become the starting goalkeeper, and Sørensen stated that he wanted to leave the club in December 2007. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Sørensen's contract at Villa expired and he left the club on a free transfer. He failed to make a single appearance for the club in his final season as by then he had slipped down to third place in the pecking order behind both Scott Carson and Stuart Taylor.


Stoke City


First-choice goalkeeper: 2008–2010

On 28 July 2008, Sørensen started a trial with newly promoted Premier League team Stoke City, and two days later, he signed a three-year contract with the club. Sørensen became City's first choice goalkeeper for the 2008–09 season replacing
Steve Simonsen Steven Preben Arthur Simonsen (born 3 April 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He started his senior career at Tranmere Rovers F.C., Tranmere Ro ...
. During a match in October 2008 against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
he was involved in a clash with Spurs's defender
Alan Hutton Alan Hutton (born 30 November 1984) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a right back. Hutton started his career with Rangers, and won the league title in 2005. He moved to English football with Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 ...
whose challenge struck Sørensen on his head, Sørensen said he was close to losing his eyesight. Hutton later apologised for his challenge. He made a number of important performances as Stoke achieved in a safe position of 12th in their first season in the Premier League. He continued to be Stoke's first choice goalkeeper in 2009–10 and signed a contract extension in November 2009, to keep him at the
Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...
until 2011. During the 2009–10 season he continued his good form in goal. He saved penalties during games against
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
,
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
, and played an important part in Stoke's good run in the league, which brought them to 10th place in December. On 12 December Sørensen saved yet another penalty, meaning he had by then saved five out of the last six penalty kicks against him. Sørensen got extra competition for the spot as Stoke's first-choice goalkeeper, following the signing of Asmir Begović from
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
in February 2010. He dislocated his elbow in a game against Chelsea on 25 April. The elbow was put back in place without the need for surgery, but Sørensen missed the last three games of the 2009–10 season.


Position challenged: 2010–2012

After starting the first nine matches of the
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season Sørensen lost his place to Begović. However, he played in all the club's FA Cup games, including the
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...
against Manchester City on 14 May 2011 where he put in a good performance despite Stoke City losing 1–0. For the 2011–12 season Sørensen remained as 2nd choice 'keeper to Begović where he played in cup matches as well as in the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
. After some poor performances by Begović, Sørensen was recalled to league matches. In a match against Everton he received mild
concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
after a clash with
Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...
and had to be stretchered off. However he soon made a quick recovery. He signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract at Stoke in December 2011 keeping him at the club until 2014. After signing his new contract Sørensen stated that he wanted to continue playing top flight football after his contract ends.


Final years as back-up: 2012–2015

In
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Sørensen was restricted to playing in just cup fixtures due to the form of Begović and this coupled with the signing of Jack Butland prompted Sørensen to consider his future at Stoke City. Following the departure of manager
Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh former professional football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 2 ...
, Sørensen planned to talk with new manager
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...
about his future at the
Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...
. Sørensen played his first Premier League game for over 20 months on 26 December 2013 at
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
after Begović suffered an injury. However, despite him saving a penalty from Loïc Rémy, Stoke had two men sent-off and went on to lose 5–1. Sørensen started the next two matches before he himself was injured against Everton enabling third-choice Butland to fill in for Begović. Once Begović returned from his injury Butland was loaned out to
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
, leaving Sørensen to resume his place as back-up for the remainder of the 2013–14 season and was offered a one-year contract extension, which he signed in May 2014. In December 2014 Sørensen stated that he would leave Stoke at the end of the 2014–15 season. Sørensen received a special recognition award at the end of the season for his contribution to Stoke, in total he spent seven seasons at the
Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...
making 129 appearances. Sørensen decided to mark his departure from Stoke by cycling 4,000 miles across the United States to raise money for charity.


Melbourne City

On 31 August 2015, Sørensen signed a two-year deal with Australian side Melbourne City. He made his
A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
debut on 10 October in the first match of the new season away to
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...
in a 1–1 draw. Sørensen was released by Melbourne City in April 2017 after they lost their elimination-final to
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
. On 24 July 2017, Sørensen announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 41.


International career

Sørensen made his international debut with the Danish under-19 national team in April 1993, and was moved into the Danish under-21 national team in September 1993, making his under-21 debut at 17 years of age. He went on to play 24 games for the Denmark under-21s until October 1997. Following his initial impressive form for Vejle, he was called up for an unofficial national team game in April 1996, and replaced Lars Høgh at half-time. After his move to Sunderland, Sørensen made his debut for the senior Danish national team in November 1999 in a match against
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, coming on to replace an injured Peter Schmeichel. He was a reserve keeper for Denmark at
Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
, when Schmeichel was at the end of his career. For the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
qualifying campaign in 2001, he took over the job as goalkeeper and helped Denmark qualify. Sørensen was then instrumental, as Denmark won their first round group ahead of
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
,
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
and defending World Cup champions
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to book a second round clash against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. However, in the pouring rain at the
Niigata Stadium The is a multi-purpose stadium in Niigata, Japan. It is the home ground of J1 League club Albirex Niigata and was one of the twenty stadia used in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosting three matches. The stadium's capacity is 41,684. The highest re ...
, Sørensen conceded three goals, one of them a mistake by Sørensen, as he bundled the ball into his own goal from a
Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...
header in the fifth minute. England went on to win the match 3–0. Once again representing his country in an international tournament, Sørensen played in all his country's games at Euro 2004, gathering the official
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
award after both the 0–0 draw with
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and the 2–0 victory against
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
. Despite his efforts, Denmark was once more eliminated in a 3–0 loss, this time to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
in the quarter-finals. During the
2010 World Cup qualifiers Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...
, Denmark faced Sweden at
Råsunda Stadium Råsunda Stadium (; also known as Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Råsundastadion, Råsunda Football Stadium or just Råsunda) was the Swedish national football stadium. It was located in Solna Municipality in Stockholm and named after the district ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. Sweden was awarded a penalty in the tenth minute, which Sørensen saved as Denmark went on to win the game 1–0. Sørensen missed three qualification matches through injury, yet Denmark still qualified for the
2010 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. ...
with one match to go. Sørensen's elbow injury put his chance of appearing in his second World Cup in doubt, but Denmark coach
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (; born 14 August 1949) is a Danish former Association football, football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national football team, Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding ...
included him in the final squad, and on regaining full fitness Sørensen was named the starting goalkeeper for his second World Cup campaign, and played full-time in Denmark's three games at the tournament. He reached the landmark of 100 international caps at the age of 36 on 29 February 2012, in a 0–2 friendly defeat to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in Copenhagen. On 26 May, in a friendly against
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
at
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
's Imtech Arena, Sørensen had to be substituted for an injury in the 24th minute which led to his withdrawal from Denmark's squad for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
. On 7 August 2012, after making 101 appearances for Denmark, he announced his retirement from international football.


Personal life

Sørensen grew up supporting
Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...
and cites Lars Høgh as his role model. He married Maria Borring in Svendborg, Denmark on 16 June 2001. Thomas and Maria have two children: Marcus and Celine. In 2006, Sørensen became an investor in '' Golf Punk'' magazine, alongside former Sunderland teammates
Phil Babb Philip Andrew Babb (born 30 November 1970) is a sports television pundit and former professional football player and manager. As a player he was a central defender who made over 370 league appearances during his career, most notably spending s ...
, Michael Gray,
Jason McAteer Jason Wynne McAteer (born 18 June 1971) is a former professional footballer. His primary position was in midfield either in the centre or on the right flank, though he was also an able full-back. Born in England, he represented the Republic o ...
, and Stephen Wright, saving the publication from closure. Sørensen currently resides in Australia, where he has gained citizenship. He is a frequent panellist for
Optus Sport Optus Sport is an Australian group of list of sports television channels, sports channels, owned by Optus launched on 13 July 2016. Optus created the service after it outbid Foxtel for the Premier League, English Premier League broadcasting righ ...
’s streaming coverage of the English Premier League. Sørensen also actively appears as a guest on the network's 'GegenPod' podcast, providing punditry input to Australia's
A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
, Socceroos national team fixtures and European leagues. He is also a regular panellist for the 'A-Leagues Download', a weekly review show produced by the Australian Professional Leagues. Additionally, Sørensen was present in covering
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...
and Copa America 2021 fixtures, as well as the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...
, appearing as a panellist during pre and post game intervals.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Sunderland *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...
: 1998–99 Stoke City *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
runner-up:
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Melbourne City *
FFA Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia (known as Football Federation Austra ...
:
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Individual * 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

*
List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official internat ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Thomas 1976 births Living people Footballers from Fredericia Danish men's footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Odense Boldklub players Vejle Boldklub players Sunderland A.F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players SfB-Oure FA players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Premier League players English Football League players A-League Men players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Danish expatriate sportspeople in Australia UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Men's Century Club Naturalised soccer players of Australia