Niki Zimling

Niki Zimling

Personal information
Full name	Niki Dige Zimling
Date of birth	April 19, 1985 (1985-04-19)
Place of birth	Tårnby, Denmark
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Club Brugge
Number	6
Youth career
	AB 70
–	Tårnby
–	Fremad Amager
–	Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2005	Brøndby IF	17	(1)
2005–2009	Esbjerg fB	81	(16)
2009–2011	Udinese	5	(0)
2010–2011	→ N.E.C. (loan)	26	(4)
2011–	Club Brugge	16	(0)
National team‡
2000–2001	Denmark U-16	5	(0)
2000–2002	Denmark U-17	23	(4)
2003–2004	Denmark U-19	12	(1)
2004	Denmark U-20	3	(0)
2006	Denmark U-21	5	(0)
2008-	Denmark	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 June 2011

Niki Dige Zimling (born 19 April 1985) is a Danish professional football player, who currently plays as a midfielder for Club Brugge K.V. in the Belgian Pro League. He was named 2006 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year, and has played one game for the Danish national team.

Career

As a youngster he played for AB 70, Tårnby Boldklub, Fremad Amager and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, before he moved to the youth team of Brøndby IF. He was included in Brøndby's senior squad in January 2003, and made his senior debut for Brøndby in April 2003, in a Danish Cup game against Aalborg BK. In the next two years he played a total of 25 matches for the club and scored a single goal. He moved on to Superliga rivals Esbjerg fB in summer 2005, and quickly established himself in Esbjerg's starting line-up.

When his contract expired in December 2008, he moved to Serie A team Udinese Calcio on a free transfer. In July 2009, Zimling went back to Denmark to finalize a possible transfer, but the deal never materialized and he stayed at Udine.

In June 2010, Dutch club NEC announced that they had signed him on loan.

Club Brugge

On May 27, 2011 Zimling signed a 4 year contract with Belgian football club Club Brugge, for a fee estimated to be around €500,000.

International

He has represented Denmark 48 times for various national youth teams. He was selected for the Danish under-21 national team for the UEFA U-21 Championship 2006, and was named 2006 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year.

On November 20, 2006 he was called up for the Denmark League XI national football team, for the trip to the United States, El Salvador and Honduras in January 2007, by national team manager Morten Olsen. He was also a part of the League XI team for their January 2008 tour. In February 2008, he made his senior Danish national team debut in a friendly game against Slovenia. On the 11th November 2010, after 2 and a half years waiting, he returned to the Danish national football team in a friendly against Czech Republic, earning his 2nd match. He was called up again when Denmark had to face Iceland, and played from the beginning because Christian Poulsen was in lack of match fittness. He played rest of the qualification alongside his childhood friend William Kvist, as Denmark qualified for the UEFA Euro 2012.

Honours

• 2006 Danish under-21 Talent of the Year

External links

• (Danish) Esbjerg fB profile
• (Danish) Brøndby IF profile
• Danish Football Association (Dansk Boldspil-Union) player profile
• Official Superliga stats
• Career stats at La Gazzetta dello Sport