Kristian Bach Bak (né Bak Nielsen; born 20 October 1982) is a Danish former professional
footballer. Bak usually played
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, but he has a past as a
striker
Striker or The Strikers may refer to:
People
*A participant in a strike action
*A participant in a hunger strike
*Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant
*Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America
People wi ...
. He has played one game for the
Danish under-21 national team.
Club career
Midtjylland
Born in
Kibæk
Kibæk is a town in Herning Municipality in Denmark with a population of 2,638 (1 January 2023).[Herning Municipality
Herning Municipality is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The municipality covers an area of and has a population of 89,230 (1 January 2022). Its mayor is Dorte West, a me ...](_blank)
, Bak's first football club was Kibæk IF, but he already started began playing in the youth department of
Ikast fS at age 16. Ikast fS later merged with
Herning Fremad and created
FC Midtjylland.
Bak started his senior career with Midtjylland in 2000. He helped the club win the
1999–2000 Danish 1st Division
The 1999–2000 Danish 1st Division season was the 55th season of the Danish 1st Division league championship and the 14th consecutive as a second tier competition governed by the Danish Football Association.
The division-champion and runner-up p ...
and gain
promotion to the
Danish Superliga. In his first years at the club, he played as a striker, but eventually settled as a centre-back.
He played all Midtjylland's matches during the
2003–04 Danish Superliga
The 2003–04 Danish Superliga season was the 14th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 26, 2003 to the final match on May 29, 2004.
The Danis ...
season and was rewarded with a new contract in November 2004, keeping him at the club until 2007. In 2005, he became the club's
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.
Heerenveen
On 19 June 2007, Bak signed a four-year contract with the Dutch
Eredivisie club
SC Heerenveen. He was sidelined with an ankle injury from the end of the December 2007. He made his league return on 5 October 2008 in a 5–2 win over
Ajax. He played a total of 72 league matches for Heerenveen through three seasons.
On 10 February 2010 he was fined €1,000 by the
Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) prosecutor for allegations against referee
Kevin Blom. Bak was also given a conditional suspension of one match. He had claimed after a 2–1 loss to
ADO Den Haag
Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...
that Blom had deliberately let the opponent win: "After the 1–1, I asked Blom what he was doing. He said he wanted ADO to win," he told on the Heerenveen website.
Return to Midtjylland
In August 2010, Bak returned to Midtjylland on a four-year deal. On 21 May 2015, he won the first national title of his career, winning the Superliga after a 0–0 draw against
Vestsjælland.
International career
Bak was first called up for the
Danish under-21 national team in October 2003. He played a single under-21 national match, against the
Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21s. He replaced
Thomas Kahlenberg in the extra time of the second half, in a match which Denmark won 3–0.
On 20 November 2006, he was called up for the
Denmark League XI, playing unofficial games against the
United States,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
and
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
in January 2007, by national team manager
Morten Olsen. He was called up for the
Danish national team in March 2007 as a replacement for the injured
Per Nielsen.
Coaching and later career
After he retired from football in 2016, he was announced as the new assistant coach of the club.
In May 2019, Bak joined
Denmark Series
The Denmark Series ( da, Danmarksserien) is the fifth tier in the Danish football league system. Teams are divided into four groups of ten. The top team in each group is promoted to the Danish 3rd Division. The bottom three teams in each group are ...
4 amateur club TIF All Stars.
In June 2022, Bak changed position in Midtjylland to assistant Sporting Director.
Personal life
Bak married Diana Bach on 16 November 2013, and on that occasion changed his name from Kristian Bak Nielsen to Kristian Bach Bak.
Honours
Midtjylland
*
Superliga:
2014–15
*
1st Division:
1999–2000
Heerenveen
*
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
:
2008–09
References
External links
FC Midtjylland profile
Danish national team profile
Career statisticsat
Danmarks Radio
Voetbal International profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach Bak, Kristian
1982 births
Living people
Danish men's footballers
Denmark men's under-21 international footballers
FC Midtjylland players
SC Heerenveen players
Danish Superliga players
Ikast FC players
Eredivisie players
Danish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Men's association football defenders
People from Herning Municipality
Footballers from the Central Denmark Region