Claus Nielsen
Encyclopedia
Claus Illemann Nielsen known as Claus Nielsen, is a Danish
former association football player in the striker
position. He spent the bulk of his career with Brøndby IF
, but also played for the Greek
club Panathinaikos and the Dutch
club FC Twente
.
in 1991). With a total appearance in 167 games during his first 4 years in the club, he was counted on as one of the most regular first team players at the pitch. In 1984 he helped Brøndby to win the clubs first title, when he scored the winning goal of the Danish League Cup final against AGF. He scored several goals for Brøndby in 1984, but as he only played the last autumn half of the tournament, it was not enough to qualify him as the clubs topscorer of the year (that title went for Jens Kolding with 11 goals). Claus Nielsen however subsequently managed to become the clubs topscorer for the next 3 years; by scoring 17 goals in 1985, then 16 goals in 1986, and finally 20 goals in 1987.
In 1985 Claus Nielsen was honored with the title "best Brøndby player of the year", and he also managed to qualify as the overall topscorer of the Danish league in 1986 and 1987. The long string of goals from Claus Nielsen, also helped Brøndby to win the Danish championship in 1985 and 1987. He continued to play well in spring 1988, but as he transferred to Panathinaikos already after the first half of the season, he was not in contention to repeat his win of the Brøndby topscorer title in 1988.
, in the Dutch Eredivisie. Here he continued to score a high rate of goals, by netting a total number of 22 goals in 39 games.
from October 1986 to June 1991. Unfortunately his knee injury put an early stop to his International career (at only 27 years of age). Without the injury, he had most likely also been a part of Denmarks National Team in 1992; where Denmark won the Europeen Championship.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
former association football player in the striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
position. He spent the bulk of his career with Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
, but also played for the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
club Panathinaikos and the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
club FC Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
.
Brøndby
He played for Brøndby from July 1984 until July 1988, at the top level 1.Division in Denmark (later renamed SuperligaDanish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
in 1991). With a total appearance in 167 games during his first 4 years in the club, he was counted on as one of the most regular first team players at the pitch. In 1984 he helped Brøndby to win the clubs first title, when he scored the winning goal of the Danish League Cup final against AGF. He scored several goals for Brøndby in 1984, but as he only played the last autumn half of the tournament, it was not enough to qualify him as the clubs topscorer of the year (that title went for Jens Kolding with 11 goals). Claus Nielsen however subsequently managed to become the clubs topscorer for the next 3 years; by scoring 17 goals in 1985, then 16 goals in 1986, and finally 20 goals in 1987.
In 1985 Claus Nielsen was honored with the title "best Brøndby player of the year", and he also managed to qualify as the overall topscorer of the Danish league in 1986 and 1987. The long string of goals from Claus Nielsen, also helped Brøndby to win the Danish championship in 1985 and 1987. He continued to play well in spring 1988, but as he transferred to Panathinaikos already after the first half of the season, he was not in contention to repeat his win of the Brøndby topscorer title in 1988.
Panathinaikos
He played the 1988-1989 season for the Greek club Panathinaikos. But with only 6 goals during 20 games, his time in Greece was only a limited success.FC Twente
After his short Greek adventure, he played the next two seasons from 1989-1991 for FC TwenteFC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
, in the Dutch Eredivisie. Here he continued to score a high rate of goals, by netting a total number of 22 goals in 39 games.
Return to Brøndby
In July 1991 he transferred back to Brøndby again. After playing 13 games in autumn 1991, he unfortunately started to suffer from a serious knee injury. This injury kept him away from the pitch, throughout the entire spring 1992. He made a short comeback attempt in autumn 1992. But unfortunately the knee injury continued to trouble him, so he only played 4 additional games for the club in the autumn (with the last one in November 1992). Because of his knee injury being more or less a permanent problem, he decided to end his football career in March 1993.International career
He played 14 games and scored 8 goals for the Denmark national football teamDenmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
from October 1986 to June 1991. Unfortunately his knee injury put an early stop to his International career (at only 27 years of age). Without the injury, he had most likely also been a part of Denmarks National Team in 1992; where Denmark won the Europeen Championship.
Club statistics
Total number of goals for Brøndby (1984–1988 and 1991–1992):| - In the Danish league Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the... : |
68 goals |
| - In the Danish Cup Danish Cup The Danish Cup is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955... : |
8 goals |
| - In the Danish League Cup Danish League Cup The Danish League Cup, is a former football competition, arranged by Divisionsforeningen, for all the top level Danish football teams. The competition has existed in various formats, with the exact name of the league depending on the sponsor. For instance the Danish League Cup was named Carlsberg... : |
3 goals |
| - In the UEFA Intertoto Cup UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued... : |
9 goals |
| - In the UEFA Cup UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League... /European Cup UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It... : |
3 goals |
| - Total score in 184 games: | 91 goals |