A handful of players have participated in the Kronborg Cup in their younger days and later went on to become professional soccer players. One of the most prominent is Jacob Bruun Larsen, who plays for the national team and in the Bundesliga.

At just 16 years old, Jacob transferred in January 2015 from Lyngby Boldklub to the major German club Borussia Dortmund, where over the years he has played alongside Marco Reus, Christian Pulisic, Jadon Sancho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembélé, and Mats Hummels, among others.

The 23-year-old national team player can currently list on his resume that he won the 2017 German Cup final and played in seven Champions League matches for Borussia Dortmund. He has played 68 Bundesliga matches for Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, and his current club, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, as well as six matches and one goal for the senior national team and 25 matches and seven goals for the U-21 national team.

Jacob started playing soccer when he was five years old and living in Germany. He first got into soccer at a small club in Bremen, and in the years that followed, Jacob’s family moved to Denmark, where he began playing soccer for Hornbæk IF alongside his childhood friends. Throughout his youth, Jacob played alongside other members of the senior national team. In Hornbæk, he played with Victor Nelsson, who currently plays for the major Turkish club Galatasaray, and later at Lyngby Boldklub with Brentford’s midfield general, Christian Nørgaard. Jacob looks back fondly on his years in North Zealand;

"I've loved soccer ever since then. It really took off when I was 6 years old at Hornbæk Hallen. After that, I moved to FC Nord (a partnership between Frem Hellebæk and Hornbæk IF, ed.) for a single year when I was 10–11 years old, before transferring to Lyngby Boldklub at age 12."

It was no coincidence that his interest happened to be soccer;

"All my friends played soccer. And soccer is huge in Germany, of course. At school during recess, we played a lot of soccer, too. When I came to Denmark, all my friends played soccer as well. We just loved it—it was the only thing we did, and everything was always about soccer. When we weren’t playing soccer, we were talking about soccer and playing FIFA, as far as I can remember. It’s always been soccer.”

When he was younger, Jacob played on a team with players who were a year older than him. Although he was physically smaller, it still became clear to those around him—as soccer started to get a little more serious—that Jacob had a talent for the sport. However, Jacob has always focused on making sure soccer stays fun;

“I’ve always thought soccer was really fun, and I’ve had a lot of friends who were better than me, and I’ve always looked up to them”.

Making his debut on the big stage at a young age
During his teenage years, Jacob played on a team with players who were a year older than him. Despite his young age, Jacob Bruun Larsen has already experienced many big moments in the world of soccer. In October 2016, at just 18 years old, Jacob made his debut for Dortmund’s first team in the German Cup against Union Berlin, and two and a half years later, he made his debut for the Danish national team in a friendly match against Kosovo in March 2019.

A few moments stand out from Jacob's story, although it's hard to single out the most memorable ones;

“It’s hard to say. It’s probably my Champions League debut with Dortmund at home against Monaco, where I scored my first Champions League goal in the 53rd minute. Of course, my debut with the Danish national team and my first goal for the national team are also really big moments for me.”

At the age of 23, Jacob is still at the beginning of his career, and in the future he hopes to play even more games at the highest level;

“Hopefully, I’ll get to play even more games for the Danish national team—that would be fantastic—and I want to continue developing as a player and become even sharper.”

A winner with a penchant for attacking play
Jacob is a natural competitor who is very driven to win, and that really shows on the field;

“I always want to win! I think the people I played with when I was younger—like when I played in the Kronborg Cup—knew that I wanted to win at all costs.”

From an early age, Jacob developed a passion for attacking soccer, and his biggest idols as a child were the attacking players on teams such as F.C. Copenhagen.

“I looked up to a lot of people. When I lived in Germany, I developed a great love for Werder Bremen. They had a French player wearing number 10 named Johan Micoud, and of course they also had Miroslav Klose, who is the all-time leading scorer in the World Cup. When I came home, I quickly became a fan of FC Copenhagen, which had Zuma and Grønkjær. As I got a little older, I really looked up to Grønkjær. Now that I’m a bit older, I see things a little differently. I don’t look up to people in the same way anymore, but I still let myself be inspired by others.”

Today, Jacob bears several similarities to Grønkjær, with a focus on attacking runs and posing a threat in the final third;

“I see myself as a dynamic soccer player. I’m always looking to move up the field and toward the goal. I think I have good technique, and I can play with both feet. I’ve always been fast.”

Stay tuned for Part 2 on Sunday, May 1, when Jacob will share his fond memories of the Kronborg Cup and his time as a youth player, as well as offer a glimpse into his daily life as a professional soccer player in the Bundesliga.

Photo: Fodboldbilleder.dk