Mads Bech Sørensen

The focus is on me as a whole person

Mads Bech Sørensen is a Danish footballer who made his debut for AC Horsens at the age of 16. Since 2017, Mads Bech has been contracted to English club Brentford F.C., who have been promoted to the Premier League from the 2021-22 season. Mads also plays for the Danish U-21 national team.

Mads Bech Sorensen-People-In-Sport
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"I got in touch with People In Sport already as a 16-17 year old. I didn't have an agent at the time, so I contacted my coach at the time, Bo Henriksen, for advice on who I should talk to. He recommended several different people, and my father and I held meetings with several of them to find the right ones to work with. The meeting with Michael Stensgaard was clearly the one that convinced us that People In Sport was worth investing in, because they had the same values and attitudes as ourselves. They made it very clear from the start what it took to succeed with a professional career", says Mads Bech.

"They made it very clear what I had to do myself and the hard work that would lie ahead of me if the plan to pursue a professional career at a high level was to be realized.

"I felt as a young player that they looked at me as a whole person and were not just focused on prestige and finances. They made it very clear what I had to do myself and the hard work that would lie ahead of me if the plan of a professional career at a high level was to be realized. We had a good dialog about what plan I should aim for and how they would support me in those efforts on and off the court", says Mads Bech.

"We didn't make a meticulous, detailed plan about which clubs I should target, but because I'm a tall, strong defender, they felt that my chances of landing a contract in England were good if I worked towards it. And not long after, Brentford with Danish Thomas Frank as coach came on the field with an offer of a contract for their B team. Here they recommended me to say yes and use the first year to get used to the high level, and then focus on playing in the first team.

Since then, fortunately, I got the opportunity to play matches for the first team. Today I have passed 50 matches in the first team, and I am so happy that we have just been promoted to the Premier League", says Mads Bech.

"Since moving to Brentford, I have been in regular dialog with People In Sport several times a month. Michael keeps track of how things are going both athletically and personally, and of course we also talk about everything from ambitions to studies alongside football. I manage both housing and my distance studies myself. I do this because I am very conscious of not being nursed too much. It's important to me that after football I can take care of myself like everyone else. I don't want to be left without identity and knowledge because I have focused too much on football. For me, it is worth all the money to have a collaboration with Michael Stensgaard from People In Sport.

They see me as a whole person and through our ongoing dialog, they help me to fulfill my ambitions both on and off the field. I especially think they are incredibly good at the conversations about the fact that in a number of years there will come a day when my football career stops at this level. And they prepare me to be able to tackle the challenges it may bring. More and more of my colleagues talk about the fact that this development is fortunately on its way, where you also look seriously at the time after your career, but from day one it has been one of People In Sport's focus areas", says Mads Bech.

Mads - today you play for the U21 national team, you've just been promoted to the Premier League with Brentford F.C., and you're still only 22 years old. What are your sporting ambitions for the coming years?

"We talk about my ambitions, of course, and funnily enough, I said in an interview five years ago when I was at Horsens that my biggest ambition was to play in the Premier League one day. My father read it and said I should probably take that ambition down a notch. Today I can say "I told you so" with a smile, because we have just been promoted to that prestigious company. Now it's all about performing to the maximum for Brentford in the new season and showing myself on the top shelf. What the future may bring, I do not know - but of course I talk to Michael Stensgaard about that on an ongoing basis. I know it is entirely up to myself and my performance if I one day play for another club here in England or in a completely different country", says Mads Bech.

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