Carl Hansen (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Carl Vilhelm "Skoma'r" Hansson, simply known as Carl "Skoma'r" Hansen (17 May 1898 – 19 May 1978), was a Danish
football (soccer) player and manager. He played in the forward
position, and won the Danish championship with Boldklubben 1903
before moving abroad to play for Scottish
club Rangers F.C.
as the first professional player in Danish football
history. With Rangers, he won four Scottish championships. Hansen played seven games and scored three goals for the Denmark national football team
, and was a part of the Denmark team at the 1920 Summer Olympics
. As a manager, he managed a number of Danish teams and won the Danish championship with AB
.
Skoma'r was a nickname he got after his father's profession as a shoemaker (da:Skomager), and he was most commonly known in Denmark as Carl Skoma'r. He was the older brother of Danish international Henry Hansen
.
, Hansen made himself an early reputation as a dangerous striker in the Copenhagen club Boldklubben 1903
(B 1903), playing in the amateur-only Danish championship from 1915 to 1921. He helped B 1903 win the first Danish championship in club history in 1920. B 1903 played professional Scottish
side Rangers F.C.
at Idrætsparken
in the spring of 1921. The Danes lost although the match 2-1, but Rangers were impressed by the Danes. In particular, they were impressed by Hansen, who was notable for his excellent attacking play and the attitude of a dignified professional. In autumn 1921, Hansen signed a contract with Rangers and became the first Danish professional footballer in the history of Danish football
. He cost Rangers
a fee of twenty pounds.
Hansen was very popular in Glasgow
, and was referred to as "The Great Little Dane" and "The Little Shoemaker", and was the first foreigner who scored in an Old Firm
match. He helped Rangers win the Scottish championship in 1923, 1924 and 1925. His stay in Scotland, however, was relatively short. A broken leg ended his career after only four seasons with Rangers. When he returned to Denmark, he served a mandatory two-year quarantine, before he was allowed by the Danish Football Association
to play amateur football in Denmark once again. He played one season for his old club B 1903, until he retired in 1928.
in June 1918. As a B 1903 player, he was included in the Danish team for the 1920 Summer Olympics
in Antwerp, but he did not play any games at the tournament.
Moving to Rangers spelled the end of Hansen's national team career, as the Danish Football Association
did not allow professionals to play for the national team until 1971. Because of this rule, Hansen only played seven matches and scored three goals, including two goals in his debut against Sweden
. In October 1918, he scored his third and last goal when Denmark beat Norway
4-0.
with great success in the 1930s; a team including later Danish international Knud Lundberg
. Hansen coached the senior AB team to the 1937 Danish championship, before he returned to B 1903. He joined B 1903 as a professional trainer, at a time when it was customary in Danish football for the coach to work as an amateur. He coached the club from 1943 to 1948.
In 1952, Hansen was asked to train the Danish national football team at the 1952 Summer Olympics
in Helsinki
, but he was not allowed to travel with the team for the tournament. Denmark reached the quarter-finals of the 1952 Olympics. He coached BK Frem in 1962.
, Hansen was arrested in 1943 and sentenced to four months imprisonment for having harassed a German. He spent four months in prison and in a German concentration camp in Neumünster
. This later affected his nervous system greatly.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
football (soccer) player and manager. He played in the forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
position, and won the Danish championship with Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded in 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Danish Cup in 1979 and 1986...
before moving abroad to play for Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
club Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
as the first professional player in Danish football
Football in Denmark
Association football is the national sport of Denmark, with 342,955 players and 1,647 clubs registered under the Danish FA.- League system :The top 4 levels in Denmark are governed by the Danish Football Association...
history. With Rangers, he won four Scottish championships. Hansen played seven games and scored three goals for the Denmark national football team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
, and was a part of the Denmark team at the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. As a manager, he managed a number of Danish teams and won the Danish championship with AB
Akademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub or AB is a Danish professional football club from Copenhagen,currently playing at the second highest level in Danish domestic football, the 1st Division.-History:...
.
Skoma'r was a nickname he got after his father's profession as a shoemaker (da:Skomager), and he was most commonly known in Denmark as Carl Skoma'r. He was the older brother of Danish international Henry Hansen
Henry Hansen (footballer)
Axel Bjergne Henry Hansson simply known as Henry Hansen, was a Danish amateur association football player, who played 38 games and scored 10 goals for the Danish national team from 1922 to 1934. Born in Copenhagen, Nilsson played as a forward for Copenhagen club B 1903.-References:...
.
Club career
Born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Hansen made himself an early reputation as a dangerous striker in the Copenhagen club Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded in 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Danish Cup in 1979 and 1986...
(B 1903), playing in the amateur-only Danish championship from 1915 to 1921. He helped B 1903 win the first Danish championship in club history in 1920. B 1903 played professional Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
side Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
at Idrætsparken
Idrætsparken
Københavns Idrætspark, in daily use Idrætsparken, also known as Parken, was a multi-purpose stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was initially used as the stadium of Denmark national football team and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. It was replaced by the Parken Stadium in 1992. The capacity of the stadium was...
in the spring of 1921. The Danes lost although the match 2-1, but Rangers were impressed by the Danes. In particular, they were impressed by Hansen, who was notable for his excellent attacking play and the attitude of a dignified professional. In autumn 1921, Hansen signed a contract with Rangers and became the first Danish professional footballer in the history of Danish football
Football in Denmark
Association football is the national sport of Denmark, with 342,955 players and 1,647 clubs registered under the Danish FA.- League system :The top 4 levels in Denmark are governed by the Danish Football Association...
. He cost Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
a fee of twenty pounds.
Hansen was very popular in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and was referred to as "The Great Little Dane" and "The Little Shoemaker", and was the first foreigner who scored in an Old Firm
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...
match. He helped Rangers win the Scottish championship in 1923, 1924 and 1925. His stay in Scotland, however, was relatively short. A broken leg ended his career after only four seasons with Rangers. When he returned to Denmark, he served a mandatory two-year quarantine, before he was allowed by the Danish Football Association
Danish Football Association
The Danish Football Association is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in the city of Brøndby and is a founding member of both FIFA...
to play amateur football in Denmark once again. He played one season for his old club B 1903, until he retired in 1928.
International career
Hansen made his debut for the Denmark national football teamDenmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
in June 1918. As a B 1903 player, he was included in the Danish team for the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
in Antwerp, but he did not play any games at the tournament.
Moving to Rangers spelled the end of Hansen's national team career, as the Danish Football Association
Danish Football Association
The Danish Football Association is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in the city of Brøndby and is a founding member of both FIFA...
did not allow professionals to play for the national team until 1971. Because of this rule, Hansen only played seven matches and scored three goals, including two goals in his debut against Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
. In October 1918, he scored his third and last goal when Denmark beat Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
4-0.
Managerial career
He trained the junior team of ABAkademisk Boldklub
Akademisk Boldklub or AB is a Danish professional football club from Copenhagen,currently playing at the second highest level in Danish domestic football, the 1st Division.-History:...
with great success in the 1930s; a team including later Danish international Knud Lundberg
Knud Lundberg
Knud Lundberg was a Danish multi-talented sportsperson, who most notably won a bronze medal with the Denmark national football team at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He represented the Danish national team in football , team handball and basketball, and he won the Danish national championship in all...
. Hansen coached the senior AB team to the 1937 Danish championship, before he returned to B 1903. He joined B 1903 as a professional trainer, at a time when it was customary in Danish football for the coach to work as an amateur. He coached the club from 1943 to 1948.
In 1952, Hansen was asked to train the Danish national football team at the 1952 Summer Olympics
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, but he was not allowed to travel with the team for the tournament. Denmark reached the quarter-finals of the 1952 Olympics. He coached BK Frem in 1962.
Concentration camp
During the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Hansen was arrested in 1943 and sentenced to four months imprisonment for having harassed a German. He spent four months in prison and in a German concentration camp in Neumünster
Neumünster
Neumünster is an independent town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which has a total of four independent towns.-Current Situation:Neumünster station is major railway junction with lines running in six directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines.Near...
. This later affected his nervous system greatly.
Honours
- Danish championship: 1920, 1937
- Scottish CupScottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
: 1923, 1924, 1925