David Nielsen facts for kids
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Nielsen in 2008
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Jean Nielsen | ||
| Date of birth | 1 December 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Skagen, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1992 | Skagen | ||
| 1992–1993 | Frederikshavn | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1996 | OB | 9 | (2) |
| 1996 | → Lyngby (loan) | 13 | (10) |
| 1996–1997 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 13 | (1) |
| 1997–2001 | Copenhagen | 108 | (36) |
| 2000–2001 | → Grimsby Town (loan) | 16 | (5) |
| 2001–2002 | Wimbledon | 23 | (4) |
| 2001–2002 | → Norwich City (loan) | 5 | (5) |
| 2002–2003 | Norwich City | 21 | (3) |
| 2003–2005 | AaB | 40 | (17) |
| 2005–2006 | Midtjylland | 30 | (8) |
| 2006–2007 | Start | 13 | (5) |
| 2007 | OB | 14 | (3) |
| 2008 | → Strømsgodset (loan) | 23 | (9) |
| 2009–2010 | Brann | 33 | (4) |
| 2011 | Fyllingen | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 361 | (112) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992 | Denmark U16 | 3 | (3) |
| 1991–1992 | Denmark U17 | 21 | (14) |
| 1993–1995 | Denmark U19 | 18 | (13) |
| 1996–1997 | Denmark U21 | 8 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2011 | Løv-Ham (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2013 | Nest-Sotra | ||
| 2014 | Strømsgodset (assistant) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Strømsgodset | ||
| 2015–2017 | Lyngby | ||
| 2017–2022 | AGF | ||
| 2023–2024 | Kifisia | ||
| 2024 | Lyngby | ||
| 2024 | Lillestrøm | ||
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David Jean Nielsen (born on December 1, 1976) is a Danish professional football manager and a former player. He played as a forward.
David Nielsen played for many Danish clubs. He also played for Fortuna Düsseldorf in Germany. In England, he played for Grimsby Town, Wimbledon, and Norwich City. His biggest win as a player was the 1997 Danish Cup. He won this with the Danish club Copenhagen. He also played 46 games for different Danish youth national teams. He scored 33 goals for these teams between 1992 and 1997. This included eight games and three goals for the Denmark U21 national team.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
David Nielsen was born in Sønderborg but grew up in Skagen. He started playing youth football at Skagen and Frederikshavn. He was a great scorer, getting 17 goals in 24 games for the Danish under-16 and under-17 national teams. He had chances to join big clubs like Tottenham Hotspur in England and Bayern Munich in Germany. But he chose to stay in Denmark.
In May 1993, when he was 16, he joined OB. This was a top team in the Danish Superliga. He became known for his exciting goal celebration. It was a round off stretch jump with a backtuck!
Moving to New Teams
In January 1996, he was loaned to Lyngby. Here, he really showed his talent. He scored 10 goals in just 13 league games. When his contract with Odense ended in the summer of 1996, he moved to Germany. He played for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga. However, he didn't have much success there.
After six months in Germany, Nielsen returned to Denmark. In February 1997, he joined Copenhagen. He played there for three and a half years. During this time, he helped the team win the 1997 Danish Cup. He was also the top goal scorer for the club in 1998, 1999, and 2000. In 1999, he was even named Copenhagen Player of the Year!
Time in England
In October 2000, he was loaned to Grimsby Town. This was an English club in the second division. He helped them score more goals. After his loan ended in March 2001, Nielsen moved to another English club, Wimbledon.
In December 2001, he joined Norwich City on loan. He scored five goals in five games, which was very impressive! One of his goals was even against his old club, Wimbledon. Because he played so well, Norwich City decided to buy him permanently. He was part of the Norwich City team that reached the final of the First Division play-offs in May 2002. But his scoring slowed down, and he asked to return to Denmark in August 2003.
Back to Denmark and Norway
He signed with the Danish Superliga club AaB. There, he started scoring lots of goals again. After an incident in February 2005, he left the club. Soon after, he joined Midtjylland. He left Midtjylland in May 2006 and moved to Norway. He joined the Norwegian club Start. He quickly became popular, scoring seven goals in 21 games.
On July 20, 2007, he signed a three-year contract with OB in Denmark. Then, on March 26, 2008, he went on loan to the Norwegian club Strømsgodset for the rest of the year.
In January 2009, Nielsen was sold to the Norwegian club Brann. He often played as a substitute there. His contract with Brann ended in June 2010.
Managerial Career
After his playing career, David Nielsen became a football manager.
Early Coaching Roles
On May 27, 2011, Nielsen became an assistant manager for Løv-Ham. Later that summer, he became the manager of Nest-Sotra. He helped the club avoid being moved down to a lower league in 2011. In 2012, he led them to fourth place. In 2013, he helped them get promoted to the 1. division.
On November 11, 2013, he became an assistant manager for Strømsgodset. After only seven months, he became the main manager. This happened when the previous manager, Ronny Deila, left for Celtic. On May 26, 2015, Strømsgodset announced that Nielsen would step down as manager.
Managing in Denmark and Greece
On June 17, 2015, he signed a three-year contract to manage Danish 1st Division club Lyngby.
On September 30, 2017, he signed a three-year contract to coach the Danish Superliga team AGF. In May 2022, Nielsen left AGF.
On December 8, 2023, Nielsen signed a contract with Kifisia in the Greek Super League. However, he left the club on January 29, 2024, after only six weeks.
Nielsen returned to manage Lyngby on March 5, 2024. This contract was until the end of the season.
In late August 2024, he became the new manager of Lillestrøm SK in Norway. His contract was for the rest of 2024. After four league games, Lillestrøm had only one point. Nielsen left the club on September 30. Interestingly, that single point came in a game where his son, Noah Holm, played for the opposing team, Rosenborg, and scored a goal!
Personal Life
David Nielsen was born in Denmark. His father was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and his mother was Danish.
Honours
Player
Copenhagen
- Danish Cup: 1997
Individual
- Copenhagen Player of the Year: 1999
Manager
Lyngby
- Danish 1st Division: 2015–16
