Jimmy Nielsen
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 6, 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Aalborg, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sporting Kansas City | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| B52/Aalborg Fodbold Club | |||
| –1994 | AaB U19 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1995 | Millwall | 0 | (0) |
| 1995–2007 | AaB | 342 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Leicester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Vejle | 63 | (0) |
| 2010– | Sporting Kansas City[1] | 60 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1994–1997 | Denmark U-19 | 11 | (0) |
| 1997–1999 | Denmark U-21 | 17 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 26, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jimmy Nielsen (born August 6, 1977 in Aalborg) is a Danish professional footballer currently playing for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer.
Until June 2007, he played 398 games for Danish team AaB Fodbold. Playing every league match for AaB since 1997, Nielsen won the 1999 Danish Superliga championship with AaB. Nielsen has on occasion featured in the Danish national team setup as an unused substitute. He won the 1998 and 2004 Danish Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Contents |
[edit] Football career
Nielsen started his career in local amateur club B 52/Aalborg FC. He played youth football for AaB Fodbold, before signing for English club Millwall F.C. in 1994. He did not play for the club and moved back to Denmark, settling in at AaB in 1995. He made his senior debut in 1996, quickly becoming the starting goalkeeper in AaB. Nielsen was one of the cornerstones of AaB, culminating in the 1998–99 Danish Superliga championship. During a session with the Denmark national under-21 football team in 1999, Nielsen and u-21 teammates Allan Kierstein Jepsen and Peter Degn went to the Munkebjerg casino in Vejle at night to gamble. They were subsequently excluded from all national team practices, a ban that lasted several years. This earned Nielsen the nickname Casino-Jimmy.
Nielsen signed a contract with Leicester City on June 4, 2007. He joined via Martin Allen's agent, who claimed he was "another Peter Schmeichel".[2] However, he was left in the reserve squad following the arrival of Hungarian goalkeeper Márton Fülöp. As a result, Nielsen revealed he planned to leave the club during the January transfer window,[3] and was given the green light to do so on November 14.[4] He left the club on January 22, 2008 having his contract terminated by mutual consent without ever having played for the club.[5] The next day he signed a 2½-year contract with Danish team Vejle Boldklub.[6]
In February 2010, Nielsen moved to Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. After the 2009 season, Nielsen was admittedly "very close" to retiring after his former club, Vejle Boldklub, was relegated from the Danish Superliga. However, after having a conversation with and receiving a contract offer from Peter Vermes, Nielsen decided to join the Wizards. Since then, Nielsen has stated that he would love to stay with the club another two or three years before considering retirement again.[7]
As reported on December 15, 2010, Nielsen signed a 1-year contract extension to stay with the club through, at least, the 2011 MLS season.[8] He was sent off for a handball outside the box on June 9, 2011, in Sporting Kansas City's inaugural game at their new stadium, Livestrong Sporting Park.[9]
Nielsen signed a contract extension with Kansas City through the 2013 season on November 28, 2011. The contract also includes an option for the 2014 season.[10]
[edit] Honours
- Danish Goalkeeper of the Year: 1998 and 2004
- Danish Superliga: 1998–99
[edit] Major League Soccer
- Save of the Week: 2010 Six times[11]
•Week 9 •Week 13 •Week 14 •Week 16 •Week 21 •Week 22
- Save of the Week: 2011 Four times[12]
•Week 19 •Week 21 •Week 25 •Week 32
- All Star: 2010[13]
- Sporting Kansas City 2011 Most Valuable Player
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Team was known as Kansas City Wizards in 2010
- ^ Mandaric works his magic, Leicester Mercury 2007-09-27. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Nielsen set for Foxes exit, Sky Sports 2007-09-28. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Nielsen set to quit Foxes, Sky Sports 2007-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
- ^ "Nielsen Moves On". Leicester City F.C.. 2008-01-22. http://www.lcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10274~1222101,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ (Danish) "Jimmy Nielsen til Vejle Boldklub". Vejle Boldklub. 2008-01-23. http://www.vejle-boldklub.dk/news3.aspx?NewsID=36bc4732-c9a0-11dc-ab6f-005056843820&Type=News.
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/nielsen-surprising-even-himself-kc-renaissance
- ^ http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2010/12/sporting-notebook-kcs-busiest-offseason
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.sportingkc.com/news/2011/11/nielsen-signs-extension
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/nielsen-adds-sixth-sotw-honor
- ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/sotw
- ^ http://www.kcwizards.com/news/2010/07/jimmy-nielsen-named-2010-all-star
[edit] External links
- MLS player profile
- (Danish) Danish national team profile
- (Danish) Vejle Boldklub profile
- (Danish) AaB profile
- Ex-Canaries profile
- Jimmy Nielsen career stats at Soccerbase
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Bora Zivkovic |
Vejle Boldklub captain 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Steffen Kielstrup |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Erik Boye |
Det Gyldne Bur 1998 |
Succeeded by Peter Kjær |
Preceded by Karim Zaza |
Det Gyldne Bur 2004 |
Succeeded by Jesper Christiansen |
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- 1977 births
- Living people
- Danish footballers
- Denmark under-21 international footballers
- Millwall F.C. players
- AaB Fodbold players
- Danish Superliga players
- Leicester City F.C. players
- Vejle Boldklub players
- Kansas City Wizards players
- Sporting Kansas City players
- Danish expatriate footballers
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
