Søren Larsen

For other uses, see Søren Larsen (disambiguation).

Søren Larsen

File:S04 Soren Larsen 01.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Søren Larsen
Date of birth	(1981-09-06) 6 September 1981
Place of birth	Køge, Denmark
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2001	Køge BK	39	(12)
2001–2004	Brøndby	1	(0)
2002–2003	→ Frem (loan)	8	(2)
2003–2004	Frem	31	(11)
2004–2005	Djurgården	13	(10)
2005–2008	Schalke 04	51	(10)
2008–2011	Toulouse	9	(0)
2009–2010	→ MSV Duisburg (loan)	10	(5)
2011	→ Feyenoord (loan)	6	(0)
2011–2014	AGF	61	(16)
International career‡
1997–1998	Denmark U17	20	(6)
1998–2001	Denmark U19	11	(4)
2003	Denmark U21	3	(0)
2005–2010	Denmark	20	(11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 January 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 June 2010

Søren Larsen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈsɶːɐn ˈlɑːsn̩]; born 6 September 1981) is a Danish retired professional football striker. He was a strong player with a decent header and good sense of positioning.

Biography

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. 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 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 football 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, he moved to Toulouse as a replacement for the outgoing Johan Elmander. On 24 January 2009, Søren scored his first four goals for the club in an 8–0 win against amateur team Schirrhein in the Coupe de France, but after one year he turned back to Germany 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 Danish Superliga 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. Then on 12 September 2011, he made 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. 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.

Larsen has scored eleven goals in 20 games for Denmark.

Honours

Club

Brøndby

• Danish Superliga: 2002

Djurgårdens IF

• Svenska Cupen: 2004
• Allsvenskan: 2005

International goals

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 June 2005	Copenhagen, Denmark	Albania	1–0	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
2	8 June 2005	Copenhagen, Denmark	Albania	2–0	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
3	7 August 2005	Copenhagen, Denmark	England	4–1	4–1	Friendly match
4	3 September 2005	Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	2–2	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
5	7 September 2005	Copenhagen, Denmark	Georgia	5–1	6–1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
6	7 September 2005	Copenhagen, Denmark	Georgia	6–1	6–1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
7	11 October 2008	Copenhagen, Denmark	Malta	1–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
8	11 October 2008	Copenhagen, Denmark	Malta	3–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
9	28 March 2009	Attard, Malta	Malta	1–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
10	28 March 2009	Attard, Malta	Malta	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
11	1 April 2009	Copenhagen, Denmark	Albania	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.

External links

• Danish national team profile (Danish)
• Boldklubben Frem profile (Danish)
• Brøndby IF profile (Danish)
• Official Danish Superliga stats (Danish)
• Søren Larsen profile at Fussballdaten