November 13th 1982 was a Saturday. You may not know who Allan Simonsen is? He is a Danish footballer...a very good one. When Allan Simonsen was transferred to his only English club you just had to check to see if it was April 1st because it was unreal. The former European Footballer of the Year was on the move from Barcelona and turned down Real Madrid in preference to joining ... Second Division Charlton Athletic! His debut on this day, in 1982, for Charlton against Middlesbrough, saw their crowd double from their previous League match at the Valley - but that was only from 5,278 to 10,807. Sadly Charlton could only afford his wages for four months before he was on the move again but he had scored 9 goals in 16 League outings and the memories were real! Below:
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Allan Rodenkam Simonsen | ||
| Date of birth | 15 December 1952 | ||
| Place of birth | Vejle, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1971–1972 | Vejle BK (in their kit here) | 42 | (16) |
| 1972–1979 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 178 | (76) |
| 1979–1982 | Barcelona | 98 | (31) |
| 1982–1983 | Charlton Athletic | 16 | (9) |
| 1983–1989 | Vejle BK | 166 | (70) |
| Total | 500 | (202) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971–1972 | Denmark U-21 | 6 | (0) |
| 1972–1986 | Denmark | 55 | (20) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1991–1994 | Vejle BK | ||
| 1994–2001 | Faroe Islands | ||
| 2001–2004 | Luxembourg | ||
| 2011–2013 | Fredericia (General manager) | ||
| 2013 | Frededricia (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Simonsen most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona in Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup. Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the Europoean Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals. Simonsen was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.
For Denmark, Simonsen was capped 55 times, scoring 20 goals. He represented Denmark at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1984 European Championship and 1986 FIFA World Cup tournaments. He was voted into the Danish Footballer Hall of Fame, in November 2008.
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