Thomas Schultz Rasmussen (born 16 April 1977) is a Danish former 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 played as a left wingback. He played eight games for the Denmark national team, both as wingback and

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Career

Born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

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 ...

, Rasmussen started his career in minor Danish club Glostrup IF 32. He debuted on the Danish under-19 national team in July 1996, and moved abroad to play for

K. Sint-Truidense V.V. Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (), commonly known as Sint-Truiden or STVV () or by their nickname De Kanaries (), is a Belgian professional football club located in the city of Sint-Truiden in Limburg. Sint-Truiden plays in the Bel ...

in Belgium. He returned to Denmark to play for an amateur club in

Birkerød Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Nordbanen, Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban networ ...

. When he got married in 1998, Rasmussen took his wife's last name, naming himself Thomas Schultz. In 2000, Schultz made his debut for Farum B.K. in the

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 ...

. He helped Farum win promotion for the top-flight Danish Superliga in 2002. During the

2002–03 Danish Superliga The 2002–03 Danish Superliga season was the 13th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 27, 2002, to final match on June 22, 2003. The Danish c ...

season, Schultz played 31 of 33 league games, scoring five league goals. He made his debut for the Danish national team in April 2003. In the summer 2003, Schultz moved to Germany, to play for

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...

in the top-flight

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. At Rostock, he joined fellow Dane Kim Madsen. In August 2003, Schultz changed his name back to Rasmussen, at the initiative of Hansa Rostock. He had never legally changed his last name, and Rostock wanted him to use the name on his

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...

; Thomas Rasmussen. In his first season at Rostock, Rasmussen played 28 of 34 league games and scored three goals, helping Rostock finish in ninth place. He was called up for the Danish national team once more, and played his second national team game in April 2004. In the

2004–05 Bundesliga The 2004–05 Bundesliga was the 42nd season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 6 August 2004 and concluded on 21 May 2005. Teams Eighteen teams competed in the league – the top fifteen teams from the previo ...

season, Rasmussen played 31 league games and scored four goals, but Rostock finished in 17th place, and was

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

to the 2. Bundesliga. Having played two 2. Bundesliga games for Rostock, Rasmussen returned to Denmark in August 2005, to play for defending Danish Superliga champions Brøndby IF.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Thomas 1977 births Living people Footballers from Frederiksberg Danish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Denmark men's international footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Danish Superliga players Belgian Pro League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Sint-Truidense V.V. players IF Skjold Birkerød players Boldklubben Skjold players FC Nordsjælland players FC Hansa Rostock players Brøndby IF players Lyngby Boldklub players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany