Jimmy Nielsen

Europe

Nielsen began his career with Norwich City at the age of 12. He was discovered after Norwich City's youth team traveled to Aalborg to take part in a local youth tournament but their only goalkeeper, Ash Harrison, fell ill and Nielsen was recruited as a replacement. He played for Norwich City until the age of 15 when he was offered professional terms but his mother refused permission for him to move permanently to England. Following this he was signed by local amateur club B 52/Aalborg FC. He played youth football for AaB Fodbold, before signing for English club Millwall F.C. in 1994. He did not play for the club and moved back to Denmark, settling in at AaB in 1995. He made his senior debut in 1996, quickly becoming the starting goalkeeper in AaB. Nielsen was one of the cornerstones of AaB, culminating in the 1998–99 Danish Superliga championship. Nielsen signed a contract with Leicester City on 4 June 2007. He joined via Martin Allen's agent, who claimed he was "another Peter Schmeichel". However, he was left in the reserve squad following the arrival of Hungarian goalkeeper Márton Fülöp. As a result, Nielsen revealed he planned to leave the club during the January transfer window, and was given the green light to do so on 14 November. He left the club on 22 January 2008 having his contract terminated by mutual consent without ever having played for the club. The next day he signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with Danish team Vejle Boldklub. After the 2009 season,…

During a session with the Denmark national under-21 football team in 1999, Nielsen and U-21 teammates Allan Kierstein Jepsen and Peter Degn went to the Munkebjerg casino in Vejle at night to gamble. They were subsequently excluded from all national team practices, a ban that lasted several years. This earned Nielsen the nickname Casino-Jimmy.

Following his retirement, Nielsen was named head coach of OKC Energy FC of the United Soccer League. Nielsen joined Hartford Athletic of the United Soccer League as head coach for its inaugural season in 2019. Nielsen and Hartford mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2019 season. Nielsen joined the technical staff of Houston Dynamo FC on 13 January 2022. On 5 September 2022 Nielsen was relieved of his duties at Houston alongside head coach Paulo Nagamura. On 4 December 2025, Nielsen was announced as head coach of Oklahoma United FC for the inaugural season in the Lone Star Conference of the National Premier Soccer League.

AaB

Danish Superliga: 1998–99 Sporting Kansas City

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2012 MLS Cup: 2013 MLS Eastern Conference (playoff): 2013 MLS Eastern Conference (regular season): 2010, 2012 Individual

MLS All-Star: 2010, 2012 MLS Best XI: 2012 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 2012 Sporting Kansas City Most Valuable Player: 2011, 2012 Danish Goalkeeper of the Year: 1998, 2004