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Why 39-year-old Melbourne City ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen is still the ultimate professional

 

March 4, 2016

Tom Smithies

 

VERY little is left to chance in the world of Thomas Sorensen.

The preparation, the homework, the mental workouts mean the saves he makes are all part of a process.

That’s why a goalkeeper with more than 400 appearances in the EPL, and more than 100 caps for Denmark, who played at two World Cups and two European Championships, is still a class act for Melbourne City at 39.

Fourth in the list of A-League keepers for saves-to-shots ratio, Sorensen has made more “big” saves than anyone else. Which is just as well given City’s defending at times this season, but as they prepare to face Sydney FC, it has at least given Sorensen the chance to prove exactly why the club signed him.

The standards are still there, the absolute professionalism. If Sydney FC get a penalty for instance, watch Sorensen closely because his astonishing record for saving them is one of those things he doesn’t leave to chance.

“If you put a bit of work into it, study it, and train for certain things, you can maybe improve the chances from 40 per cent to 60 per cent which can make a big difference,” he said.

“You see things in the penalty sometimes. It’s no guarantee but there is some thinking behind it.”

Those who were incredulous when City signed such a veteran didn’t get what an influence he would be on City’s young players.

It’s more than two decades since Sunderland signed a 22-year-old goalkeeper from Denmark who few knew much about – “at the time it wasn’t a big deal in England, but it certainly was in Denmark,” remembers Sorensen – but the method hasn’t changed.

“It was a big change for me (joining Sunderland), suddenly playing in front of 45,000 people each week, and Sunderland were under a lot of pressure to get back into the Premier League,” he said.

“But all I could do was what I’ve always done - do it my way, be confident, and do as well as I could. I thought there was a good chance I’d be good enough.”

That proved to be an understatement, as Sunderland raced to earn promotion, with Sorensen setting a record for clean sheets.

Equally effortlessly he established himself in the EPL the next season, as well as in Denmark’s senior squad, and had a first-hand view as the English competition became one of the richest and most popular in the world.

“When you’re in the middle of it all, you don’t tend to quite take it in – it’s a routine of week by week, game by game,” he said. “It’s only when you step outside the bubble and realise quite what the level of exposure is worldwide.

“But you sense that better and better players are coming in, and the competition is getting tougher and tougher.”

As did Sorensen, one of the most reliable goalkeepers in the EPL during several years each at Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke. In some ways the real surprise was why a really big club never snapped him up, but more than a century of caps for Denmark – including big roles at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups – showed his value on the world stage.

But it all seemed to be drifting to a close last year, as he prepared to leave Stoke City and retirement seemed obvious – until he bumped into Simon Pearce, vice-chairman of Melbourne City, at a function just before he was due to cycle 4000km across America to raise money for charity.

“It was funny how quickly it developed – I told him I was doing the ride but afterwards we talked quickly,” Sorensen said.

“My family had already discussed the idea of going somewhere like America, and trying something new. I wanted a challenge.”

And maybe a few more penalties to save.

 

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/why-39yearold-melbourne-city-keeper-thomas-sorensen-is-still-the-ultimate-professional/news-story/183e3dcc99d6e0676a51702fda1726c9

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  • 2 weeks later...

Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen hoping he will continue to have less saves to make

 

Matt Windley

March 17, 2016

 

THOMAS Sorensen has made more saves than any other A-League goalkeeper this season.

But the Melbourne City star says it’s a record he’d rather not have.

“I was too busy early in the season,” Sorensen said.

“The chances we were giving away, even though I was making a few saves, you’re not going to be able to stop every single shot.

“We have been conceding too many goals, for sure, and it’s been something we’ve been working on all the way through to try to rectify and I think we’re getting there.”

Sorensen has made 90 saves this season, one more than Newcastle’s Mark Birighitti and 16 more than the next in line, Wellington’s Glen Moss.

City has faced 310 shots in 2015-16 — Newcastle, with 364 shots, has conceded the most — but 133 of those have been on target, a figure only surpassed by Central Coast, with 142.

It has shipped 38 goals, a figure only bettered by Wellington (43) and the Mariners (56), but things are most definitely on the improve.

On the back of wins over Sydney FC (3-0) and Adelaide (1-0), City has kept more clean sheets in the past two weeks than it had in the first 21 games.

More so, its record of three goals conceded in the last four games is a number bettered only by Adelaide (one) in that time.

Sorensen said the February recruitment of Socceroos defender Alex Wilkinson had helped, but he also credited a more “calculated approach” from the entire team for turning the defence’s fortunes around.

“It’s been a work in progress all the way through,” he said.

“There was a lot of chopping and changing early in the season, a few injuries, it made it hard to get continuity.

“But now with Wilko there we’ve got a lot of experience and it’s been a lot more settled.

“We’re also finding that rhythm as a team. I think early in the season we probably played as two halves — we had an attacking half and a defensive half — and we were exposed a lot of times.

“Now we’re working as a unit. I think it’s showing now that we’re a lot harder to break down, we don’t give as many chances away and it just makes it a lot easier to keep a clean sheet.”

Sorensen is a 101-time Denmark international with almost 400 games of English Premier League experience with Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke City.

He will suit up again for City next season and said he had been impressed by the A-League’s quality.

“It’s definitely an exciting league,” he said.

“It is different in the way that there’s no relegation so sometimes teams can be a lot more careless than you see in the Premier League where the consequences of losing are that you could go down (a division).

“But it makes for exciting football, it’s end-to-end stuff, and the quality is definitely there.”

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-city-goalkeeper-thomas-sorensen-hoping-he-will-continue-to-have-less-saves-to-make/news-story/857357d020b05373a3c5821f8dd102e0

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7 minutes ago, Defibrillator said:

I'm going to be the grammar nazi (and red wine does that...) but I thought a journalist would know the difference between "less" and "fewer", but even worse I guess an editor wrote or proofed the headline. I thought correct English would be your stock trade in the journo game but then again it is the Hun................

Very common error in Australian English. Two others on the increase are "amount" for "number", and "that" for "who."

Coincidentally I'm enjoying a glass of shiraz after our great win tonight...

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Defensive burden easing on Sorensen at City

 

By Greg Prichard

26 MAR 2016 

 

Melbourne City's Thomas Sorensen has been the busiest goalkeeper in the A-League for most of the season, but championship-winning keeper Clint Bolton believes the great Dane will be "largely peripheral" to City's bid for the Premier's Plate over the last three rounds.

And that would be a step in the right direction for City after they have battled against themselves for the majority of the season, scoring plenty of goals but adding to the pressure by leaking goals too. Until recently.

City kept just one clean sheet in the first 21 rounds, but in the last three rounds they have beaten Sydney FC 3-0, Adelaide United 1-0 and Brisbane Roar 3-1.

Following the 2-0 loss by Western Sydney Wanderers to Melbourne Victory on Friday night and regardless of other results in round 25, a win over Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park on Monday night will give City the competition lead with just two rounds to go.

"I think in the run-in to the finals Sorensen will still have moments when he has to act, but he'll be largely peripheral to the outcomes of matches," Bolton said.

"I think City are structurally so good at the moment that his work has mostly been done earlier in the season.

"He can put his hand up and say he's had a lot to do with where they are now and the fact is City have been fortunate to have had a keeper like that, but it's also great for him and the team if he's not having to do as much.

"He'll still have a big part to play come knockout competition when the championship is up for grabs in the finals, where it could come down to moments, and he's one of the best signings by any club in the A-League this season."

Bolton, who won two A-League championships with Sydney FC and two more in the old NSL, with Brisbane Strikers and Sydney Olympic, says he is delighted to see two goalkeepers who are 40 - Perth Glory's Ante Covic is the other - still thriving at this level.

"After last season, when Wanderers finished second bottom, it looked to me like Ante was slowing down," Bolton said. "He looked a bit slower in his movement and it wouldn't be a surprise, considering his age.

"I went through it myself and when you do start to slow down it happens pretty quickly, so I thought Ante was actually lucky to get another gig in the A-League this season. But he's just been a rock in Perth.

"I rate Ante highly and after his heroics at the Asian Champions League I was thinking that would be a great way to end your career for a guy I hugely respect, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how well he's done this season.

"If Perth go on and actually achieve something it's just another big achievement he can add to his long list and respect goes up again.

"He's been getting the job done and getting it done pretty comfortably and when it comes to knockout finals time his experience will be massive, because that's when the players with the big-game experience stand up to be counted.

"I think a foreign goalkeeper like Sorensen coming into the league was necessary for City if they were going to push for a title, because when you look at title winners you need a very good 'keeper and to be quite frank there are not a lot of young 'keepers coming through at the moment.

"So City made a really good move. If you don't have a good 'keeper, you can't really challenge for anything. Sorensen's been very good. He's made some big saves and he's won a lot of points for the club."

Sorensen has still had several moments he would like to forget, as well, but Bolton made the point that when you're forced to work as hard as Sorensen has been the odds of a slip-up increase.

"He been a busy man, overly busy, and I think his frustrations about how much work he has been getting, which are understandable, have been evident in his on-field reactions to his teammates at times," Bolton said.

"For the most part his form has been really good, making saves that actually affect the outcomes of matches, which is what the best goalkeepers should be doing.

"And now that City's defence is a lot more sound he's not getting as much work and that's been clear over the last three games. That's the way he wants it to be, I'm sure."

 

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2016/03/26/defensive-burden-easing-sorensen-city

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1 hour ago, Jovan said:

Yeah. The only thing for me to justify it was he felt he was lacking touch. I don't think he picked up the ball in the first half. 

He'd basically had nothing to do except follow one shot that went wide after one of our boys slipped on the loose/wet surface. So more value in keeping him loose and ready to jump around than add to the dressing room discussions. And he proved that with a nice near-post save in the second half.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorensen's ball handling and distribution is poor regardless of the result last night.

How many times have you seen him fumble the easy balls. Did it again last night. A world class keeper would not do this. Sure he makes some unbelievable saves, but yet, I'd prefer a young aussie in goals even if they don't have the experience.

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11 hours ago, Torn Asunder said:

Wasn't a penalty IMO. Ball was out when the two players collided. 

collided?   

Haven't seen the replay (and trust me I'm not going to) but shoulder charging off the ball is a free kick everyday of the week and in the box it MUST be a penalty.  No competent ref could ignore it.  Why would a player whose played what- over 500 international and EPL games- do that?  

A must win game and he turns a nothing situation into coinciding right before the break? 

Was he "unlucky"

 

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25 minutes ago, Shahanga said:

collided?   

Haven't seen the replay (and trust me I'm not going to) but shoulder charging off the ball is a free kick everyday of the week and in the box it MUST be a penalty.  No competent ref could ignore it.  Why would a player whose played what- over 500 international and EPL games- do that?  

A must win game and he turns a nothing situation into coinciding right before the break? 

Was he "unlucky"

 

Maybe watch the replay. Ball was out and Mauk went down like a sack of dirt after the collision because he is a flea and Thomas is a Viking sized unit. 

I agree with others in that it wouldn't have mattered, we still would have lost, and over all Sorrenson was poor last night, to the point where he could justifiably be dropped.

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23 minutes ago, Torn Asunder said:

Maybe watch the replay. Ball was out and Mauk went down like a sack of dirt after the collision because he is a flea and Thomas is a Viking sized unit. 

I agree with others in that it wouldn't have mattered, we still would have lost, and over all Sorrenson was poor last night, to the point where he could justifiably be dropped.

He was poor indeed, and that incident showed a complete lack of responsible leadership at such a critical point in the match and the season. Quite honestly, I would prefer to see him hang up his boots now rather than drag on into next season. Perhaps he could take the place of Joey Nepotism, our so-called goal-keeping coach, who has IMO done nothing to justify retention?

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10 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

He was poor indeed, and that incident showed a complete lack of responsible leadership at such a critical point in the match and the season. Quite honestly, I would prefer to see him hang up his boots now rather than drag on into next season. Perhaps he could take the place of Joey Nepotism, our so-called goal-keeping coach, who has IMO done nothing to justify retention?

TBF he has been decent this season. But I suspect you are right. Anything that gets rid of old Joey N is a good move in my opinion.

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It was a brain explosion, could have either got out quickly to collect the ball or let it run out of play, demonstrated poor judgement and took out the man.

despite that he has been very good this season, in the middle portion of the season some of his performances in goals kept the team from falling off a cliff, especially around the December period, the pre Christmas derby against victory comes to mind where he pulled off about 5 miracle saves in the 2nd half, if you weigh up his season overall it's been more good then bad.

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Melbourne City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen tells Simon Hill how he played through pain of a broken hand

 

By Simon Hill

15 April 2016

 

THOMAS Sorensen knows that time isn’t on his side and has gone to extraordinary lengths to win another piece of silverware.

If moving to Australia at 39 years of age wasn’t enough, Sorensen has revealed the degree of pain he put himself through in his quest for A-League glory with Melbourne City.

In an exclusive chat with Simon Hill, Sorensen tells all about his move, his injuries and his thoughts on a fellow Danish goalkeeper on the cusp of a league title.

 

SIMON HILL: You’re now 39 — you did win a (Football League) Championship medal with Sunderland, and played in a losing FA Cup Final with Stoke ... but is this your best chance to win a title?

THOMAS SORENSEN: With age, you know the opportunities aren’t going to come forever. So when you have a chance you have to give it everything. We have as good a chance as the others — we know we’re going to have to take the hard route if we’re going to do it, but its down to ourselves. We’re capable of doing it ... there won’t be many more chances for me, that’s for sure, so I’ll be doing everything I can.

Hill: Play-offs are part of the landscape in England, but not at the top level — this is your first taste of it — is it strange?

Sorensen: It’s a funny format coming from Europe where it doesn’t exist. The only thing you can compare it with is the Championship — but even then, the best two go up. Here, even if you win all your games, you’re back to square one — so it’s different, but it’s exciting. Everyone has a clean slate — and it’s great for the fans to have a final where everything is decided. Is it fair? That’s another question!

Hill: You’ve been kept very busy this season — making the most saves in the league, and leading most categories in the stats — have you been busier than you’d like?

Sorensen: You want to be involved, and play your part — but on the other hand, I was busier earlier on than I liked. We gave too many chances away — as a team we didn’t do things right. There was a lot of changes in personnel, a few injuries, but now the back four is settled, and I think you can see that — bar the last two games — we have looked solid and been more consistent.

Hill: Was it difficult to readjust to playing regularly again — because you’d barely featured for the preceding three seasons at Stoke?

Sorensen: You want to be playing. I’ve been physically fit for the last few years, so that wasn’t a problem — and I wouldn’t have come if I thought I was on a downhill slope. I was just the victim of some really good keepers, and probably my age as well. I wasn’t the future at Stoke, with Asimir Begovic, and Jack Butland — they are top class keepers, and it wasn’t a knock on my abilities. I just had to recapture my playing form.

Hill: I understand you played for part of this season with a broken hand — you kept that quiet!

Sorensen: I broke it against Western Sydney at home — a fractured bone in my hand — it was painful, but manageable. I couldn’t punch the ball for a few months, but luckily it didn’t really affect my game. I had good treatment here — and its fine now. Sometimes you just have to work through it, if it’s at all possible, and it was.

Hill: Let’s talk about the controversial challenge on Stefan Mauk last week that ended up in a penalty for Adelaide — harsh?

Sorensen: I thought it was harsh. I’ve been in those situations plenty of times — he went full pelt for it, so I had to do the same. I had to protect myself and the ball, and I thought I got there. It was shoulder to shoulder, and I am bigger than he is. Did I have to go in? I felt I had to — if I had let up, he might have been able to hook the ball back in. The ball was out, I didn’t lead with my elbow, or clothes line him, or deliberately take him out ... but we can’t change it now. I would do the same thing again.

Hill: You will be missing Harry Novillo on Sunday — how much of a loss is he?

Sorensen: He’s been an important player for sure — he’s a goal threat, so he’ll be a loss. But these things happen — it’s why we have a good squad, so others have to step up. It might change the way we play a bit — but we have to deal with it. We need to give him a chance to have an effect later on in the finals.

Hill: How important is this game for the evolution of Melbourne City?

Sorensen: You want to build on last season — there’s a lot of things we’ve improved. We’ve played attractive football, scored lots of goals, but that doesn’t count — it’s just a footnote on the piece of paper that shows the Grand Final winner. If you want to be a top club, you have to challenge for honours, and this is a big opportunity. It’s a big game — our biggest of the year, and all the players are excited by it.

Hill: There’s no goalkeeping coach on Sunday — Joey Didulica will be in the stands — does that change your pre-match routine?

Sorensen: It changes a bit — but we’ve cleared that up — so it’s just going to be me and Dean Bouzanis. We’ll do our usual stuff — Dean will take the warm-up duties. He knows the procedures. It shouldn’t change anything.

Hill: Finally, a word on the Premier League — Leicester could be about to win the title with a compatriot of yours between the posts, named Kasper Schmeichel — is the future of Danish goalkeeping in good hands?

Sorensen: He’s a good friend of mine — he has done really well, and he’s earned it. What people don’t recognise is, he’s had that last name attached to him and all the expectation that comes with it. He could have lived off it, and forced himself into opportunities — but instead, he stepped back from (his first club) Man City, and worked his way to where he is today through the lower leagues ... I’ve got great respect for that. I know how hard he works, and how professional he is, so he deserves success. Its great for him, and for Danish football too — they have a great keeper for the next ten years.

 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-city-goalkeeper-thomas-sorensen-tells-simon-hill-how-he-played-through-pain-of-a-broken-hand/news-story/6c839112909115276a64919d67500ca0

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6 minutes ago, GreenSeater said:

This bloke's passion is unreal. The way he got pumped up at the final whistle last night was similar to his reaction after the derby win. Absolute legend

Absolutely love the passion he shows. Constantly revving up the terrace and goes ballistic every time we score/win.

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Melbourne City keeper Thomas Sorensen says lapses proved costly but side can take positives

 

April 25, 2016

David Davutovic

 

MELBOURNE City keeper Thomas Sorensen says the club must strive for consistency and only has itself to blame for the disappointing end to its season.

City was smacked 4-1 by Adelaide in Friday’s semi-final , failing at the same hurdle as last season despite breaking a host of records and sitting top of the ladder with two rounds left.

Sorensen, who will return to Denmark with his family in the off-season, said City had plenty to improve on.

“We can only look at ourselves. With two games to go we had the chance to secure home ties all the way through and didn’t do it,’’ Sorensen said. “We just need to be a bit more consistent, that’s going to be the key next season. If we do we’ll be a contender again.

“In certain games intensity has lacked and then you can play any system you want, you won’t get anywhere.

“We need to produce at the same level every week, that’s got to be the aim, and then we can go all the way.’’

Midfielder Aaron Mooy is expected to depart for Europe and more player turnover is expected, but Sorensen said the foundations were there.

“There will be a few players leaving, new players coming in and we’ll regroup for pre-season and see where we stand,’’ he said.

“I don’t think we’re far away, we’re a very good team, we’ve got a good setup and got an idea of what we need to do.

“There’s a lot of positives, we’ve got to carry them onto next year then just learn from the things that happened and get better.’’

Sorensen said the second and third goals conceded against United, the 60th-minute Bruce Djite penalty and 88th-minute Dylan McGowan strike, summed up City’s woes.

“The disappointing thing came late in the game, the second and third goals when you’ve got to cling on,’’ Sorensen said.

“With the third goal when we’ve got a bit of momentum, it’s just two lapses of concentration at a crucial time and it made it hard on a night we didn’t have many chances.

“Their third came at a time during our best spell of the game, when we had a bit of momentum.

“We’ve got to look at what we can improve next year and, in games where we’re not at our best, we’ve got to do the simple things right and in those two instances they score two easy goals which could’ve been prevented.’’

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/teams/melbourne-city/melbourne-city-keeper-thomas-sorensen-says-lapses-proved-costly-but-side-can-take-positives/news-story/ac4725192f277ccc2c43e099ffe8fee0

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43 minutes ago, jw1739 said:

So he's staying on. Once again we see the admission of lack of intensity in certain games. It staggers me that we hear this time and time again, and yet the management fails - or seemingly fails - to address it.

How do you know ? 

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