Born on this day is Thomas Sorensen, the former fans’ favourite shot stopper most remembered for saving Shearer's penalty at St. James’! We look back at his Sunderland career and remember the Danish keeper’s highlights at his time at the club.
Signed by Peter Reid in 1998, Sorensen was not a well-known figure outside of Denmark, despite being recommended by fellow Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. The tall and athletic keeper was brought in to replace Lionel Perez, who left the club unforgivably and rather surprisingly to join the Mags.
Sorensen quickly became a fans favourite on Wearside, winning promotion to the First Division in 1999 whilst breaking the club’s clean sheet record with a massive 29 games without conceding. 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 was his fantastic penalty save in the 82nd minute against Alan Shearer to seal a second derby win in a row against our fierce rivals. The iconic moment put Sorensen into Sunderland folklore and became a hero on Wearside.
When Peter Reid left Sunderland, Sorensen also headed for the exit door to 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.
