• Name: Marc Rochester Sørensen
  • Age: 21 (13.12.1992)
  • Position: Striker
  • Club: FC Vestsjælland
  • International caps:
    • Denmark U20
      • 3 matches / 0 goals
  • Value: £225.000

After three years playing with his brother Lee, Marc Rochester Sørensen took the next step with a transfer to the Danish Superliga club FC Vestsjælland. This week we keep an eye on the talented attacking player.

Getting his football education in the small club Velo, before playing in the Danish 2. Division for BK Frem Marc Rochester ended up in HB Køge and their U19 squad. However, it didn't take long before the talent was given two friendlies and was promoted to the 1. Division squad. Soon after, his younger brother Lee was also promoted to the senior squad, and together they became a vital part of the squad. Rochester have enjoyed the special bond between his brother and himself, and says it have had an impact on their time in Køge:

"We complement each other; for example we talk a lot about how we can improve and do better for the team. On the pitch,  we find eachother easier and know what each of us are going to do next because we are brothers. It was a great advantage when we played together," Rochester Sørensen says.

During his time in Køge Marc Rochester tried both being promoted for the Danish Superliga as well as relegated to the 1. Division. Furthermore, in the week of his Superliga debut against AC Horsens, in 2011, he was also selected for the Danish U20 national team winning the NI Milk Cup. Here, Rochester Sørensen was nominated as the final and the tournaments best player. Despite the success, last summer the talent decided not to extend his stay in the club which he looks back on with joy:

“It was a great experience. When I came to HB Køge, I would never have thought I would play Superliga and 1. Division so soon, but when it happened it was very teaching and developing for me both mentally and as a footballer.

“I needed some new challenges, and I thought FC Vestsjælland sounded interesting. When I talked with the director, Gert [Hansen], he told me about the visions and ambitions. Furthermore, it was a great possibility for a young player as me to play in the Superliga," the striker says.

The break with HB Køge also meant a break with his brother - at least on the pitch. However, the two players still uses each other and exchange experiences and ideas, and hopes to one day play on the same side once again:

“It would be so cool to play with Lee again and have him close to me, so it would be great if he could find his way to me again.”

The two brothers were often compared to each other, but Rochester Sørensen sees some great differences between him and his brother:

In many aspects,  we are much alike, but we are also very different. Lee is the more aggressive player and is a bit more verbal where as I am more the silent type that let’s my feet do the talking.”

The talents new club, FC Vestsjælland, was promoted to the Superliga last summer and spend a great amount of money on new players. Some of them in the high end of the pay scale. Some Danish media was speculating in whether Rochester Sørensen joined Vestsjælland because of the better pay, but the striker denies any talks of money as a motivation. Instead, he joined the club to play on a higher level with some more experienced players as Dennis Sørensen with a past in the German 1. Bundesliga:

“It’s a challenge to compete with players who have played on a higher level, but also great to play with players who knows the game and have been a part of it for many years. It is a positive challenge, but I can also use them off the pitch and use their advices," the talent says.

Vestsjælland are fighting in the lower end of the table, but Rochester Sørensen is sure that his side will stay in the best Danish league when we reach the end of May. Despite being in a rather unknown club, Rochester Sørensen dreams of one day to take the next step and go abroad. A dream will be to put on the red Manchester United shirt; a team he has supported for many years. However, at the moment he is fully focused on helping Vestsjælland for at least the next three years of his contract.

Until further, the talent is satisfied just to watch his dream team on the tele back home. However, having an Arsenal fan as a brother have led to some discussions around the coffee table:

“There have been some fight in the living room, and it have not always been pretty to watch.

“But, I can’t say much when we are at the position as we are now, but I look back on the years when we always won," the Rochester ends.