John Worbye

John Worbye
Worbye in 1966
Personal information
Full name John Flemming Worbye
Date of birth (1941-01-27)27 January 1941
Place of birth Frederiksberg, Denmark
Date of death 13 September 1996(1996-09-13) (aged 55)
Position Left-back
Youth career
Hvidovre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1963–1967 Hvidovre 105 (0)
1968 Washington Whips 32 (0)
1970–1971 Karlskoga
1972–1973 Hvidovre 16 (0)
Total 153+ (0)
International career
1966–1967 Denmark 12 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Flemming Worbye (27 January 1941 – 13 September 1996) was a Danish footballer who played as a left-back.

Club career

Born in Frederiksberg, Worbye spent most of his career at Hvidovre, having played as a goalkeeper for the youth team.[1] When they brought in fellow goalkeeper Jørgen Henriksen from Dalgas, Worbye switched to left back in order to remain in the team, as transferring between clubs was rare in the amateur era of Danish football.[1][2] Hvidovre had benefitted from the migration of families from central Copenhagen to the western suburbs after World War II, and the club won the league in 1966 with ten players who had been in the youth team.[1] In the 1967–68 European Cup, he was part of the team that eliminated Switzerland's Basel in the first round and held six-time winners Real Madrid 2–2 in the second round before losing 6–3 on aggregate.[3]

In 1968, Worbye played for the Washington Whips of the North American Soccer League. He played all 32 games as the club finished second in the Eastern Conference, and was named in the All-Star Second Team.[4]

International career

Worbye won 12 international caps for Denmark, starting with a 6–0 loss away to Hungary on 21 September 1966 in UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying. He was the captain from his fifth game onwards, including a 14–2 friendly win over Iceland on 23 August 1967 at Københavns Idrætspark.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bruun, Morten (28 May 2023). "Kæmperne er tilbage" [The giants are back] (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  2. ^ Hendel, Robert (20 October 2021). "Den store fortælling om Hvidovre er vidunderlig" [The great story of Hvidovre is wonderful]. Sjællandske Medier (in Danish). Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  3. ^ Bech, Rasmus (23 October 2016). "Da en flok danske forstadsamatører truede Real Madrid" [When a bunch of Danish suburban amateurs threatened Real Madrid]. Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  4. ^ "John Worbye". NASL Jerseys. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  5. ^ "John Worbye". EU-football.info. Retrieved 26 December 2025.