Jesper Sørensen
Danish football manager (born 1973)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesper Sørensen (born 10 June 1973) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is the manager of Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 June 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Aarhus, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vancouver Whitecaps (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1990 | AGF | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988 | Adelaide City | 10 | (0) |
| 1991–1995 | AGF | 46 | (1) |
| 1995 | → Ikast FS (loan) | ||
| 1995–1997 | FC Copenhagen | 37 | (3) |
| 1997–1999 | AGF | 48 | (2) |
| 1999–2004 | AB | 116 | (3) |
| 2004–2006 | AGF | 63 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1988–1989 | Denmark U17 | 20 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Denmark U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 1992–1995 | Denmark U21 | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Silkeborg | ||
| 2015–2018 | Fredericia | ||
| 2021–2023 | Denmark U21 | ||
| 2023–2024 | Brøndby | ||
| 2025– | Vancouver Whitecaps | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
Sørensen previously played football as a midfielder for Adelaide City[1][2], FC Copenhagen, Ikast FS, AB and AGF.
In the summer of 2009, he became assistant coach at AGF – a position he held until 2013, when he became head coach of Silkeborg IF. However, after registering a record low number of points in the Superliga, Sørensen was sacked on 8 December 2014.[3]
On 18 August 2021, he was announced as the new manager of the Danish under-21 national team,[4] although he kept serving as the assistant coach at Brøndby IF until the end of the same year.[5]
Under Sørensen's tenure, Denmark reached the qualification play-offs for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, even though they eventually lost to Croatia over two legs.[6] Despite that, in December 2022 the coach (as well as his assistant, Steffen Højer), renewed his contract with the Federation until 2024.[7]
Just a month after renewing his contract, Sørensen left the Danish U-21 team to become manager of his former club Brøndby IF in January 2023.[8] In his first half-season, he guided the club to a 5th place in the Danish Superliga.[9] In his first full season, Brøndby was on route to take the Danish championship, but lost in the last round, when the club lost 2-3 to AGF Aarhus.[10] On 11 December 2024, Sørensen was sacked by Brøndby with the club in 5th place in the Danish Superliga.[11]
Sørensen was appointed head coach for Canadian Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC on 14 January 2025.[12]
Managerial statistics
- As of matches played on 7 August 2026
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Silkeborg |  |
1 July 2013 | 8 December 2014 | 55 | 23 | 10 | 22 | 90 | 68 | +22 | 41.82 | [13] |
| Fredericia | |
10 December 2015 | 30 June 2018 | 89 | 35 | 23 | 31 | 128 | 118 | +10 | 39.33 | [14] |
| Denmark U21 | |
1 September 2021 | 2 January 2023 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 53.85 | [15] |
| Brøndby | |
2 January 2023 | 11 December 2024 | 73 | 37 | 17 | 19 | 138 | 91 | +47 | 50.68 | [16] |
| Vancouver Whitecaps |
 |
14 January 2025 | present | 76 | 37 | 21 | 18 | 144 | 95 | +49 | 48.68 | |
| Career total | 306 | 139 | 75 | 92 | 521 | 384 | +137 | 45.42 | — | |||
Honours
Manager
Vancouver Whitecaps
- Canadian Championship: 2025[17]
- Western Conference (playoffs): 2025
