Simonsen, Allan

The early years

Simonsen began playing football at the Vejle club, making his debut on March 24, 1971 in a home game, winning 3-1 against Karlskug. ^[5] He won the Danish Championship in 1971 and 1972, as well as the 1972 Danish Cup. After an impressive three goals in six games at the 1972 Summer Olympics , Simonsen moved to Germany to play for Borussia (Mönchengladbach).

Borussia (Monchengladbach)

In his first two seasons at Borussia, Simonsen played only 17 games and scored two goals. ^[6] However, he was part of the team that won the German Cup in the 1972/73 season. He broke into the starting lineup in the 1974/75 season, played all 34 games and scored 18 goals, in that season Mönchengladbach won the German championship. Simonsen also scored 10 goals in 12 games in the 1974/75 UEFA Cup, including two goals in the final match against Twente . The following season, Simonsen scored 16 goals and helped Mönchengladbach win the Bundesliga in the second season in a row, he also scored four goals in six matches of the 1975/76 European Cup before Mönchengladbach lost in the quarterfinal to Real Madrid in accordance with the rules of the away goal ^[7] .

1977 was the most successful year in Simonsen’s career. In the final of the European Cup 1976/77 against the English Liverpool , Simonsen scored a fantastically powerful long-range strike, thereby leveling the score of the match, but this was not enough and the team lost 3: 1 ^[6] . Subsequently, France Football named him the best European footballer and presented him with the Golden Ball , the first in the history of Danish football. The race for the award was fierce, in the vote Simonsen was ahead of Kevin Keegan by only three points, and Michel Platini by four. The victory was noteworthy because Denmark was not among the best football countries in the 1970s.

In the next two seasons in the Bundesliga, Simonsen continued to play at a high level. He won another international trophy in 1979 when he scored eight goals in eight games of the UEFA Cup. It was his goal, scored from the penalty spot, that decided the outcome of the two-match final against “ Red Star ” ^[7] . After that, the Spanish “ Barcelona ” began to show interest in Simonsen, but Monchengladbach refused to let him go. Instead, Simonsen waited for his contract to expire and in 1979 he moved to Barcelona as free agents, rejecting offers from Hamburg , Juventus and several Arab clubs.

Barcelona

Simonsen spent three successful seasons with Barcelona. ^[6] In his first season for the new club, he became the team's top scorer with 10 goals in 32 games ^[8] . The next season, 1980/81, Barcelona managed to win the Spanish Cup , but in the championship the team took only fifth place. In the 1981/82 season, Simonsen became the second scorer in the team, which became the La League silver medalist ^[8] . He also helped Barcelona reach the 1981/82 Cup Cup finals, where in a standoff with the Belgian Standard , they won a 2–1 victory, in which Simonsen scored a decisive goal ^[6] . The teammates spoke very flattering about him, Kini once said:

Charlton Athletic

When Barcelona signed Diego Maradona in 1982, restrictions on legionnaires in the Spanish league meant that Simonsen had to compete with Maradona and Bernd Schuster for a place in the starting lineup where only 2 foreign players could play at a time. Simonsen took this as a personal insult and asked the leadership of Barcelona, ​​so that his contract was canceled. ^[9] In October 1982, he moved to Charlton Athletic , who, by then, had been in the Second Division of the Football League of England for £ 300,000. At the same time, Simonsen rejected offers from Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur to play for a club where players are less pressured and less attentive. ^[9] Although he scored 9 goals in nine games, three months later the club had problems with financing and salaries, and Simonsen was put up for sale. In 1983, he decided to return to his native club Vejle.

Vejle

I missed the second half of the 1984 season due to an injury that I received at the 1984 European Championship , but the club managed to win the championship without it. He returned to the top scorers in the championship of Denmark, but could not reach his previous form. ^[6] Simonsen retired from football in 1989 at the age of 37. He played a total of 282 matches and scored 104 goals, including 208 games and 89 goals in the league, as part of Vejle.

Team

Vejle

• Champion of Denmark ( 3 ): 1971 , 1972 , 1984
• Danish Cup Winner: 1972

Borussia (Monchengladbach)

• Champion of Germany ( 3 ): 1975 , 1976 , 1977
• German Super Cup Winner: 1977
• UEFA Cup Winner ( 2 ): 1975 , 1979
• European Champion Cup Finalist: 1977

Barcelona

• Spanish Cup Winner: 1981
• Cup Winner : 1982

Denmark national team

• European Championship Bronze Medalist: 1984

Personal

• Golden Ball Winner (France Football) : 1977
• France Bronze Ball Holder 1983
• Third player in Europe according to the French magazine Onze Mondial ( 2 ): 1977, 1979
• European Cup top scorer: 1977/78
• UEFA Cup Top Scorer: 1978/79
• Entered into Danish Football Hall of Fame
• The only footballer to score in the finals of the three largest club tournaments in Europe: Champions Cup, UEFA Cup and Cup

• Allan Simonsen. Special Purpose Tank
• Profile at footballplayers.ru