Jørgen Leschly Sørensen
Encyclopedia
Jørgen Leschly Sørensen (24 September 1922 - 21 February 1999) was a Danish
football (soccer)
player. He started as an amateur player in Danish football
with Odense Boldklub and B 93, winning the 1945 Danish championship with B 93. He was a part of the Denmark national football team
which won bronze medal
s at the 1948 Summer Olympics
, and played a total 14 games and scored eight goals for the national team. After the 1948 Olympics, Sørensen moved abroad to play professionally in Italian football
for Atalanta B.C.
and AC Milan, winning the 1955 Serie A
championship with Milan.
, Sørensen started playing football at a lower-league club in his hometown. He moved to local club Odense BK in 1939, and made his senior debut for the club. He played with Odense in the amateur-only Danish championship. After World War II
, the Danish football leagues were rearranged, and Odense was demoted to the third-tier league of Danish football.
Sørensen spent a year in Copenhagen
finishing his education, and approached AB
to play for the club while in Copenhagen. AB coach Arne Kleven said he could only use him as a reserve, and Sørensen went on to play for Copenhagen club B 93 instead. Sørensen went on to become league top goalscorer with 16 goals, as B 93 team won the top-flight 1945-46 Danish 1st Division championship. While at B 93, Sørensen made his debut for the Denmark national football team
in June 1946, as he scored a goal in Denmark's 1-2 defeat to the Norwegian football team
. Upon his return to Odense in 1946, Sørensen found the team in the secondary Danish 2nd Division
league. He helped the club win promotion
into the top-flight Danish 1st Division
in his first year back with the club. He continued to play for the Danish national team while at Odense, and was selected for the Danish squad at the 1948 Summer Olympics
. He played one game at the tournament, and scored a goal as Denmark beat defeat the Great Britain football team 5-3 to win the bronze medal
s of the tournament. He was top goalscorer with 16 goals in the 1948-49 1st Division season, before moving abroad to play professionally. As a professional he was barred from the amateur-only Danish national team, and Sørensen tallied his total eight goals in 14 national team games from June 1946 to June 1949.
Alongside fellow bronze medalist Karl Aage Hansen
, Sørensen joined Atalanta Bergamo in the Serie A
championship of Italian football
. In his first time at the club, Bergamo played a friendly match against Sørensen's old club Odense on Odense Stadion. Sørensen was leading the Bergamo players onto the pitch, but as Karl Aage Hansen held back the other Bergamo players, Sørensen entered the pitch on his own to waves of applause from the Odense fans. Sørensen spent four seasons at Atalanta, scoring 51 goals in 134 games, and played alongside fellow Danish international players Svend Jørgen Hansen and Poul Rasmussen at the club. He moved to league rivals AC Milan in 1953, and played two seasons with the club, scoring 28 goals in 64 games. He won the 1954-55 Serie A
championship in his last season with Milan, before leaving the club in 1955. Milan offered him a contract extension, but Sørensen decided to return to Denmark. He was selected for a European Representative team to play against a Great Britain team to mark the 75th anniversary of the Irish Football Association
in August 1955. Sørensen worked defensively to neutralize English player Sir Stanley Matthews, and the European team won 4-1.
When Sørensen returned to Denmark in 1955, he had to undergo a two-year quarantine mandated by the Danish Football Association
, before he could re-enter the amateur-only Danish leagues in 1958. While waiting for the quarantine to expire, he was the coach of his former club Odense Boldklub. He returned as a player for Odense in 1958, and played for the club until his retirement in 1962. He served as Odense manager again in 1963. Sørensen became a part of the committee which selected the players for the Danish national team in 1970. He was a member of the committee until it was disbanded in 1979, with its responsibilities transferred solely to the Danish national team manager.
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)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. He started as an amateur 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...
with Odense Boldklub and B 93, winning the 1945 Danish championship with B 93. He was a part of 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...
which won bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
s at the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
, and played a total 14 games and scored eight goals for the national team. After the 1948 Olympics, Sørensen moved abroad to play professionally in Italian football
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
for Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
and AC Milan, winning the 1955 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
championship with Milan.
Biography
Born in Lumby near OdenseOdense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Sørensen started playing football at a lower-league club in his hometown. He moved to local club Odense BK in 1939, and made his senior debut for the club. He played with Odense in the amateur-only Danish championship. After World War II
World 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...
, the Danish football leagues were rearranged, and Odense was demoted to the third-tier league of Danish football.
Sørensen spent a year in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
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...
finishing his education, and approached 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:...
to play for the club while in Copenhagen. AB coach Arne Kleven said he could only use him as a reserve, and Sørensen went on to play for Copenhagen club B 93 instead. Sørensen went on to become league top goalscorer with 16 goals, as B 93 team won the top-flight 1945-46 Danish 1st Division championship. While at B 93, Sørensen made his debut 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...
in June 1946, as he scored a goal in Denmark's 1-2 defeat to the Norwegian football team
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...
. Upon his return to Odense in 1946, Sørensen found the team in the secondary Danish 2nd Division
Danish 2nd Division
The 2nd Division is the third tier Danish football league, just after the 1st Division.It was founded in 1945, after World War II, as the second-best Danish football division. When the Danish Superliga was founded in 1991, the 2nd Division became the third level league...
league. He helped the club win promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
into the top-flight Danish 1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
in his first year back with the club. He continued to play for the Danish national team while at Odense, and was selected for the Danish squad at the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
. He played one game at the tournament, and scored a goal as Denmark beat defeat the Great Britain football team 5-3 to win the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
s of the tournament. He was top goalscorer with 16 goals in the 1948-49 1st Division season, before moving abroad to play professionally. As a professional he was barred from the amateur-only Danish national team, and Sørensen tallied his total eight goals in 14 national team games from June 1946 to June 1949.
Alongside fellow bronze medalist Karl Aage Hansen
Karl Aage Hansen
Karl Aage Hansen was a Danish football player, who won a bronze medal with the Denmark national football team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He scored 17 goals in 22 games for the Danish national team, and was Danish team captain on 17 occasions...
, Sørensen joined Atalanta Bergamo in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
championship of Italian football
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
. In his first time at the club, Bergamo played a friendly match against Sørensen's old club Odense on Odense Stadion. Sørensen was leading the Bergamo players onto the pitch, but as Karl Aage Hansen held back the other Bergamo players, Sørensen entered the pitch on his own to waves of applause from the Odense fans. Sørensen spent four seasons at Atalanta, scoring 51 goals in 134 games, and played alongside fellow Danish international players Svend Jørgen Hansen and Poul Rasmussen at the club. He moved to league rivals AC Milan in 1953, and played two seasons with the club, scoring 28 goals in 64 games. He won the 1954-55 Serie A
Serie A 1954-55
-Final classification:-Results:...
championship in his last season with Milan, before leaving the club in 1955. Milan offered him a contract extension, but Sørensen decided to return to Denmark. He was selected for a European Representative team to play against a Great Britain team to mark the 75th anniversary of the Irish Football Association
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
in August 1955. Sørensen worked defensively to neutralize English player Sir Stanley Matthews, and the European team won 4-1.
When Sørensen returned to Denmark in 1955, he had to undergo a two-year quarantine mandated 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...
, before he could re-enter the amateur-only Danish leagues in 1958. While waiting for the quarantine to expire, he was the coach of his former club Odense Boldklub. He returned as a player for Odense in 1958, and played for the club until his retirement in 1962. He served as Odense manager again in 1963. Sørensen became a part of the committee which selected the players for the Danish national team in 1970. He was a member of the committee until it was disbanded in 1979, with its responsibilities transferred solely to the Danish national team manager.
Honours
- 1944-45 Danish championship
- 1954-55 Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...