Ivan Nielsen

Last updated

Ivan Nielsen
Ivan Nielsen.jpg
Nielsen (1979)
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-10-09) 9 October 1956 (age 67)
Place of birth Frederiksberg, Denmark
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1975–1979 Fremad Amager
1979–1986 Feyenoord 195 (14)
1986–1990 PSV 83 (5)
1990–1991 Fremad Amager
1991–1992 B 1903 25 (1)
1992–1993 Copenhagen 20 (2)
1993 Næstved
International career
1977–1979 Denmark under-21 6 (1)
1980–1989 Denmark 51 (0)
Managerial career
1993 Næstved
1995–1996 Dragør
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ivan Nielsen (born 9 October 1956) is a Danish former professional football player, who most prominently played professionally for Dutch clubs Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven, winning the European Cup with PSV. A central defender, he was capped 51 times for the Danish national team, and represented his country at 1986 World Cup and two European Championship tournaments.

Contents

Biography

Born on Frederiksberg in Copenhagen, Ivan Nielsen started his senior career with Fremad Amager in 1975. He debuted for the Danish under-21 national team in September 1977, and went on to play six games and score one goal for the under-21 national team. In 1979, he moved abroad to play professionally with Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie championship.

He was a part of the Feyenoord team which won the 1980 Dutch Cup, and made his debut for the Danish national team under national team manager Sepp Piontek in November 1980. In 1984, Nielsen and Feyenoord won both the 1984 Eredivisie championship and Dutch Cup trophy. He was called up for the Danish national team at the 1984 European Championship. He played full time in Denmark's four games at the tournament, before the team was eliminated in the semi-finals. He was also called up for the 1986 World Cup, where he played three games as Denmark reached the round of 16. After seven seasons at Feyenoord, he left the club in 1986.

Moving on to defending Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven, Nielsen joined up with fellow Danish internationals Frank Arnesen and Jan Heintze. Nielsen helped PSV win three Eredivisie championships in a row from 1987 to 1989, as well as the three Dutch Cups in a row from 1988 to 1990. His most notable result with PSV, was winning the international 1988 European Cup, when S.L. Benfica from Portugal were beaten on penalty shootout in the final. Nielsen represented the Danish national team in the 1988 European Championship tournament. The tournament was a disappointment for the Danish team, though Nielsen was one of few older players who played up to standard. He ended his national team career in November 1989, having never scored in his 51 national team games.

After four seasons at PSV, he returned to Denmark to end his career in 1990. He joined former club Fremad Amager, where he spent a single season. He moved to B 1903 in 1991, and when the club merged to form F.C. Copenhagen in 1992, Nielsen went on to play for the new club. He was a part of the Copenhagen team which won the 1993 Danish Superliga championship, in its first season of existence. After that season, he moved to Næstved IF, where he ended his career. He managed Næstved, and later Dragør Boldklub, before starting his own plumbing business in Copenhagen.

Style of play

With his tall, 192 cm, and his strong body and stamina, he was a tough man-marker. In a 1986 World Cup match, he successfully marked Uruguayan star Enzo Francescoli, and left him unable to move and play his football. In the 7th minute he was booked for a strong tackle against Francescoli. Towards the end of the first half, Nielsen fouled him at the edge of the penalty area. The referee was close to the situation and awarded a penalty, on which Francescoli scored Uruguay's only goal (2–1) in Denmark's 6–1 win.

Honours

Feyenoord

PSV

FC Copenhagen

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feyenoord</span> Dutch professional football club

Feyenoord Rotterdam is a Dutch professional association football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its neighbourhood in 1912 as SC Feijenoord, updated in 1974 to SC Feyenoord, and then to Feyenoord in 1978, when it split from the amateur club under its wing, SC Feyenoord. Since 1937, Feyenoord's home ground has been the Stadion Feijenoord, nicknamed De Kuip, the second largest stadium in The Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Koeman</span> Dutch football manager (born 1963)

Ronald Koeman is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Netherlands national team. Koeman scored over 250 goals whilst playing in defence for the majority of his career. Koeman was capable of playing both as a defender and as a midfielder; he frequently played as a sweeper, although he was equally known for his goalscoring, long-range shooting, and accuracy from free kicks and penalties. Because of his goalscoring, he is considered one of the best attacking center backs of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Wouters</span> Dutch footballer (born 1960)

Jan Jacobus Wouters is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder and was Dutch Footballer of the Year in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Arnesen</span> Danish footballer (born 1956)

Frank Arnesen is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was Sporting Director at Hamburger SV, Metalist Kharkiv and PAOK FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eredivisie</span> Dutch professional football league

The Eredivisie is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. As of the 2023–24 season, it is ranked the 6th-best league in Europe by UEFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasper Bøgelund</span> Danish footballer (born 1980)

Kasper Bøgelund Nielsen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Bøgelund played 17 games for the Denmark national team, and he represented Denmark at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2004 European Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesper Olsen</span> Danish footballer (born 1961)

Jesper Olsen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left winger. He is best remembered for representing Ajax of the Netherlands and Manchester United of England. He was a regular player for the Danish national team, scoring five goals in 43 matches. He represented Denmark at the Euro 1984 and 1986 World Cup tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Heintze</span> Danish footballer (born 1963)

Jan Heintze is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left-sided defensive midfielder and defender. He ended his career in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, where he was a part of the PSV team which won the 1988 European Cup. He played 86 matches for the Denmark national team in the course of 15 years, playing four international tournaments with the team, which he captained in his last two years before he retired in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Søren Lerby</span> Danish footballer

Søren Lerby is a Danish former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent most of his career in Dutch football, winning five Eredivisie championships with Ajax Amsterdam and two with PSV Eindhoven. With the latter club, he also won the 1988 European Cup. He won two Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and played one season for AS Monaco in France. He played 67 matches for the Denmark national football team from 1978 to 1989, and represented Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and two European Championship tournaments. Currently, he is the agent of Galatasaray winger Dries Mertens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wim Kieft</span> Dutch footballer

Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show Voetbal Inside

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans van Breukelen</span> Dutch footballer

Johannes Franciscus "Hans" van Breukelen is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the technical director of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) from 2017 until 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ole Tobiasen</span> Danish footballer (born 1975)

Ole Tobiasen is a Danish football manager and former player. He is an assistant manager with the Dutch club Heerenven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim de Cler</span> Dutch footballer (born 1978)

Tim de Cler is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left-back for Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and AEK Larnaca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Vanenburg</span> Dutch footballer

Gerald Mervin Vanenburg is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

Henrik Andersen is a Danish former football player, who played eight years at Belgian club RSC Anderlecht, with whom he won the 1983 UEFA Cup. He played for the Danish national team in 30 matches, and scored two goals. He represented Denmark at the 1986 World Cup and the triumphant Euro 1992 tournament, where he suffered a serious knee injury, during the semi-final.

Peter Nielsen is a Danish former professional footballer, who works as assistant manager for Danish 1st Division club Fremad Amager. He won ten international caps and scored one goal for the Denmark national team, with whom he won Euro 1992, though he did not play at the tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arne Sørensen (Danish footballer)</span> Danish footballer and coach (1917-1977)

Arne Sørensen was a Danish association football player and coach. During his career as an athlete, Sørensen won three Danish championships with Boldklubben 1893 and Boldklubben 1893, before moving abroad to play professionally in French football. As a midfielder for the Denmark national football team, he played 30 games and scored four goals. As a coach, Sørensen won silver medals with the Danish national team at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and also won the Danish championship with Esbjerg fB, Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, and Hvidovre IF.

Benny Johansen is a Danish former football player and manager. He won the Danish championship twice as a player for B 1903 and once as a manager of FC Copenhagen. He played one game for the Denmark national under-21 football team in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolai Jørgensen</span> Danish footballer (born 1991)

Nicolai Mick Jørgensen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is currently a free agent.

Jordan Teze is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for Eredivisie club PSV and the Netherlands national team.