Miklos Jon Molnar ( hu, Molnár Miklós János; born 10 April 1970), nicknamed "
Danish Dynamite
The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association ( ...
", is a Danish former professional
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 le ...
of
Hungarian origin who played as a
striker for a number of Danish and foreign clubs. He was the top goalscorer of the 1989 and 1997
Danish championships, and won the
2000 MLS Cup with American team
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...
. He scored two goals in 18
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for the
Denmark national football team
The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing bo ...
, and represented his country at the
1998 World Cup and
2000 European Championship tournaments. He was also a member of the Denmark team competing at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
.
When he stopped his professional football career in 2000, he continued with triathlon. In 2005, he ran under three hours (2:59:20) in Copenhagen Marathon and under 10 hours (9:50) in an Ironman in Austria.
Biography
Born in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Molnar played football in Copenhagen clubs
B 1908,
Fremad Amager
Boldklubben Fremad Amager (meaning in English: The Ball Club Forward Amager ; abbreviated Fremad A) is a Danish professional football club based in the district of Amager Vest, Copenhagen. As of the 2020–21 season, the club's senior men's team ...
and
Hvidovre IF
Hvidovre Idrætsforening, more commonly known as Hvidovre IF () is a Denmark, Danish professional association football, football club based in Hvidovre. The club competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football league syste ...
.
Molnar's talent was acknowledged, as he played eight games and scored four goals for the Danish under-19 youth national team from 1986 to 1988. He made his senior debut in 1987 for Hvidovre in the
Danish 2nd Division
The 2nd Division ( da, Danmarksturneringens 2. division or Herre-DM 2. division) is a semi-professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Footb ...
, before moving to play
semi-professional
Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...
ly
for top-flight club
Boldklubben Frem
Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby- Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has won ...
in 1989. Molnar got his senior level breakthrough when he became joint top goalscorer of the
1989 Danish 1st Division
The 1989 Danish 1st Division season was the 44th season of the Danish 1st Division league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association.
The Danish champions qualified for the European Cup 1990-91 qualification, while the second and ...
championship with 14 goals, as Frem finished eighth of 14 teams. He was selected for the
Danish under-21 national team in June 1989. Several clubs were interested in buying Molnar, including Danish club
AGF, English club
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, French club
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...
and
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the most ...
from Belgium.
In January 1990, Molnar moved abroad to play professionally for Standard Liège. In his first full season at Liège, Molnar scored 11 goals in 26 games, and he was called up to the Danish national team by national manager
Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen (19 August 1937 – 13 February 2014) was a Danish football player and manager. He coached the Denmark national football team
The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelan ...
. Molnar made his national team debut in September 1990, and he played a total three national team games until June 1991. When Liège hired new manager
Arie Haan
Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national team of the 1970s. At club level, he enjoyed a successful career ...
, Molnar did not feel appreciated and sought to be
loaned out. He moved from Liège to Swiss club
Servette FC
Servette FC is a Swiss football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on 17 January 1900. They play in the S ...
in the summer 1991. Molnar became league top goalscorer, as he scored 18 goals in 34 games for Servette in the Swiss
1991–92 Nationalliga A championship.
Molnar was an integral part of the Danish under-21 national team from 1991 to 1992, forming a successful attacking partnership with
Peter Møller
Peter Møller Nielsen (born 23 March 1972) is a Danish former professional football player who became a sports journalist after ending his football career in December 2005. In 2018 he became sporting director of Dansk Boldspil Union. He won fo ...
. Molnar played all Denmark's games from the qualification to the semi-finals of the
1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
, which qualified Denmark for the 1992 Summer Olympics in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. He was named 1991
Danish ''under-21 Player of the Year''. Molnar played all of Denmark's three games at the 1992 Olympics final tournament, but was
sent off
In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
for a physical scuffle with a defender in Denmark's final game before elimination against the
Australia under-23s. He ended his under-21 career after the 1992 Olympics, having scored a total eight goals in 21 caps.
Having ended his loan at Servette, Molnar looked to find a new club in the summer 1992. Molnar was bought by French club
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...
for
FRF 6.000.000. He did not fit into Saint-Étienne's technical short passing tactics, and did not find goalscoring success at the club.
He was released from his contract in January 1994, and moved back home to Denmark. In February 1994, he agreed to play for
Lyngby BK
Lyngby Boldklub () is a Danish professional football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, a northern suburb of Copenhagen. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC. The club ...
in the top-flight Danish championship, now called the
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 yea ...
. With the stated ambition of moving abroad, Molnar played half a year at Lyngby, but did not get along with Lyngby manager
Michael Schäfer
Michael Schäfer (born 25 January 1959) is a Danish former football player and now manager. In his active career as a midfielder, he played 482 games for Danish club Lyngby BK, as well as three games for the Denmark national football team. At ...
. He moved to German club
FSV Frankfurt
Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...
in September 1994. Despite scoring 12 goals in 20 games in the
1994–95 German 2nd Bundesliga season, Molnar could not keep Frankfurt from
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
into the lower
Regionalliga
The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
division.
Molnar went home to Denmark, and started playing for Superliga club
Herfølge BK
Herfølge is a suburb of the town of Køge, Denmark, located about 5 kilometers south of Køge, and is a part of Køge Municipality. The suburb is connected to Køge and Næstved by the Lille Syd railway line.
Residential areas
Holmebækhus ...
in September 1995. When Lyngby's first-choice striker
David Nielsen
David Jean Nielsen (born 1 December 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager.
He played for a number of Danish clubs, as well as Fortuna Düsseldorf in Germany and English clubs Grimsby Town, Wimbledon and Norwich City. His ...
left the club in June 1996, Molnar moved back to his old club to fill the spot. He was the leading goal scorer in the
1996–97 Danish Superliga
The 1996–97 Danish Superliga season was the 7th season of the Danish Superliga league championship, governed by the Danish Football Association. It took place from the first match on July 28, 1996, to final match on June 15, 1997.
The Danish c ...
with 26 goals in 33 games, and was recalled to the Danish national team by new national manager
Bo Johansson
Bo "Bosse" Johansson (born 28 November 1942) is a Swedish former football player and current football coach.
Biography
Johansson was a player for fourteen years with Kalmar FF and Lindsdals IF, though he did not win any trophies as a player. In ...
, after a hiatus of more than five years. After three goals in five games at the start of the
1997–98 Superliga season, Molnar was sold to Spanish club
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...
in the secondary
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...
league, where he joined fellow Danish international
Thomas Rytter
Thomas Rytter Jakobsen (born 6 January 1974) is a retired Danish footballer and manager, who played as a right-back. He is currently the manager of Blovstrød IF.
In 2001, he won the Danish Superliga championship with F.C. Copenhagen, and most p ...
.
In his first year at Sevilla, Molnar scored ten goals in 27 games, and he was included in the Danish squad for the
1998 World Cup. He took part in one match at the tournament, when he most remarkably came on as a substitute in the 58th minute of the 1–1 draw with
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, only to be
sent off
In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
eight minutes later. His second season at Sevilla was not as successful, and Molnar was dropped from the team. When visiting
American international midfielder
Chris Henderson
Christopher Henderson (born December 11, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He earned 79 caps with the U.S. national team and part of the U.S. team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. At the time of his ...
in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, a former teammate of his, Molnar had been fascinated by the atmosphere in the American
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS) championship. In January 2000, he moved to MLS to play for
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...
. While at the Wizards, he was included in the Danish squad for the
2000 European Championship in June 2000. He played a single match at the tournament, before ending his national team career. He retired from football in October 2000, after scoring the game-winning goal during the
2000 MLS Cup, as the Wizards beat
Chicago Fire 1–0.
On 2 October 2011, he got a comeback, playing 20 minutes for his childhood-club,
B1908, in a
2nd division game.
Honours
*1991
Danish ''under-21 Player of the Year''
*
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 Conference ...
: 2000
References
External links
Danish national team profile
*
*
Boldklubben Frem profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molnar, Miklos
1970 births
Living people
Association football forwards
Danish footballers
Danish expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Denmark international footballers
Denmark under-21 international footballers
Denmark youth international footballers
La Liga players
Hvidovre IF players
Servette FC players
AS Saint-Étienne players
FSV Frankfurt players
Sevilla FC players
Sporting Kansas City players
Lyngby Boldklub players
Herfølge Boldklub players
Boldklubben Frem players
Olympic footballers of Denmark
Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1998 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2000 players
Danish people of Hungarian descent
Danish Superliga players
Swiss Super League players
Ligue 1 players
2. Bundesliga players
Belgian First Division A players
Major League Soccer players
Danish expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Footballers from Copenhagen