Nils Middelboe (5 October 1887 – 21 September 1976) was a Danish amateur

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete and football player as well as a football referee and leader. He represented the Denmark national football team at the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

, 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics, winning silver medals in 1908 and 1912. He was the first ever goalscorer for the Danish national football team, when he scored in Denmark's debut game at the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1913, he moved abroad to play for

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

, and became the first foreign player to ever represent the club.

Personal life

Middelboe was an amateur footballer throughout his career. He was a qualified lawyer and during his time at

he was employed at a bank in London. He would have gained thrice the salary as solely a professional footballer than he did as a banker-cum-amateur footballer, but he was (in his own words) "by no means mad about football". So as not to interfere with his career, Middelboe played in all home games, but was not required to travel to away games while at Chelsea. Middelboe was a man of great height for his time (standing at 6 foot 2 inches), which led to the media naming him "The Great Dane". He was also well respected as a gentleman of the game. He is buried in the Cemetery of Holmen in Copenhagen.

Career

Middelboe was born in Brunnby, Sweden. He made his senior debut for

Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played since 1883. The club hosted, in 1921, on ...

(KB) in 1903, at the age of 16. At KB, he played alongside his older brothers Einar Middelboe and Kristian Middelboe, of whom Kristian also played for the Danish national team. From 1904 to 1913 Nils won five KBU football championships with KB, while he also excelled in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

competitions. He was a Danish

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

and 4 x 100 metres relay champion, and he set Danish records in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

(with a time of 2:05.2) and triple jump (13.29 m). Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics - Denmark squad

Occupying the half-back role, he won silver medals with Denmark in both the

and

1912 Olympic Games Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 '' Ab urbe cond ...

, the latter as captain of the side. His goal against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1908 was the first ever goal scored by an official national team in Olympic football. Middelboe won his 11th cap for Denmark in a friendly against Sweden, at the time this made him Denmark's all-time leading appearance maker. In all, he played 15 games and scored 7 goals for the Danish national team from 1908 to 1920. The three times Middelboe played for his country while at Chelsea, he always represented KB, as opposed to Chelsea. Nils Middelboe is renowned as the first non-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

international to play for Chelsea, during his stint at the club between 1913 and 1923. Originally he had signed for Newcastle United; however, with the permission of the Newcastle Director, he switched to Chelsea. He made his debut on 15 November 1913 against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

at Stamford Bridge - a 2–1 win for Chelsea. As a show of faith from the players, he was appointed captain, despite never having previously played for the Chelsea first team. In all, he played 46 matches for Chelsea until 1922. After his days at Chelsea, he played for the amateur sides of

Corinthian F.C. Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...

and Casuals F.C. until 1926. In 1929 he was appointed a Director of the English League Division Three south East London based side Clapton Orient. He returned to Denmark in 1936. It was through Middelboe's contacts in English football, that English coach Edward Magner was hired to coach the Danish national team in 1939. As an interpreter, Middelboe mediated Magner's tactical instructions on the modern

WM formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

to the team, a formation Middelboe himself was a known critic of. As a coach for KB, he led the team to the

Danish football champions The Danish football champions are the winners of the highest league of football in Denmark. The title has been contested since 1913, in a varying form of competitions. Since 1991, the winners have been found through the Danish Superliga championsh ...

hip in 1940. In April 1946, Chelsea played KB in a friendly, arranged to celebrate that club's 70th anniversary. The chairman of KB announced that, owing to Middelboe's "long and happy association" with Chelsea, there was no other club they would rather be facing.

Honours

As a player

* Danish championship: 1913

As a manager

* Danish championship: 1940

References

Literature

*Glanvill, Rick (2005). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. . * Allan Nielsen, "''Den Første ...''", ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'' article, 6 January 1997 * Neilson N. Kaufman, honorary historian, Leyton Orient Football Club -

External links

Danish national team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middelboe, Nils 1887 births 1976 deaths Association football midfielders Danish men's footballers Denmark international footballers Danish male triple jumpers Danish male sprinters Danish male middle-distance runners Olympic footballers of Denmark Kjøbenhavns Boldklub players Casuals F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Corinthian F.C. players Footballers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Denmark Danish football referees Naturalised citizens of Denmark Expatriate footballers in England Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Danish expatriate sportspeople in England Burials at Holmen Cemetery Sportspeople from Frederiksberg