Jimmy Nielsen (born 6 August 1977) is a Danish retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Until June 2007, he played 398 games for Danish team

AaB Fodbold AaB, (full name: ''Aalborg Boldspilklub'', ) internationally referred to as Aalborg BK, commonly known internationally as Aalborg BK and occasionally referred to as AaB Aalborg, is a professional football club based in Aalborg, Denmark. The club ...

. Playing every league match for AaB since 1997, Nielsen won the 1999

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

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.

Club career

Europe

Nielsen began his career with Norwich City at the age of 12. He was discovered after Norwich City's youth team traveled to Aalborg to take part in a local youth tournament but their only goalkeeper, Ash Harrison, fell ill and Nielsen was recruited as a replacement. He played for Norwich City until the age of 15 when he was offered professional terms but his mother refused permission for him to move permanently to England. Following this he was signed by local amateur club B 52/Aalborg FC. He played youth football for

, before signing for English club

Millwall F.C. Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its nam ...

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 The 1998–99 Danish Superliga season was the 9th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 26, 1998, to final match on June 16, 1999. The Danish c ...

championship. Nielsen signed a contract with Leicester City on 4 June 2007. He joined via

Martin Allen Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and ...

's agent, who claimed he was "another

Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel (born 18 November 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During eight seasons at English club Manchester United, he won 15 trophies including five Premier League titles, three FA C ...

". 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, and was given the green light to do so on 14 November. He left the club on 22 January 2008 having his contract terminated by mutual consent without ever having played for the club. The next day he signed a -year contract with Danish team

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

. After the 2009 season, Nielsen was "very close" to retiring Vejle Boldklub, was relegated from the

Major League Soccer

In February 2010, after having a conversation with and receiving a contract offer from Peter Vermes, Nielsen moved to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

team

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. After his first season, Nielsen stated that he would love to stay with the club another two or three years before considering retirement again. As reported on 15 December 2010, Nielsen signed a one-year contract extension to stay with the club through at least the 2011 MLS season. He was sent off for a handball outside the box on 9 June 2011, in Sporting Kansas City's inaugural game at their new stadium,

Livestrong Sporting Park Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the team home for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte ...

. On 28 November 2011, Nielsen signed a contract extension with Kansas City through the 2013 season. The contract also included an option for the 2014 season. Nielsen received the 2012

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North Am ...

award. He broke the club record with 0.79 goals against average and helped the team finish first in their division. Nielsen retired following the 2013 season, which saw him win the MLS Cup. He played the MLS Cup with broken ribs.

International career

During a session with the

Denmark national under-21 football team The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years. Tournament record UEFA European U-21 Championship *''*Draws include knockout matche ...

in 1999, Nielsen and U-21 teammates

Allan Kierstein Jepsen Allan Kierstein Jepsen (born 4 July 1977 in Kolding) is a Danish former professional football player and current U17 manager at FC Midtjylland. He played as a left back for a number of clubs, spending most of his career with Aalborg Boldspilkl ...

and Peter Degn went to the Munkebjerg casino in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

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''.

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Nielsen was named head coach of

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer lea ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. Nielson joined

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

of the

as head coach for its inaugural season in 2019. Nielson and Hartford mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2019 season. Nielsen joined the technical staff of

Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Established on Decembe ...

on 13 January 2022. On 5 September 2022 Nielsen was relieved of his duties at Houston alongside head coach Paulo Nagamura.

Managerial statistics

Honours

AaB *

: 1998–99 Sporting Kansas City *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

MLS Eastern Conference The Eastern Conference () is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with c ...

(playoff):

(regular season): 2010, 2012 Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

: 2010, 2012 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

: 2012 *

: 2012 * Sporting Kansas City Most Valuable Player: 2011, 2012 * Danish Goalkeeper of the Year: 1998, 2004

References

External links

* *
Jimmy Nielsen
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com
Jimmy Nielsen at Vejle Boldklub
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Jimmy Living people 1977 births Danish men's footballers Footballers from Aalborg Men's association football goalkeepers Millwall F.C. players AaB Fodbold players Leicester City F.C. players Vejle Boldklub players Sporting Kansas City players Danish Superliga players Major League Soccer players Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Major League Soccer All-Stars Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Danish expatriate sportspeople in the United States OKC Energy FC coaches Hartford Athletic coaches Danish football managers Sportspeople involved in betting scandals Sporting Kansas City non-playing staff Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff Expatriate men's footballers in England