Allan Simonsen

Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a Danish former footballer and manager.

Born in Vejle, Simonsen started playing football with Vejle FC, before he joined the youth team of local top-flight club Vejle BK (VB) in 1963.

The win was notable in that Simonsen's native Denmark was not among the top footballing nations in the 1970s, leaving little room for him to impress at the international tournaments.

In the following two Bundesliga seasons, Simonsen continued his prolific goalscoring, as Mönchengladbach finished 2nd and 8th respectively.

He made his senior debut for VB on 24 March 1971 in a 3–1 home win against Karlskoga FF.

He won the 1971 and 1972 Danish championship with the club, as well as the 1972 Danish Cup to complete The Double.

He represented Denmark at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup tournaments.

Following an impressive three goals in six matches at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Simonsen moved to Germany to play professionally for defending German Bundesliga champions Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In his first two seasons with Borussia Mönchengladbach, Simonsen had a hard time, as he only played a combined 17 games and scored two goals.

However, he was part of the team which won the 1972–73 German Cup trophy.

He broke into the starting line-up for the 1974–75 season.

He played all 34 games of the season, and scored 18 goals as Mönchengladbach won the Bundesliga championship.

Simonsen also scored ten goals in 12 games in the international 1974–75 UEFA Cup competition, including two goals in the 5–1 final victory against FC Twente.

He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona in Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup.

Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals.

In the following season, Simonsen scored 16 goals as Mönchengladbach regained the Bundesliga in the 1975–76 season.

He scored four goals in six games of the international 1975–76 European Cup competition, before Mönchengladbach were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Spanish team Real Madrid on the away goals rule.

In the 1976–77 European Cup, Simonsen helped Mönchengladbach to the 1977 European Cup Final against English team Liverpool.

In the final, Simonsen scored a memorable goal from a powerful shot to level the game at 1–1, but Mönchengladbach eventually lost 3–1.

Simonsen was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.

For the Denmark national team, Simonsen was capped 55 times, scoring 20 goals.

1977 was the greatest year in Simonsen's career.

He was subsequently named the 1977 European Footballer of the Year, becoming the first Danish player to win that award.

The race was tight, Simonsen edged past English forward Kevin Keegan by three points and French midfielder Michel Platini by four points to win the prestigious prize.

Simonsen had been approached by Spanish club FC Barcelona in 1978, but Mönchengladbach refused to let him go.

He won another international trophy with Mönchengladbach in 1979, when he scored eight goals in eight games to guide the club to the final games of the 1978–79 UEFA Cup.

He scored the deciding goal in the 2–1 1979 UEFA Cup Final win against Red Star Belgrade.

Instead, Simonsen waited for his contract to expire and moved to FC Barcelona in 1979, rejecting offers from Hamburger SV, Juventus, and several Arabian clubs.

Simonsen spent three successful seasons with Barcelona.

In his first Barcelona season, Simonsen was the top goal scorer of the team with ten goals in 32 games, as Barcelona finished in fourth place in the 1979–80 La Liga season.

Simonsen's ten goals saw him as third top goalscorer behind new players Quini (20) and Bernd Schuster (11), as Barcelona finished in fifth place in the 1980–81 La Liga.

The following season saw several new players at Barcelona, and the club won the 1981 Copa del Rey.

Simonsen was second goal scorer behind Quini, as the club finished second in the 1981–82 La Liga.

He also helped Barcelona reach the final of the continental 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup competition.

In the 2–1 final victory against Standard Liège, Simonsen scored the deciding goal on a header to help Barcelona lift the trophy.

When Barcelona signed Argentinian forward Diego Maradona in 1982, Spanish league restrictions meant Simonsen was to compete with Maradona and Bernd Schuster for only two places allowed for foreign players in each starting line-up.

Simonsen saw it as a personal insult, and asked Barcelona for his contract to be annulled.

He made a shock move to English Second Division side Charlton Athletic for £300,000 in October 1982.

He rejected offers from Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, in order to play for a club with less stress and attention.

He was voted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame in November 2008.