OTD: SORENSEN SIGNS

On this day in 1998, Peter Reid signed Tommy Sorensen after "The Great Dane" was recommended by his countryman, Peter Schmeichel.

Sorensen was not a well-known figure outside of Denmark but the tall and athletic keeper was brought in to replace Lionel Perez, who left the club unforgivably (and rather surprisingly) to join the Mags. If Perez was flamboyant, somewhat unreliable and unpredictable, Thomas was perhaps the opposite. A commanding and confident figure, he was a fine goalkeeper and remains one of the many goalkeeping greats we've seen at the Stadium of Light.

Schmeichel had actually arranged for Sorensen to spend a week on trial with Manchester United before the Sunderland move came about. That trial reportedly went well and Tommy met with several clubs during that time, but Tony Coton travelled to Denmark and convinced the shot-stopper to meet Peter Reid.

Sorensen said: "I met Peter Reid and after half a day I knew that was where I wanted to be. I loved the passion and they actually played me the semi-final against Sheffield United to show me the atmosphere. That half day sold it to me. Peter Reid was willing to give me a shot and that was all I wanted.”

Tommy quickly became a fans' favourite on Wearside, winning promotion to the Premier League in 1999 whilst breaking the club’s clean sheet record with a massive 29 games without conceding. Of course, that was the year we also broke the Championship record points haul with 105. The lads then went on to finish 7th in the Premiership twice in a row with Sorensen between the sticks.

By far the most memorable moment for the ‘Great Dane’ in a Sunderland shirt came in November 2000. His fantastic penalty save in the 82nd minute against Shearer sealed a second derby win in a row against our fierce rivals. The iconic moment put Sorensen into Sunderland folklore and he became a hero on Wearside.

When Peter Reid left Sunderland in October 2002 during that 02/03 relegation season, Sorensen soon headed for the exit door himself after an injury-plagued campaign. He would join Aston Villa, missing just four games in his first three seasons in claret and blue. In 2003, he had clearly gotten inside of Shearer’s head as he saved yet another penalty from the Geordie striker!

He would go on to enjoy successful spells with Stoke City and then down under with Melbourne City, retiring in 2017. During the course of his career, he also racked up 101 caps for Denmark and was known to captain his nation. At Stoke he thwarted a third Mag penalty, this time denying Loic Remy from the spot.