Theo Nicolini Sander (born 8 January 2005) is a Danish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club OB, on loan from

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Career

AaB

As a youth player, Sander played for a local clubs, before joining

AaB AAB, AaB or Aab may refer to: Aviation * Abelag Aviation in Belgium * Air Assault Badge, a United States Army military badge * Anti-aircraft battery, a weapons system component for anti-aircraft warfare * IATA airport code for Arrabury Airport ...

in 2017 at the age of 12. Possessing a physique suited for the goalkeeping position, Sander impressed in various youth teams and attracted interest from some of Europe's major clubs. In January 2021, AaB confirmed that Sander had been on a trial with Italian giants

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. AaB stated that they were "in dialogue with several clubs about Theo Sander". He would, however, end up staying at AaB. In April 2021, Sander was called up for his first professional game against

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

. However, he remained on the bench. In the 2021–22 season, Sander was on the bench for 14

games. In February 2022 AaB confirmed, that Sander had signed a new deal until June 2025. On 28 August 2022, 17-year old Sander made his official debut for AaB against

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

in the Superliga. AaB lost the match 1–0 after a bad pass from Sander was intercepted by Filip Bundgaard. With his debut, Sander became the youngest goalkeeper in the Danish Superliga history.

Copenhagen

On 20 July 2023, after

suffered relegation to the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, Sander joined

, on a deal until June 2028. He made his competitive debut for the club on 18 August, replacing an injured Kamil Grabara as starter in goal, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory against

Hvidovre Hvidovre is the main town in Hvidovre Municipality, Denmark. The town, a suburb of Copenhagen, is about 10 km southwest of the capital's center. It is the 2nd biggest suburb of Copenhagen, only beaten by Frederiksberg. History Hvidovre has ...

. In December 2023, Sander received surgery after suffering a knee injury, which kept him out for several months. In search of more playing time, on February 3, 2025, on transfer deadline day, it was confirmed that Sander moved to

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

club

Hvidovre IF Hvidovre Idrætsforening, more commonly known as Hvidovre IF () is a Danish association football club from Hvidovre, Capital Region of Denmark. The club competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football, and plays its ...

on a loan deal for the rest of the season. On 17 July 2025, Sander was once again loaned out, this time to

club OB until the end of the season, with a purchase option.Theo Sander er stribet i den kommende sæson
ob.dk, 17 July 2025

Personal life

Born in Denmark, Sander is of French and Danish descent.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sander, Theo 2005 births Living people People from Rebild Municipality Danish people of French descent Danish men's footballers Footballers from the North Jutland Region Denmark men's youth international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Danish Superliga players AaB Fodbold players F.C. Copenhagen players Hvidovre IF players Odense Boldklub players 21st-century Danish sportsmen