Jimmy Nielsen (born 6 August 1977) is a Danish-American 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring 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 intercepting o ...

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

AaB Fodbold AaB, (full name: ''Aalborg Boldspilklub'', ) internationally referred to as Aalborg BK, or sometimes also known as AaB Aalborg, is a professional football team located in Aalborg. The club is represented in the Danish Superliga and has won four ...

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

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

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. 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. 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 may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

". However, he was left in the reserve squad following the arrival of Hungarian goalkeeper

Márton Fülöp Márton Fülöp (; 3 May 1983 – 12 November 2015) was a Hungarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After playing in Hungary for MTK Budapest, BKV Előre SC and BFC Siófok, he signed for English club Tottenham Hotspur, who ...

. 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 t ...

. 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 team Sporting Kansas City. 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 home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during th ...

. 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 Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regular ...

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 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 Boldspilklu ...

and

Peter Degn Peter Degn (born April 6, 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer. He has played 25 games and scored three goals for the Denmark national under-21 football team. Biography Born in Ebeltoft, Peter Degn started his career for local amateu ...

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 ('' kommune'') and th ...

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 is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessm ...

of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. Nielson joined

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional 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. History On June 8, 2021, Ha ...

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 FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establish ...

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

Paulo Nagamura Paulo Roberto Corradi Nagamura (; born March 2, 1983) is a Brazilian former professional footballer and coach who most recently served as head coach of MLS club Houston Dynamo. He spent most of his playing career in MLS, where he won two ML ...

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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

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

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

* MLS Eastern Conference (playoff):

* MLS Eastern Conference (regular season): 2010, 2012 Individual * MLS All-Star: 2010, 2012 * MLS Best XI: 2012 *

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

References

External links

* *
Complete League statistics
at danskfodbold.com
Vejle Boldklub profile
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Jimmy Living people 1977 births Danish footballers Sportspeople from Aalborg 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 youth international footballers Denmark under-21 international footballers Major League Soccer All-Stars Danish expatriate footballers Expatriate 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