Thomas Røll
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Thomas Christopher Røll Larsen (born 12 March 1977) is a retired 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 ...
. He played 293 games in the
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 ...
with
Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
, F.C. Copenhagen,
FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...
, and
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 ...
, winning the international 1996
Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...
and a
Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...
trophy with Silkeborg IF as well as three Superliga championships with F.C. Copenhagen. He also played eight matches for the Danish national team, scoring once.


Club career


Silkeborg IF

Born in
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
, Røll also lived on
Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...
, before he started playing football in Bylderup Bov near the Danish-
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
border. He was accepted into the youth academy of
Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...
, and went on to play for a local club in
Tønder Tønder (; ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,477 (as of 1 January 2025), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might have been in th ...
, before moving to Silkeborg in autumn 1994.Bjarne Nielsen, "Elkjærs nye fund", ''
Ekstra Bladet is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen.About
(in Danish) . Retrieved 22 Se ...
'', 20 August 1996
At Silkeborg's youth academy, Røll played alongside future Danish international defender
Martin Laursen Martin Laursen (; born 26 July 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer who played in the centre-back position. He played three seasons for Italian club A.C. Milan, with whom he won the 2003 UEFA Champions League and the 2004 Serie A cham ...
. Røll began his senior career as a forward for Silkeborg under manager
Preben Elkjær Preben Elkjær Larsen (; born 11 September 1957) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Amongst others, he played with Hellas Verona in Italy, helping the club to the only major title of its history, the 1985 Serie ...
, who believed Røll lacked only temper to become a star in Danish football. Røll debuted in the top-flight
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 ...
championship in May 1996, and was a part of the Silkeborg team which won the international 1996
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
competition, beating
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
n team
HNK Segesta Hrvatski nogometni klub Segesta Sisak ( English: ''Croatian Football Club Segesta Sisak''), commonly referred to as HNK Segesta Sisak or simply Segesta Sisak is a Croatian professional football club located in the city of Sisak. It is named after ...
in the final games. Røll quickly established himself in the first team, and played 29 of 33 league games during the 1996–97 Superliga season. He played six seasons for Silkeborg IF, and eventually settled as the
playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...
of the team. In his position of deep-lying forward, he especially experienced a successful striking partnership with Henrik Pedersen. He helped Silkeborg win
silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...
s in the 1997–98 Superliga and
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
s in the 2000–01 Superliga season, as well as the 2001
Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...
trophy.


F.C. Copenhagen

In June 2001, the financially struggling Silkeborg IF sold Røll to the defending Danish champions F.C. Copenhagen (FCK) in a
transfer deal In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can only ...
reportedly worth DKK 7 million.Thorsten Dam, "FCK henter Thomas Røll", ''
Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...
'', 1 June 2001
Røll signed a five-year contract, and the move was seen as an opportunity for Røll to attract the attention of clubs abroad, with Silkeborg getting a part of the future transfer earnings. He predominantly played on the flanks for FCK, and only occasionally got the chance to play in his familiar deep-lying forward position, as when he scored two goals against
Aarhus GF Aarhus Gymnastikforening (; commonly known as AGF ) is a professional sports club based in Aarhus, Jutland, Denmark. Founded in 1880, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country where gymnastics and fencing were featured as its main sports. How ...
in October 2001. Røll played five seasons at FCK, and helped the club win three Danish Superliga championships. Initially an important part of the FCK
first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...
, a number of injuries caused him to play fewer and fewer games for the club. Røll suffered an injured Achilles tendon in March 2004, returned to the FCK squad at the start of the 2004–05 Superliga season in July 2004, but suffered another injury in October 2004. He had a hard time re-entering the FCK starting line-up, and was loaned out to his former club Silkeborg IF in February 2005. He played the second half of the 2004–05 Superliga season for Silkeborg, helping the club avoid
relegation 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 ...
. Back in FCK, Røll injured his
ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...
in July 2005, and was soon out of the FCK starting line-up.


Last years

With his FCK contract expiring in the summer 2006, he moved to league rivals
FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...
(FCM) on a free transfer. Røll suffered another injury before playing any games for FCM, and underwent rehabilitation until January 2007. He played 18 Superliga games for FCM, before moving on loan 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 ...
team
Vejle BK 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 ...
. He made his Vejle debut in March 2008, and helped the club win
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
for the Superliga. His loan deal was extended by another six months, and he played 15 of 17 games for Vejle in the first half of the 2008–09 Superliga season. He pleaded for FCM to let him stay in Vejle at the end of his loan. In February 2009, he was bought by 1st Division team
Viborg FF Viborg Fodsports Forening (), also known as Viborg FF or VFF for short, is a Danish professional association football, football club based in the Central Denmark Region, Central Jutland city of Viborg, Denmark, Viborg. They compete in the Danish ...
on 2 February 2009, and signed a contract until the summer 2010. Viborg were forced to make economical cuts in the summer 2009, and Røll chose to end his career after 14 years in professional football.


International career

While at Silkeborg, Røll was called up for the Danish under-21 national team in February 1997, at the age of 19. He scored a goal in his debut against the Israel under-21s; in a game the Denmark under-21s won 2–1. While at FCK, Røll made his Danish national team debut under national manager
Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (; born 14 August 1949) is a Danish former Association football, football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national football team, Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding ...
in October 2002. On November 20, 2002, he became the first non-white player ever to score for
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. In March 2004, Røll played a national team match despite suffering a sore
Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
. The Achilles tendon subsequently needed surgery, which caused Røll three months of rehabilitation, and he was dropped from the national team.


Honours

Silkeborg *
Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...
: 1996 *
Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...
: 2001 Copenhagen *
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 ...
: 2003, 2004, 2006 *
Danish Super Cup The Danish Super Cup was played for by the Football in Denmark, Danish Danish Superliga, League champions and the Danish Cup, Danish Cup Winners. Winners Titles by club References Defunct football cup competitions in Denmark, ...
: 2001, 2004


References


External links

*
Thomas Røll
official
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 ...
statistics at danskfodbold.com *
Vejle Boldklub profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roll, Thomas 1977 births Living people Danish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Silkeborg IF players F.C. Copenhagen players FC Midtjylland players Danish Superliga players Vejle Boldklub players Denmark men's international footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Footballers from Aarhus Danish 1st Division managers