Kim Christofte

Football player infobox
playername = Kim Christofte


fullname = Kim Piitala Christofte
nickname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1960|8|24|mf=y
cityofbirth = Copenhagen
countryofbirth = Denmark
height = 1.83 m
currentclub = Retired
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs = Ølstykke FC
Brøndby IF
years = 1979-1981
1981-1984
1984-1985
1985
1985-1987
1987-1988
1988-1992
1992-1994
1994
clubs = Brøndby IF
KSC Lokeren
Brøndby IF
CD Málaga
FC Wettingen
Odense Boldklub
Brøndby IF
1. FC Köln
SK Lierse
caps(goals) =
27 (0)
25 (2)
18 (2)
34 (2)
80 (4)
43 (0)
0 (0)
nationalyears = 1981
1984-1992
nationalteam = Denmark u-21
Denmark
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
19 (1)

Kim Piitala Christofte (born August 24, 1960 in Copenhagen) is a former Danish professional footballer, who was part of the Denmark national football team that won the 1992 European Championship. Considered an elegant sweeper, left back or midfielder, his technique allowed him a nonchalant playing style. [Palle "Banks" Jørgensen, "Landsholdenes 2198 spillerprofiler", Nørhaven Book, 2004, ISBN 87-89564-04-9, p.76]

Football career

Christofte started playing football for the youth teams of Ølstykke FC and Brøndby IF, and 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. [Mads Wehlast, "26 Brøndby-spillere solgt", "Berlingske Tidende", February 14, 1997] There, 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 League in club history, and made his national team debut in September 1984. Having played four national team games, an injury stopped him from competing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. He once again moved abroad to play for Spanish club CD Málaga and Switzerland's FC Wettingen, but his stays at the clubs were unsuccessful, and for the next seven years he was absent from the national side, under legendary coach Sepp Piontek. He moved back to Denmark to play for Odense Boldklub in 1987, returning to Brøndby the following year.

Under Brøndby coach Morten Olsen, the team reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Cup 1990-91, and Christofte was once again called up for the national team, now coached by Richard Møller Nielsen. He was selected to compete at Euro 92. Despite his relative international inexperience (although 31), he would appear full time in all five Danish matches in the tournament, as Denmark won the trophy. In his most memorable international moment, 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, Christofte moved abroad again, playing for 1. FC Köln in the German League. He suffered from injuries in his first season, and when he was dropped from the team by new team manager Morten Olsen, in the 1994 spring, Christofte used a release clause in his contract to leave the club a year earlier, in June. [Torben Larsen, "Kim Christofte stopper i Köln", "B.T.", March 26, 1994] 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 second level.

Other ventures

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 a final success over Germany.

Honours

*Danish League: 1985, 1990, 1991
*European Championship: 1992

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.dbu.dk/lbase/playerInfo.aspx?playerid=4031 National team profile] dk icon
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=21373 NationalFootballTeams statistics]