Kim Christofte

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Kim Piitala Christofte (born August 24, 1960) is a Danish former professional football (soccer) player, who played a prominent role in the Denmark national football team that won the 1992 European Championship (Euro 92) tournament, as he scored the deciding penalty kick in the semi-final win against the Netherlands. In all, he played 19 matches for the national team, and scored one official goal, apart from his penalty goal against the Netherlands. Considered an elegant sweeper, left-sided defender or midfielder, his technique allowed him a nonchalant playing style.^[1]

[edit] Biography

Born in Copenhagen, he started playing football for the youth teams of Ølstykke FC and Brøndby IF, and he was included in the Brøndby senior team in 1979. In 1981, he became the first Brøndby player to be sold for a transfer fee, when he moved to Belgian club KSC Lokeren for £16.000.^[2] Here he played alongside fellow Dane Preben Elkjær, but as Christofte's contract ran out in 1984, he returned to Brøndby.

Christofte was a part of the Brøndby team that won the first Danish football championship in club history, and he made his Danish national team debut in September 1984. Having played four national team games, an injury stopped him from competing with the national team at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He once again moved abroad to play for Spanish club CD Málaga and Swiss team FC Wettingen 93, but his stays at the clubs were unsuccessful, and for the next seven years he was absent from the Danish national team of coach Sepp Piontek. He moved back to Denmark to play for Odense BK i 1987, and in 1988 he returned to Brøndby once more.

Under Brøndby coach Morten Olsen, the team reached the semi-final of the 1991 UEFA Cup, and Christofte was once again called up for the Danish national team under national coach Richard Møller Nielsen. Following seven additional national team matches, Christofte was called up for the Danish team to compete at the Euro 92. Despite his relative inexperience for the national team, he was one of the chief players in the Euro 92, as he played full time in all five Danish matches in the tournament as Denmark won the trophy. His most memorable moment in the Euro 92 tournament, came when Christofte converted the final shot in the semi-final penalty shootout against the Netherlands, to secure Denmark a place in the final.

Following the tournament, he moved abroad again to play for 1. FC Köln in Germany. He suffered from injuries in his first season, and when he was dropped from the team by new Köln manager Morten Olsen in the spring 1994, Christofte used a release clause in his contract to leave the club a year early in June 1994.^[3] He moved on to Belgian club SK Lierse, but only played a single friendly match before family reasons prompted him to return to Denmark. His contract with Lierse was mutually terminated, which spelled the end of Christofte's professional career. He went back to play with his childhood amateur club Ølstykke FC in the Danish 1st Division.

In 2006, Christofte was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup, alongside Gus Hansen and Theo Jørgensen. The side defeated France, Republic of Ireland and the United States on the way to defeating Germany in the final.

[edit] Honours

• Danish championships (3 titles)
  • 1985, 1990, 1991
• 1992 European Championship

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Palle "Banks" Jørgensen, "Landsholdenes 2198 spillerprofiler", Nørhaven Book, 2004, ISBN 87-89564-04-9, p.76
2. ^ Mads Wehlast, "26 Brøndby-spillere solgt", Berlingske Tidende, February 14, 1997
3. ^ Torben Larsen, "Kim Christofte stopper i Köln", B.T., March 26, 1994

[edit] External links

• Danish national team profile
• National Football Teams statistics

	Denmark squad - 1992 UEFA European Football Champions
1 Schmeichel | 2 Sivebæk | 3 K. Nielsen | 4 Olsen | 5 Andersen | 6 Christofte | 7 Jensen | 8 Mølby | 9 Povlsen | 10 Elstrup | 11 Laudrup | 12 Piechnik | 13 Larsen | 14 Frank | 15 Christensen | 16 Krogh | 17 Christiansen | 18 Vilfort | 19 P. Nielsen | 20 Bruun | Coach: Møller Nielsen