Brian Steen Nielsen

Brian Steen Nielsen

Personal information
Full name	Brian Steen Nielsen
Date of birth	(1968-12-28) 28 December 1968
Place of birth	Vejle, Denmark
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
Youth career
	Vejle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1992	Vejle	105	(2)
1992–1993	Odense	31	(4)
1993–1995	Fenerbahçe	50	(4)
1995–1996	Odense	29	(2)
1996	Urawa Reds	6	(0)
1997–1998	Odense	41	(1)
1998–2001	AB	84	(10)
2001–2002	Malmö FF	29	(0)
2002–2004	AGF Aarhus	65	(5)
International career
1990–2002	Denmark	66	(3)
Managerial career
2005	AGF Aarhus (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Steen Nielsen (born 28 December 1968) is a former Danish professional footballer from Denmark, who most notably played 66 matches as a defensive midfielder for the Denmark national team between 1990 and 2002, scoring three goals. After his retirement from his active career, he worked as the sports director of former club AGF Aarhus until 2014.

Biography

Born in Vejle, Brian Steen started his senior career at Vejle in October 1988. He received the 1989 Danish under-21 Player of the Year award, and on 14 February 1990 he debuted for the Danish national team. He came on as a half-time substitute in a friendly match 0–0 draw with Egypt, but he did not become a constant part of the team, playing three further games until June 1991. He switched from Vejle to rival team Odense (OB) in 1992, where he won the 1993 Danish Cup trophy. After a year at OB, he made the jump abroad to play in Turkey for Fenerbahçe.

The move to Fenerbahçe saw him return to the Danish national team in 1993, and during the last years of coach Richard Møller Nielsen's reign, Brian Steen was a part of the defensive midfield, playing many games alongside John "Faxe" Jensen. He moved back to play for OB in 1995, who he represented when he competed for Denmark in the UEFA Euro 1996. After the championship, he moved to Japan to play for Urawa Red Diamonds, and following Møller Nielsen's retirement as Denmark coach in June 1996, Brian Steen was eventually dropped by new coach Bo Johansson.

He moved back to OB once more in 1997, before playing for Akademisk Boldklub (AB), where his experience made him the natural team captain. His time at AB culminated in the 1999 Danish Cup triumph, at which time he had returned to the national team where he played a number of games in a midfield pairing with hard-hitter Stig Tøfting. Following the emergence of the eight-year younger Thomas Gravesen on the national team, Brian Steen slowly took on the role of substitute following the UEFA Euro 2000. After 11 minutes of play in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, under new coach Morten Olsen, his national team career had come to an end.

He ended his club career in Denmark with AGF Aarhus, playing his last years alongside Stig Tøfting, though his stay at the club would be marked by him head-butting teammate Nikolaj Hust at the club training. He was not sued by Hust, but the press got hold of the news and Brian Steen was charged by the police and was convicted of mild violence, resulting in ten £50 fines. He stopped his career at Aarhus GF in the fall of 2004, but stayed around the club, both as a caretaker manager and he is the current sports director.

In April 2016, it was made public that his name was found amongst those in the Panama Papers. Allegedly, he set up a company in Panama with the intent of evading Danish tax.

Club statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Denmark			League
1988	Vejle	1st Division	7	0
1989			26	0
1990			25	0
1991		Superliga	17	2
1991–92			17	2
1992–93	Odense	Superliga	31	4
1993–94			13	2
Turkey			League
1993–94	Fenerbahçe	First League	20	1
1994–95			30	3
Denmark			League
1995–96	Odense	Superliga	29	2
Japan			League
1996	Urawa Reds	J1 League	6	0
Denmark			League
1996–97	Odense	Superliga	13	0
1997–98			28	1
1998–99	Akademisk	Superliga	28	2
1999–00			27	5
2000–01			29	3
Sweden			League
2001	Malmö	Allsvenskan	15	0
2002			14	0
Denmark			League
2002–03	Aarhus	Superliga	21	2
2003–04			29	2
2004–05			15	1
Country	Denmark		355	26
	Turkey		50	4
	Japan		6	0
	Sweden		29	0
Total			440	30

National team statistics

Denmark national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1990	1	0
1991	3	0
1992	0	0
1993	10	0
1994	7	0
1995	11	0
1996	7	0
1997	0	0
1998	2	0
1999	6	2
2000	10	1
2001	5	0
2002	4	0
Total	66	3

Honours

• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1995
• Danish Cup: 1993, 1999

External links

• National team profile
• Vejle Boldklub profile Template:Da icon
• Aarhus GF profile Template:Da icon
• Brian Steen Nielsen at National-Football-Teams.com