Flying wingers dazzled Gers’ Danish import
It seems likely that Rangers’ manager Steven Gerrard will do a bit more business in the transfer market before the end of the month.
Getting new recruits that complement the existing squad is always important. Players from abroad are commonplace in Scottish football now, but they were a new, exotic breed back in the Sixties. The football authorities in Denmark insisted that players had to remain amateur to represent the national team. Morton supremo Hal Stewart realised he could sign Danish internationals for next to nothing, and sell them on for a profit. Among the first he imported were goalkeeper Erik Sorensen and defender Kai Johansen. Both were later sold to Rangers. The Light Blues bought a third Dane from the Greenock club on August 24, 1965. Rangers’ boss Scot Symon was searching for a player in the mould of scheming midfielder Ian McMillan, who had re-joined Airdrie. He swooped for Jorn Sorensen, with Craig Watson and a fee heading to Morton. Sorensen already had nine months’ experience of Scottish football, and admits he found it a different experience. Playing for Rangers posed its own problems. He said: “I had played for two teams in Denmark, been capped 31 times and won a silver medal at the 1960 Olympic games. “Then I was sold to Metz in France, and spent three years there. “It was very different for me when I came to Morton in 1964. “I found the football was mainly kick and run. It was a lot more technical in France. “There was also a new culture and a new language to get used to. “It had taken me six months to learn French from a book. I could say things in French, but replying to the answer I got was more difficult. “English was easier for me – but the Scottish accent was a bit of a challenge at first!” The life of a foreign import wasn’t as luxurious as it is now. Jorn, now 81, went on: “I wasn’t given a house when I arrived at Morton. Instead I got an apartment within a house. “One of the club directors had a big property in Newark Street, Greenock, and we were given part of it. I stayed there during my two years in Scotland. “I was delighted to sign for Rangers because I saw them as being the best team in Scotland. “They had some great players. Even in the second team, you were playing with high quality team-mates. It was an honour to play there. Those who watched Jorn in action believe the pace of the game sometimes eluded him. His quality was never in doubt, but this was a side with an emphasis on speed going forward. He said: “I was looking to make progress with the ball, make a pass and then get it back. “But when I passed to Willie Henderson, there was little chance of it coming back. “He was off down the wing and away! “Willie was a great player, but I felt there was sometimes a lack of surprise in the attack. “It wasn’t really my style. If I’d gone to Rangers when I was younger, I might have fitted in better, but I was heading for 30 at the time. “If I passed to the other wing, the same thing happened with Davie Wilson.” Ultimately, it was a family decision that led to Jorn leaving Rangers after a single season. He recalled: “My wife didn’t like the weather in Scotland, and I told Scot Symon that she wasn’t very happy. He wanted me to stay but I told him that family had to come first, “Rangers agreed to give me a free transfer as long as I didn’t go to a big club in Europe. “I returned to Copenhagen, thinking I would play in Denmark again, but I was asked to speak to Bellinzona in Switzerland. “Fifty-two years later, I’m still here. I played for the club for seven years, and also had two spells as coach.”