Søren Larsen

Søren Larsen (; born 6 September 1981) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a strong player with a decent header and good sense of positioning. He played in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, and the Netherlands during a career that spanned between 1997 and 2014. A full international between 2005 and 2010, he won 20 caps and scored 11 goals for the Denmark national team and was a squad member at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club career Larsen started his professional career at Danish club Køge Boldklub in Køge, Denmark.

In 2001, he was sold to multiple Danish championship winners Brøndby IF in the top-flight Danish Superliga. At Brøndby he did not enjoy much success, and only played a single game in the 2001–02 Superliga season, which Brøndby went on to win, although he became well known for his bellyflop goal celebration, a result of which he was injured. He was sent on loan to fellow Danish club BK Frem by then-Brøndby manager Michael Laudrup.

In 2004, he was sold to Swedish club Djurgårdens IF, playing just two matches before being sidelined for the remainder of 2004 with a groin injury. At Schalke 04, he earned the nickname "Der Dänische Joker" (The Danish joker), "The Blonde Bomber" and "Die Waffe" (The weapon), referring to his ability to come on as a substitute and score the game-tying or -winning goal. He was, however, not able to keep up the good performances due to injuries, and he later lost his place in the Schalke team. He became fed up with his role on the bench and decided to look for a new club.

On 18 July 2008, Larsen moved to Toulouse as a replacement for the outgoing Johan Elmander. Larsen scored five goals in ten games and returned to Toulouse. In 2011, he moved to Feyenoord on loan. On 12 July 2011, despite having two years remaining on his contract, he left Toulouse by mutual consent.

On 13 July 2011, he signed a three-year contract with the Danish Superliga side AGF Aarhus, On 30 July 2011, he scored his first goal, an important equalizer in the 2–2 draw home against Odense BK. In the first two games of September 2011, Larsen scored an impressive seven goals: On 1 September 2011 he scored four goals in a 5–2 win in a Cup match against 1. Division side Blokhus FC. On 12 September 2011, he netted a hat-trick in a 4–2 win against FC Midtjylland.

On 18 February 2014, he announced that he would be retiring immediately due to a knee injury.

International career On 2 June 2005, Larsen was handed his international debut by Denmark manager Morten Olsen, when he came on as a substitute in the 1–0 win over Finland. He continued his good form by sensationally scoring six goals in his first five national team matches from June to September 2005. Larsen was named in Olsen's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Svenska Cupen: 2004

Schalke 04 DFB-Ligapokal: 2005