Kim Christofte

Last updated

Kim Christofte
Personal information
Full name Kim Piitala Christofte
Date of birth (1960-08-24) 24 August 1960 (age 64)
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Brønshøj
1978 Ølstykke
1978–1979 Brøndby
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1979–1981 Brøndby 59 (8)
1981–1984 Lokeren 27 (0)
1984–1985 Brøndby 31 (4)
1985 Málaga ? (?)
1985–1987 FC Wettingen 18 (2)
1987–1988 OB 34 (2)
1988–1992 Brøndby 80 (4)
1992–1994 1. FC Köln 43 (0)
1994 Lierse 0 (0)
1994–1995 Ølstykke ? (?)
International career
1981 Denmark U21 1 (0)
1984–1992 Denmark 19 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1992 Sweden
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kim Piitala Christofte (born 24 August 1960) is a Danish former professional footballer, who was part of the Denmark national football team that won the 1992 European Championship. [1] Considered an elegant sweeper, left back or midfielder, his technique allowed him a nonchalant playing style. [2]

Contents

Football career

Christofte started playing football for the youth teams of Ølstykke FC and Brøndby IF, and was included in the Brøndby senior team in 1979. In 1981, he became the first Brøndby player to be sold for a transfer fee, when he moved to Belgian club KSC Lokeren for £16.000. [3] There, he played alongside fellow Dane Preben Elkjær, but as Christofte's contract ran out in 1984, he returned to Brøndby.

Christofte was a part of the Brøndby team that won the first Danish League in club history, and made his national team debut in September 1984. Having played four national team games, an injury stopped him from competing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He once again moved abroad to play for Spanish club CD Málaga and Switzerland's FC Wettingen, but his stays at the clubs were unsuccessful, and for the next seven years he was absent from the national side, under legendary coach Sepp Piontek. He moved back to Denmark to play for Odense Boldklub in 1987, returning to Brøndby the following year.

Under Brøndby coach Morten Olsen, the team reached the semi-finals in the 1990–91 UEFA Cup, and Christofte was once again called up for the national team, now coached by Richard Møller Nielsen. He was selected to compete at UEFA Euro 1992. Despite his relative international inexperience (although 31), he would appear full-time in all five Danish matches in the tournament, as Denmark won the trophy. In his most memorable international moment, Christofte converted the final shot in the semi-final penalty shootout against the Netherlands, with a very short run-up, to secure Denmark a place in the final.

Following the tournament, Christofte moved abroad again, playing for 1. FC Köln in the German League. He suffered from injuries in his first season, and when he was dropped from the team by new team manager Morten Olsen, in the 1994 spring, Christofte used a release clause in his contract to leave the club a year earlier, in June. [4] He moved on to Belgian club SK Lierse, but only played a single friendly match before family reasons prompted him to return to Denmark. His contract with Lierse was mutually terminated, which spelled the end of Christofte's professional career. He went back to play with his childhood amateur club Ølstykke FC, in the Danish second level.

Other ventures

In 2006, Christofte was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup, alongside poker professionals Gus Hansen and Theo Jørgensen. The side defeated France, Ireland and the United States, on the way to a final success over Germany.

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brøndby IF</span> Danish association football club

Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (Danish pronunciation:[ˈpʁɶnˌpyˀɐnəsˈitʁætsfɒˌe̝ˀne̝ŋ], usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF, is a Danish football club based in the Copenhagen suburb of Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, which was founded on 3 December 1964 by a merger of the football clubs Brøndbyøster Idrætsforening and Brøndbyvester Idrætsforening. The club's first team, which plays in the Danish Superliga, plays its home games at Brøndby Stadium, where its team plays in blue shorts and socks and yellow shirts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morten Olsen</span> Danish footballer (born 1949)

Morten Per Olsen is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championship, 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2012 European Championship. He has also managed Brøndby to two Danish Superliga championships and Ajax to the Double of the 1998 Eredivisie championship and Dutch Cup trophy. He is one of only two persons ever in football, alongside Didier Deschamps, to achieve 100 national matches for his country both as player as well as coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Madsen (footballer)</span> Danish footballer

Peter Planch Madsen is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a striker.

Jesper Ringsborg Christiansen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Morten Wieghorst is a Danish association football manager and former player. He is currently the assistant manager of the Denmark national football team. He is the former head coach of the Denmark national under-21 football team and FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga whom he guided to the 2010 and 2011 Danish Cup trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lars Olsen</span> Danish footballer (born 1961)

Lars Christian Olsen is a Danish former footballer and current manager, who was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga. He started his coaching career with Randers in 2003, guiding them to promotion for the Danish Superliga. He led the team to the 2006 Danish Cup trophy, and Olsen was named 2006 Danish Manager of the Year. He then coached Odense BK from 2007 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemming Povlsen</span> Danish footballer (born 1966)

Flemming Søgaard Povlsen is a Danish football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Aarhus and a youth product of Viby IF, Povlsen also played in The Netherlands, Spain and Germany, until a knee injury forced him to retire, at only 28 years of age. Before the injury, Povlsen rose to prominence at FC Cologne, before settling at Borussia Dortmund, with whom he won the 1995 Bundesliga and played the final half of his career. At an international level, he was among the profiles on the Denmark squad that won the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship.

Morten Cramer, is a Danish educated police officer, who formerly played professional football (soccer) as a goalkeeper at BK Frem in the Danish Second Division. He has played one national youth team match for the Denmark national under-21 football team. Currently works as goalkeeper coach by Brøndby IF

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hjalte Nørregaard</span> Danish footballer (born 1981)

Hjalte Bo Nørregaard is a Danish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the caretaker manager of Danish Superliga club FC Copenhagen. As a player, he played as a midfielder and spent most of his career with FC Copenhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Møller</span> Danish footballer and sports journalist

Peter Møller Nielsen is a Danish former professional football player who became a sports journalist after ending his football career in December 2005. In 2018 he became sporting director of Dansk Boldspil Union. He won four Danish Superliga championships for the rival clubs Brøndby IF and F.C. Copenhagen, and became the most scoring Superliga player ever in 2005. He scored five goals in 20 matches for the Denmark national football team, and took part in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Currently he works as a host on DR1 which is the Danish national channel. Møller is mainly used at the sports news.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bent Christensen Arensøe</span> Danish footballer (born 1967)

Bent Christensen Arensøe, formerly known as Bent René Christensen, is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Morten Nicolas Rasmussen is a Danish former professional footballer, better known as Morten Duncan Rasmussen, who played as a forward. He works as a forward coach at FC Midtjylland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Bernburg</span> Danish footballer (born 1985)

Martin Løfqvist Bernburg is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He previously notably played for FC Nordsjælland and Brøndby IF and also gained caps for the Danish national team.

Jesper Hansen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for AGF. He accumulated 18 youth caps for Denmark at six different age groups.

Søren Colding is a Danish former professional football player, who most prominently captained Danish club Brøndby IF and VfL Bochum in Germany from his position of right-back. He represented the Denmark national football team in 27 matches, and he was a participant at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship tournaments.

Jens Risager, also known as Ayatollah Risager, is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He most prominently won five Danish football championships with Brøndby IF. He played 13 matches for the Denmark national football team, with whom he won the 1995 King Fahd Cup and participated in the Euro 1996 tournament. He was selected for the Danish squad at the 1992 Summer Olympics, though he did not play any games at the tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carsten V. Jensen</span> Danish footballer (born 1963)

Carsten Vagn Jensen, colloquially known as Carsten V. Jensen or simply CV, is a Danish former footballer and coach, who was most recently the director of football of Brøndby IF.

Per Frimann Hansen is a Danish former football player. He played 158 matches as a midfielder for Belgian club RSC Anderlecht, with whom he won three Belgian championships, as well as the 1983 UEFA Cup. He played 17 matches and scored one goal for the Danish national team, and represented his country at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and 1988 European Championship.

Benny Johansen is a Danish former football player and manager. He won the Danish championship twice as a player for B 1903 and once as a manager of FC Copenhagen. He played one game for the Denmark national under-21 football team in 1972.

Patrick Haakon Olsen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club Dinamo București.

References

  1. ↑ "Fodbold ved et tilfælde". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). 25 September 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  2. ↑ Jørgensen, Palle "Banks" (2004). Landsholdenes 2198 spillerprofiler (in Danish). Nørhaven Book. p. 76. ISBN   87-89564-04-9.
  3. ↑ Wehlast, Mads (14 February 1997). "26 Brøndby-spillere solgt". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish).
  4. ↑ Larsen, Torben (26 March 1994). "Kim Christofte stopper i Köln". B.T. (in Danish).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.