| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henrik Steffen Nielsen | ||
| Date of birth | 10 October 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | Virum, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1987 | B93 | (34) | |
| 1987–1988 | AEK Athens | 40 | (26) |
| 1988–1989 | Iraklis | 14 | (1) |
| 1989–1990 | Fenerbahçe | 19 | (5) |
| 1990 | B 1903 | 2 | (0) |
| 1990–1992 | Lille | 30 | (9) |
| 1992 | Brøndby | 8 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Henrik Nielsen (born 10 October 1958) is a former Danish professional footballer who played as a striker.
Nielsen started his football career in the Danish 2nd Division, playing for B93. In the summer of 1987, he was scouted by the manager of AEK Athens, Todor Veselinović, who convinced the club's president Andreas Zafiropoulos, to sign him. [1]
The "Copenhagen doll", as he was nicknamed in Greece, initially resembled his predecessor in the position at AEK, Håkan Sandberg, in terms of appearance. He immediately adjusted to the team and showed his excellent scoring ability, scoring goals in every way. As a result of his amazing performance, at the end of the season he emerged as the top scorer of the Greek league with 21 goals, [2] while he was much loved by the fans of AEK. [3] His best match was a 7–1 win at home against Veria, where he scored 4 times. [4] The following season everything changed, as the new coach of the club, Dušan Bajević showed that he did not trust him that much. As a result, Nielsen was sometimes played as a starter, but he was also left as a back-up choice at the bench. Eventually, in December 1988, Bajevic and the club's president, Gidopoulos decided to let him leave the club as they were full at the foregners' positions. It was a decision that certainly caused surprise; however, AEK won the championship at the end of the season, generally justifying the choices of the team's manager. [5]
Since his career at AEK was over, Nielsen was transferred to Iraklis, where he played for the rest of the season. [6] In the summer of 1989 he left Greece and signed for Fenerbahçe, where he won the Turkish Cup and the President Cup in 1990. Afterwards, he played for B 1903 for a few months. He later spent 2 seasons with Lille and ended his career in 1992, due to an injury, playing in the Danish 2nd Division with Brøndby. [7]
Nielsen lives in Copenhagen with his wife and has 5 daughters. They successfully run a wine production business. [8]
AEK Athens
Fenerbahçe
Individual