Ask any Lads fan of a sure age to call their prime 5 Sunderland keepers and it’s a very good wager Tommy shall be amongst them. Tommy was born in Fredericia, a city positioned within the southeast a part of the Jutland peninsula in , and began taking part in youth soccer at native golf equipment Erritsø and Assens earlier than commencing his skilled profession along with his boyhood favourites Odense BK.
He was loaned to Vejle BK and FC Svendborg and earlier than ever making a first-team look for Odense, Sunderland and Peter Reid got here calling with £510,000 in 1998, and so started an exquisite relationship.
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It won’t have occurred in any respect if occasions had taken a unique flip. It’s a proven fact that not lengthy earlier than this switch, Peter Schmeichel had facilitated a week-long trial at Previous Trafford in December 1997, which had gone very effectively, a lot in order that he was invited again in February 1998. Throughout that shut season, Sørensen spoke with Ajax and , who had numerous Danish gamers on the time.
Nonetheless, Tony Coton, who had been throughout to Denmark twice to observe Sørensen play, persuaded him to return to Sunderland and meet Peter Reid. In Sørensen’s personal phrases, “I met Peter Reid and after half a day I knew that was the place I needed to be. I cherished the eagerness they usually truly performed me the semi-final towards Sheffield United to indicate me the environment. That half day bought it to me. Peter Reid was keen to offer me a shot and that was all I needed.”
Sørensen changed the flamboyant fan favorite Lionel Perez, however shortly established himself within the 1998/99 season. He made his debut on the eighth of August 1998 towards Queens Park Rangers in a 1-0 victory in entrance of a packed home on the Stadium of Gentle and by no means actually regarded again.
Sunderland swept to a powerful promotion that season because the broadly lauded Quinn and Phillips fired forty-four targets between them. Behind them, although, Sunderland had developed a parsimonious angle to conceding targets. From fifty targets conceded the season earlier than within the league, solely twenty-eight have been conceded on this marketing campaign. With Butler and Craddock on the heart of defence, Makin and Grey at full-back, and the defensive midfield expertise of Kevin Ball, Tommy Sørensen accomplished the jigsaw and was on the coronary heart of a rock-solid again line.
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Sunderland went up in fashion after which delivered two seventh-placed finishes in succession within the Premiership as Reidy’s buccaneers confounded the pundits and the bookies, taking part in a few of the finest soccer some followers had ever seen.
The Tyne/Put on derby conflict of the 2001/02 marketing campaign introduced Tommy in all probability his biggest second in a Sunderland shirt. With the rating at 2-1 to the Lads at a packed St James’, Niall Quinn dedicated a middle ahead’s problem on Rob Lee within the field on 82 minutes. Penalty to the Toon! Up stepped their hero, their messiah Alan Shearer. As a hush fell on the group and along with his arm nearly on the way in which as much as salute an equaliser, Tommy managed to learn the shot as Shearer modified his regular trademark penalty into the highest left-hand nook. Sørensen deflected the ball for a nook and triggered bedlam within the away stand and hands-on-head agony for the expectant barcodes.
Sunderland went on to win the match, their second victory in succession at Newcastle, and it’s truthful to say Sørensen’s legendary standing was assured amongst the Roker devoted.
A function of most of Tommy’s time at Sunderland was his health. In season 98/99 he performed forty-five league video games, lacking just one. Within the 99/00 Premiership return, he once more missed just one league recreation, taking part in thirty-seven. Within the 00/01 season, he missed 4 league video games proper in the beginning of the marketing campaign, having been injured within the first recreation, however returned to finish thirty-four league appearances.
Soccer – Pleasant – Vejle v Sunderland
The Premiership marketing campaign of 01/02 noticed Sørensen play thirty-four out of a potential thirty-eight league video games as Sunderland completed seventeenth in a troublesome season and a remodeling workforce. The next season proved disastrous. Peter Reid had been sacked on the tenth of October and changed by Howard Wilkinson and Steve Cotterill. Sørensen was injured and out for twelve video games, returning on the eleventh of January by which level Sunderland have been effectively ensconced within the relegation locations.
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Having produced a report variety of factors in 98/99, we went down with an all-time low variety of factors (19) in 02/03. Mick McCarthy was appointed as supervisor and Sørensen was bought for 2 million within the shut season to , as McCarthy tried to place his personal stamp on the workforce.
Sørensen’s final recreation for Sunderland of his 171 appearances was a 4-0 defeat to Premiership runners-up at a nonetheless packed Stadium of Gentle, a disappointing finish to such an incredible spell with the Lads.
Tommy went on to endear himself to followers at Villa Park, making 139 appearances earlier than falling out with the hierarchy over his remedy while injured. Not earlier than he saved one other Alan Shearer penalty although.
He moved on a free switch to hitch newly promoted Stoke Metropolis in 2008, the place as soon as once more he grew to become a fan favourite, making ninety-nine appearances between 2008-15, when he took the choice of a brand new problem in , taking part in thirty-seven video games for Melbourne Metropolis over a interval of two years from 2015-17.
Stoke Metropolis v Sunderland – Premier League
Tommy made his worldwide debut in November 1999, approaching for the injured Peter Schmeichel in a recreation towards Israel. He would go on to make 101 worldwide appearances, retiring in 2012, having taken half in two Euro and two World Cup campaigns.
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Tommy was all the time a tad totally different and enjoys some different pursuits away from his sport. A lifelong Bruce Springsteen fan, he has seen him dwell over ten occasions. He has additionally original a repute as an artist; his work is an enormous hit on Instagram. He cites the affect of former Sunderland taking part in colleague Jody Craddock for rekindling his curiosity in drawing and portray throughout their time collectively on the Stadium of Gentle.
Since retiring from taking part in, Tommy has been busy. He now lives in Australia, having taken citizenship, and is an everyday pundit on Optus Sport, protecting all the foremost soccer tournaments. Upon retiring from taking part in, he launched into a marathon bike journey throughout the USA (6000km), elevating over $200,000 for ‘Youngsters Support’, a Danish youngsters’s charity. This effort triggered a love of biking and he nonetheless dons the clips right now.
Completely happy birthday Tommy, have a very good one bonny lad.