Henning Boel (born 15 August 1945) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, who played professionally in the United States and Scotland. He most notably won the 1970

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, and was inducted into the Aberdeen FC "Hall of Fame" as one of the founding members in 2003. Boel also played 15 games for the Danish national team.

Playing career

Boel began his footballing career, playing as a defender, for amateur club

Ikast FS Ikast FC is an association football club based in the town of Ikast, Denmark, that competes in the Series 1, the sixth tier of the Danish football league system and the second tier of the regional DBU Jutland. Founded in 2018 as a superstructur ...

in his childhood town of

Ikast Ikast is a Denmark, Danish town in the Mid Jutland Region (''Midtjylland''). It is the seat of Ikast-Brande Municipality since 2007. It was the seat of the former Ikast Municipality. Geography The town is situated in the middle of Jutland. The ...

. While at Ikast, Boel became a regular in the Danish national team, earning five Under-21 caps and 13 of his 15 full caps from 1965 to 1967. When the professional

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

was founded in 1968, Boel moved to the US, playing three games for

Boston Beacons The Boston Beacons were an American soccer professional team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1968. The team was based in Boston and played their home games at Fenway Park. Originally intended to be a charter member o ...

, then fifteen for the

Washington Whips The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association ( USA). The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington Whips were the Aberdeen F.C. from Scotland. Th ...

. As the

Danish FA The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national ...

had a strict rule of amateurism for the Danish national team, Boel was automatically barred from playing any further national team games. He was recruited by Scottish team

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in early 1969, having been spotted during the club's tour of the US the previous summer. During his time in Aberdeen, Boel became a favourite of the Scottish team's fans, and was a part of the Aberdeen team which won the

1969–70 Scottish Cup The 1969–70 Scottish Cup was in the 85th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Aberdeen who defeated Celtic in the final. First preliminary round Second preliminary round Repla ...

trophy, beating

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3–1 in the final, which he himself feels is his greatest footballing achievement. Boel resumed his international career, albeit briefly, in 1971. When the Danish rule of amateurism was abolished in May 1971, Boel was a part of the first Danish national team composed of professional players. The Danish team lost 0–5 to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and Boel played his 15th and last national team game as Denmark lost 1–2 to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

two weeks later. An injury sustained in a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

tie against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

in 1972 signalled the end of his time in Scotland as he found it difficult to regain his place in the Aberdeen side. Having recovered from his injury, Boel returned to the Boston area after his time at Aberdeen. He went on to play for the

Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were an American professional soccer team based out of Boston that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium ...

from 1974 to 1975. He later served as

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representative and manager for the

New England Tea Men The New England Tea Men were an American professional soccer team based in Greater Boston. They played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Their home venues for outdoor play were Schaefer Stadium (shared with the NFL's ...

. He finished his career where it started, back in Denmark with Ikast. Following his retirement from the game, he worked in the sports equipment and the telecommunications industries.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

International

References

External links

Danish national team profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boel, Henning 1945 births Living people People from Ikast-Brande Municipality Danish men's footballers Danish expatriate men's footballers Ikast FC players Boston Beacons players Aberdeen F.C. players Scottish Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Washington Whips players Boston Minutemen players Denmark international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate soccer players in the United States Danish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Danish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association football defenders Sportspeople from the Central Denmark Region