Kim Vilfort

Infobox Football biography
playername= Kim Vilfort


fullname = Kim Vilfort
nickname = Mr. Brøndby
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1962|11|15|mf=y
cityofbirth = Valby
countryofbirth = Denmark
height =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = Skovlunde IF
years = 1979-1981
1981-1985
1985-1986
1986-1998
clubs = Skovlunde IF
BK Frem
Lille OSC
Brøndby IF
caps(goals) =
151 (92)
24 (1)
470 (78)
nationalyears = 1983-1996
nationalteam = Denmark
nationalcaps(goals) = 77 (14)

Kim Vilfort (born November 15, 1962) is a former Danish professional football (soccer) player who is now head talent scout at the Danish football club Brøndby IF. In his playing career, Kim Vilfort played as a midfielder and he was a part of the Danish national football team which won the 1992 European Championships (Euro 92) tournament, following Vilfort's goal for the 2-0 result in the final game. In all, he represented the Danish national team in 77 matches and scored 14 goals.

He played most of his active career at Brøndby IF, winning seven Danish championships in his twelve years with the club. He is the combined top scorer of the club with 110 goals in 470 matches, and the Brøndby fans have nicknamed the stadium of the club, Brøndby Stadium, as "Vilfort Park".

Biography

Kim Vilfort started playing football as a boy in Skovlunde IF and in those early years he generally played the position of striker. Vilfort moved to BK Frem in 1981, where he got his national team debut on October 5, 1983 in a 0-1 defeat to Poland in an Olympic Games qualifier. In 1985 he moved to the French club Lille OSC. In 1986 Kim Vilfort returned to Denmark to play as an attacking midfielder for the defending Danish national champions Brøndby IF, and here he would play out the rest of his career.

Kim Vilfort arrived at Brøndby for the first participation in the European competitions for the club, namely the 1986 European Cup. Vilfort scored two goals in four games before Brøndby was eliminated in the 2nd round. The height of his European club career came in the 1991 UEFA Cup, where Brøndby advanced to the semi-final, before being eliminated in an aggregate loss to AS Roma. Vilfort was subsequently awarded as both Brøndby IF's 1991 "Player of the Year" as well as the 1991 Danish "Player of the Year". In all he would play 55 European games and score 9 goals during his time at Brøndby.

For the Danish national team, Kim Vilfort played in the Euro 88 and he was a vital part of the Danish Euro 92 winning side, where he was one of the few offensive players in the defensive strategy of the Denmark team. He played four of Denmark's five matches at the tournament, and with his goal in the final game against Germany, he secured the Danish 2-0 win. After Denmark missed the qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Kim Vilfort once again represented Denmark in the Euro 96. Following Denmark's 0-3 loss to Croatia, on June 16 1996, the team was eliminated from the preliminary group stage of Euro 96. Subsequently, Vilfort ended his career for the national team at age 33 to concentrate on his club career at Brøndby. Kim Vilfort played another two years for Brøndby, winning a further two Danish championships. His contract expired on June 1 1998, after the last game of the 1997-98 season. Vilfort scored the winning goal, a flying header, in a 1-0 victory over Odense BK to end his Brøndby career. With 470 matches, Vilfort ended his career as the player with the second-most games in Brøndby history, following Bjarne Jensen's 556 games. Vilfort has since been overtaken by Per Nielsen. His 78 league goals is second only to Bent "Turbo" Christensen, though Vilfort has a higher combined goalscoring tally with 110 goals in all competitions, both domestic and European.

Following his retirement, Kim Vilfort became the head of the Brøndby IF youth system, where his son Mikkel Vilfort plays.

Honours

* Danish championship titles: 7
**1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98
*Danish Cup titles: 3
**1988-89, 1993-94, 1997-98
*Brøndby IF "Player of the Year" : 1991
*Danish "Player of the Year" : 1991
*1992 European Championships

External links

* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerid=2337 Danish national team profile]
*da icon [http://www.bkfrem.dk/default.asp?id=19&spillerid=313&todo=arkiv Boldklubben Frem profile]
*da icon [http://www.brondby.com/player.asp?sid=60&id=33 Brøndby IF partial statistics]
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=15115 National Football Teams career statistics]