‘It’s been great coming here’: Thomas Sorensen talks Abu Dhabi, Denmark’s failures and life at Melbourne City

The former Sunderland, Aston Villa and Denmark goalkeeper was in Abu Dhabi for a special coaching session with children of the City Football Schools. He is currently playing for Melbourne City in Australia's A-League. He spoke to The National about football in Australia, Leicester City's title win and Denmark's national side.

How has the experience been at Melbourne City so far?

I didn't know too much about it. I had the briefing from Manchester City but I thought the project they are trying to establish down there is great for the club and for the city. I thought I could play an important role there with my experience and everything.

It’s been a great first year. I think we’ve come a long way, the way we’ve played, the goals we’ve scored. It’s been very attractive. We just lost out in the semi-finals [4-1 to Adelaide United] which was very disappointing but overall, I think it’s been a huge progression from the years before. Next year the main target is to win the championship.

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What have you made of the level of football in Australia?

It certainly surprised me. There are a lot of good players there. There are obviously limitations there as well with the size of the squads and the salary cap. It makes the squads a bit thin but in general, all the teams put out their full-strength sides. The level is not that of the English Premier League but it’s like the Championship maybe. I think I’ve seen some quality goals, some quality play and some outstanding players this season. I’ve been impressed definitely.

How shocked were you by Leicester’s title win this season?

I think everyone has been shocked. They’ve come from nowhere. Nobody expected them to be anywhere near the top six, so for them to run away with it by 10 points, it’s a massive surprise. But you know it’s a great story as well. It’s a great inspiration to all sportspeople around the world that anything is possible if you put in the right amount of effort and dedication and teamwork. It’s possible. It’s great for football in general.

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Do you think it can be repeated? It seems like such a one-off right now but can it happen again in other leagues too?

I’m sure we will see it again. I don’t think you’ll see it very often. They don’t happen very often and I don’t expect Leicester to repeat it next year for sure because, there will be a different expectation. Plus it’s always great, you see it in all sorts of sports, there are always surprises. Those are the stories that become legend and people will be talking about centuries from now. It’s part of sport.

Denmark didn’t qualify for the Euros this summer. What do you think of the team right now and do you think they can make it to the next World Cup?

I think they’re not far off. They’ve been sadly missing a prolific striker. [Nicklas] Bendtner has been doing the job in previous years. Now with him not playing at club level it’s been catching up with him. There isn’t really anyone to replace him at the moment. They were so close, had it in their hands during the group stages.

The main difference with Sweden in the play-offs was they had [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic. We probably had the best team, probably played the best football but he made the difference. That’s been their downfall. Hopefully someone will pop up or Bendtner will get back to his best. They’ll be OK, I’m sure they’ll have a great chance to qualify for the next World Cup.

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How has your time been in Abu Dhabi over the past couple of days?

It’s been great coming down here. I was down here last year. It’s a great set up for the kids. Great to see the enthusiasm and for me, to come in, and just hopefully give them some inspiration that they can take away in the years to come, that is great. Obviously I worked a bit more with goalkeepers and gave them some pointers, some tips. It’s overall just great to see how enthusiastic they are, how hard they are working towards becoming better players. If I can make a tiny difference that is why I am here.

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FIXTURES

Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)

Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.